Confirm library distribution routes
Baker & Taylor closed: check your library wholesaler
Baker & Taylor, long the largest U.S. library wholesaler, closed in early 2026. Confirm which wholesaler each library you care about uses now, and that your book is orderable there, before you ask anyone to buy it.
Authors often hire help with this: metadata or distribution, library or cataloging.
Why it matters
Librarians buy through the channels their systems are set up for, and after the Baker & Taylor closure many of those channels are new. An author who pitches a library before confirming the book is orderable through its current supplier may get a polite yes that never turns into an order. Checking first makes every later library conversation useful.
Your part
- What you do
- Verify. Someone else may do it. Inspect the result yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Publisher and Author and Distributor. Publisher or distributor supplies; author verifies through them or a librarian
- When
- Before library outreach begins (Confirm library distribution routes: six to three months before publication, before you ask any library to buy)Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
A library wholesaler supplies books to public and school libraries, often with processing (covers, labels, barcodes) and cataloging attached. Many libraries order most of their print titles this way, and a purchase suggestion for a book that is not orderable through the library's wholesaler may go nowhere, because the acquisitions librarian cannot easily buy it.
The landscape changed recently. Baker & Taylor, for decades the largest wholesaler serving U.S. libraries, ceased operations after a planned sale to ReaderLink fell through in autumn 2025, and the wind-down finished in early 2026. Libraries have moved their accounts, mostly to Ingram, with Brodart and Bookazine also named in trade coverage as suppliers taking on former Baker & Taylor customers. Any listing, catalog note, or advice that still points librarians to Baker & Taylor is out of date.
Availability means the title is in the wholesaler's ordering system with correct metadata and an orderable status. Authors cannot check this directly. The publisher or distributor can confirm which library wholesalers carry the title, and a librarian can look the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) up in their supplier's system in seconds. Ask which supplier the library uses now, since many libraries changed accounts in the last year.
Availability normally follows from distribution, so ask before you begin library outreach: which library wholesalers carry the book now? Ingram availability covers many libraries, but not every library orders from Ingram, and IngramSpark distribution is the usual route in for a self-published print edition. Then ask a librarian to look the ISBN up with the supplier their library actually uses.
This item is for books where library sales matter. If libraries are not a goal, skip it.
Common mistakes
- Relying on an old Baker & Taylor listing, or telling librarians to order through a wholesaler that no longer operates.
- Pitching libraries before checking whether they can order the book.
- Assuming every library orders from Ingram, when some now use Brodart, Bookazine, or another supplier.
- Forgetting that ebooks and audiobooks reach libraries through entirely different channels.
- Not asking a librarian, who can check in seconds.
Identifiers for Baker & Taylor closed: check your library wholesaler
Set a status on any record and it joins this step. All book identifiers.
| My status | Identifier | Why this matters | Yours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingram The wholesale catalog most bookstores and libraries order from, plus IngramSpark, the self-publishing platform that feeds into it. | This decides whether a bookstore or library can order your book through the channel most of them use, and on what terms, so when a shop says it cannot order your book this is usually where the answer sits. Ingram's data also reaches many retailers and library vendors, so an error in the record can surface in several places. Traditionally and hybrid published authors normally ask whether the title is in Ingram wholesale, at what wholesale discount, and whether it is returnable, since those are the two terms a bookseller checks before ordering; if you publish the book yourself, you set the discount and the return policy in IngramSpark, and both have real money attached. Get the discount and return terms in writing, then check that the title record matches the other major listings. | Nothing to record | |
| Baker & Taylor (closed) A former U.S. library wholesaler that closed in January 2026; this record is kept for history, not as a route to libraries. | Older advice tells authors to get their book into Baker & Taylor, and following it now costs you time for nothing. The live question is which wholesaler each library uses today and whether your book is orderable there. Ask the library which wholesaler it uses now. Common current routes include Ingram, Brodart, and Bookazine, but the library's own answer controls. Traditionally and hybrid published authors normally ask the publisher or distributor which library wholesalers now carry the book. A self-publisher normally checks that Ingram availability is in place, since that is the usual route into library wholesale. The useful answer now is the name of a wholesaler through which a library can actually order your book. | Nothing to record |
What done looks like
- Confirmation from the publisher, distributor, or a librarian of which library wholesalers carry each print format, starting with Ingram.
- Metadata in each wholesaler record correct.
- Any mention of Baker & Taylor removed from your library information sheet, ordering note, and website.
- The check done before any purchase suggestion or librarian outreach.
- If a library's supplier does not carry the title, the reason known and an alternative ordering route ready to tell the librarian.
Evidence. Done means someone says the work happened. Verified means you checked the confirmation, link, or public record yourself.
Ask your publisher
Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.
Sources and last checked
- Official source
- Official source (opens in a new tab)
- Other sources
- Last checked
- September 13, 2026
- How confident we are
- Verified
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.