At WiLS, we want to bring valuable information to our library partners, including information about the missions and big ideas of the vendors they may already do business with. Each month, WiLS interviews a vendor partner in order to bridge the gap and open the door to valuable collaborations. This month, we are delighted to share insights from Jennifer Rose, Wisconsin Sales Representative at Baker & Taylor.
Tell us about your company’s background.
Baker & Taylor has been around since 1828—the year John Quincy Adams was elected president! After 180 years, we’re proud of our history and our long-established relationships with our customers. Our library book services reach more than 36,000 customers in more than 120 countries. In 2016, Baker & Taylor was acquired by Follett. As a result, we’re now working to bridge the gap between public libraries and schools—an exciting collaboration.
We know our customer needs are evolving, and so are we. Right now, our customers need to develop more targeted collections and to reach out beyond the library’s walls to grow access and awareness. We’re innovating with services like collectionHQ with ESP, a tool that analyzes circulation data to improve title selection, and Axis 360, a state-of-the-art platform for eBooks and audiobooks.
Why do you, personally, choose to work with libraries?
I have been in sales for 20 years, but when I first started working with librarians, I knew I’d found my kindred spirits. For me, sales is never just about selling. It’s about recognizing that my customers are unique. It’s about helping them with their needs and finding solutions that make sense for them. It’s about building the relationship, which is the foundation of exceptional customer service. It turns out that librarians relate to their patrons and their community the same way. I’ve never worked with such brilliant and kind people as my library customers. They make my job truly enjoyable.
What do you like to know about the libraries you work with? What helps you better understand their needs?
It’s all about the workflow. Every library is different. I like to learn the details of how my libraries select materials. If they’re combing through journals, patron requests, or blogs, Baker & Taylor can usually help them find what they need in a less time-consuming manner. I like to see how they’re using our ordering platform, whether it’s through the website or through their own ILS with EDI ordering. So many times we can help set things up to be more efficient, so that staff can focus on patron needs. The same goes for processing and for invoicing. For each step, there are many options. Everyone likes to save time and money, and I like to see how Baker & Taylor can act as a helping hand throughout the workflow.
Our products can be used in multiple, unique ways. I like to help libraries tailor Axis 360 to fill the gaps in their eBook collections, or learn how collectionHQ with ESP can help plan what to select. For me, the main thing is to roll up my sleeves, understand the needs of the library customer first, and then work with them to find the right solutions. One size definitely does not fit all!
What big ideas are being worked on at your company? What problems are being solved?
We see libraries as the cornerstone to addressing the “opportunity gap.” Here I quote Prudence Carter in her 2013 study of how income levels affect academic success. While wealthy students “board an elevator that speeds them” to success and middle-income students take the escalator, low-income and poor students face an almost insurmountable barrier—getting there using a “steep stairwell, often with broken steps and no hand rails.”
That’s unacceptable. We feel we can help libraries promote literacy and grow equal access to books to their communities. We’re starting with a program called Community Share. Thanks to our relationship with Follett, we can now use Axis 360 to give public school students access to the children’s and teens eBook collections of public libraries, both at school and at home. It’s a tremendous expansion of resources that comes at no additional cost to either the public library or the school, and Axis 360 and Follett’s Destiny LMS work together seamlessly to deliver it.
There are so many benefits to increased literacy. It’s a jumpstart out of poverty for the individual, and that’s only the beginning. Economic growth is impacted, civic participation such as voting is impacted, even childhood health and mortality are impacted when people become readers. Young people who don’t read proficiently are vastly more likely to drop out of school, to become incarcerated, to require public assistance, and to become teen mothers. We’re really passionate about the impact that libraries can have on these social issues.
How can librarians become partners in product or training development?
Right now, we’re focused on listening to our library customers about what they need. Partnering with libraries is part of our DNA—it’s simply who we are as a company. The last thing Baker & Taylor would ever become is a “vendor” for outsourcing a community’s access to books and relationship to its libraries. When it comes to the unique challenges of your community and your strategic goals, we’re all ears. Call us, email us, or come find us at PLA in Philadelphia or ALA in New Orleans. It’s a time of change for libraries and we believe it’s an exciting time with a lot of potential. Libraries are serving their communities in new ways and we love being in the middle of it.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
We’re proud of our long-standing relationship with WiLS and share a common vision for making the world a better place through libraries. I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this vendor profile and interview. The future is limitless, and we look forward to being part of the conversation as Wisconsin and its libraries move forward.
This interview is part of a series of interviews with both WiLS library and vendor partners. Your feedback is appreciated. If you have any to offer on this article or suggestions for upcoming interviews, contact Andrea Coffin at acoffin@wils.org.