National Book Network is launching a new division geared to give small publishers more distribution options. Biblio Distribution will take over all back-office functions for any small publisher that has an ongoing publishing program. Services will include sales representation, warehousing, order fulfillment, credit and collection.

Dina Fullerton, most recently with NBN sister company Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., has been named to oversee the new operation. Fullerton will call on the major national accounts, and Biblio is forming an in-house sales staff that will help sell titles by maintaining an online catalogue site. "We hope to sell a lot of books through the Web," NBN president Jed Lyons told PW; the site, www.bibliodistribution.com, will be up soon. Instead of creating paper catalogues, publishers send Biblio an electronic file containing the information about the book as well as a four-color jacket image that Biblio will add to the online catalogue. The site will be updated daily, and Biblio will promote it to booksellers through ads in the trade press. "We think this is more efficient than creating paper catalogues," Lyons said.

While Biblio will be leveraging the NBN infrastructure, the sales and marketing personnel serving NBN's existing larger publishers will not be involved in the new division. Lyons said Biblio is prepared to accommodate hundreds of small publishers, although he said he has "no idea" how many companies may want to join Biblio. "We have lots of space in our warehouse," he said.

Two Publishers Added

NBN affiliate Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. has acquired the assets of two trade houses, Taylor Trade Publishing and Court Wayne Press.

The acquisition of the Dallas-based Taylor involves the purchase of about 200 titles plus the publishing rights to 60 unpublished manuscripts. The Taylor titles are being integrated into R&L's New York City unit, Cooper Square Press, and future Taylor titles will be published under the Cooper Square imprint. Michael Dorr, associate publisher of Cooper Square, will be responsible for the Taylor publishing program and Nancy Rothschild has been named director of marketing for the list. Taylor focused its publishing efforts on nonfiction in such categories as history, gardening, biography, film, popular culture, sports and parenting/family health, with a specialty in Attention Deficit Disorder. The purchase did not include any employees, nor did it include Taylor's yearbook operation.

The acquisition of Court Wayne Press will result in the resurrection of Roberts Rinehart. Late last year, R&L acquired 41 titles from Roberts Rinehart (News, Dec. 11, 2000), while earlier in 2000 Court Wayne acquired approximately 160 titles from Rinehart as the company sold off its assets (News, June 5, 2000). R&L is dropping the Court Wayne name and all newly acquired titles will be released under the Roberts Rinehart name. Rick Rinehart, who was the founder of Roberts Rinehart, has been appointed publisher and editorial director of the revived RR and will be based in R&L's Boulder, Colo., office. In addition to its Irish books, Rinehart will continue to publish books about the American West, nature and the environment plus a small children's list.

Books from both Taylor and Court Wayne are now being sold by NBN.