Baker & Taylor and New Orleans Public Library Working to Build a Model Urban Library System for the 21st Century

NEW ORLEANS, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books, and the New Orleans Public Library, are proud to announce at the American Library Association Annual Conference that they are working to build a world-class library system nearly six years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In the next year, the New Orleans Public Library will open five libraries, serving the community with books to be co-selected, cataloged and delivered by Baker & Taylor. These new libraries will provide services, programs, computers and meeting rooms that will make New Orleans Public Library the center of the community.

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"We are positively thrilled by this amazing opportunity to help rebuild a community through its libraries," said Jeff McDaniel, Vice President of Baker & Taylor's Customized Library Services. "Together with New Orleans Public Library, we will work to ensure that New Orleans and Southern Louisiana have the books and resources necessary to thrive."

The collaboration between Baker & Taylor's Customized Library Services and New Orleans Public Library first began in 2007 when the pair shared a vision and commitment to rebuild the library branches that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Since Hurricane Katrina, library collections for damaged or destroyed branches have been housed in five trailers that have had to serve areas of the city that desperately needed access to a modern, full-service library. New Orleans Public Library picked Baker & Taylor to co-select, catalog and process books and materials for these temporary facilities.

While the temporary facilities have provided the basic services that a library system offers, they lack meeting space, computer access, programming space and areas to promote collections to patrons. The following are permanent branch locations that are under construction or will soon be under construction: Algiers Regional, East New Orleans, Gentilly, Keller and Smith. In each of these, Baker & Taylor's Customized Library Services and the New Orleans Public Library team are partnering to provide a well-rounded collection of materials.

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is the world's largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products. The company leverages its unsurpassed worldwide distribution network to deliver rich content in multiple formats, anytime and anywhere. Baker & Taylor offers cutting-edge digital media services and innovative technology platforms to thousands of publishers, libraries and retailers worldwide.  Baker & Taylor also offers industry-leading customized library services and retail merchandising solutions. Baker & Taylor is proud to power Blio (blioreader.com), the world's most flexible, engaging and revolutionary e-reading application. Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

Baker & Taylor and the Baker & Taylor logo are trademarks of Baker & Taylor Inc. Blio is a trademark of K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. Other company and product names mentioned for identification purposes may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About New Orleans Public Library

The New Orleans Public Library (http://neworleanspubliclibrary.org), the second oldest library in Louisiana, was founded in 1896.  Governed by a nine-member board, NOPL operates 14 facilities including a main library located in the Central Business District, across from City Hall.  Seven branches were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.  Five of these, currently operated out of temporary facilities, are being reconstructed and slated to open by 2012. Its mission is to inspire the individual and enrich the community through access to information, resources, technology and programming that is delivered by knowledgeable and creative staff.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor