Why are new books taking longer than usual to get to me?
Why are new books taking longer than usual to get to me?
Answer
Ordering books for Public Libraries is more complicated than purchasing items for personal use; vendors that sell materials to libraries usually also provide customized library services which includes labels, security tags, property tags, cataloging, and protective wraps that enable books to last longer so they can be enjoyed by many customers over the years.
In early October of 2025, Baker & Taylor, one of the largest book distributors for public libraries, and HPL’s primary book vendor, announced that they were closing after almost 200 years in the business and began the process immediately.
This means that books that HPL staff had already ordered have to be reordered from different vendors, and that all processing (customized library services vendor used to offer) must be done in-house as we onboard with the small number of alternate vendors who specialize in serving libraries. As a result, these vendors are also now being overwhelmed by all the libraries across the country that are looking for solutions.
We are moving full speed ahead to go back to normal and provide you with the quality materials you love.
Thank you for your patience.