When Baker & Taylor's Informata.com launched last year, it was supposed to be the sort of one-stop destination that electronic companies love to tout. Under its umbrella would sit Replica Books, the out-of-print printer and publisher; Title Source II, the wholesaler's comprehensive title database; and the Library Place, a community site for librarians.
While the company says it is soldiering on, there are signs that its plans are changing. The Informata.com URL goes unknown to many in the business, and the site itself merely points users to the other properties. Some of the information seems, at best, out of date: a number for TitleSource on the Web led to a disconnection message, while several agents reported they got a similar result when trying a number given to them by Replica. And the company has seen the departure of senior v-p Bob Doran, following the resignation of Informata and B&T CEO Craig Richards last January.
Baker & Taylor executives wouldn't comment on Doran's leaving or on the overall number of employees (the company at one time had about 80). Officials said it continues to operate as a separate subsidiary to B&T, although Informata chief marketing officer Pam Smith said the firm "works very closely with the parent." Gary Rautenstrauch, acting CEO of B&T, also serves as acting CEO of Informata.
A keystone of Informata's efforts is Replica, which has moved beyond the realm of printer and into that of publisher. The company now seeks new and out-of-print titles from agents and authors. Informata officials wouldn't reveal current title numbers, but did say that it plans to accelerate its accumulation efforts in the coming months through "a variety of new strategies." Recent bestsellers, it noted, were in the science-fiction category.
The place of a business-to-business firm like Informata in a world where publishers hope to sell books via Yahoo! is an uncertain one. Company executives, however, said they remain unconcerned. "The bogeyman of disintermediation has been raised many times. I think we need to be aware that it's out there. But I don't think it's going to happen all at once," said B&T v-p of merchandising Jean Srnecz. "I don't think publishers are being anti-distributor; I just think they're looking for a new way to market a new format." Smith said she "wouldn't rule out" a more consumer-based initiative for Informata down the road. At the moment, though, the company is high on a deal with Reciprocal aimed at selling e-book titles into libraries.
Baker and Taylor's launched its multi-pronged e-business in May 2000, when many were beginning to rethink such expansion. At present it is ramping up its original publishing program at a time of retrenchment for outfits like MightyWords. "I don't see it getting smaller by any means, but it depends on how the marketplace grows," Srnecz said. "I don't think any of us could predict what will happen."
