National Book Network will introduce a new professional, academic, and reference division at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Aimed at helping publishers increase their penetration into the U.S. library market, the division comes after a year of planning, according to NBN senior management.
“We are very excited to give our clients a new pathway for potential growth,” said NBN president Rich Freese. “We now have all the people and pieces in place to open the library market channel to our publishing partners.” Publishers will be able to make use of NBN’s presence at 100 library shows a year through its sister company, the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, and to take advantage of print-on-demand through NBN’s book manufacturing plant as well as e-book conversion through NBN Fusion. NBN International’s expansion last month into a larger, more modern distribution facilities in Plymouth, U.K., should also contribute to NBN’s ability to expedite clients’ participation in the Professional, Academic, and Reference Division on both sides of the pond.
Although Freese acknowledged that public libraries have been hard hit by today’s economy, he noted that they are still looking for quality content, whether it’s an e-book or a six-volume reference set. “With NBN Professional, Academic, and Reference,” he said, “we’re helping them connect our publisher partners to get them needed content.”
