Where is the Spanish-language business going?
The need for Spanish materials continues to be on the rise. But in this economy the percentage of the Spanish–language budget hasn’t grown in libraries, and it’s very costly to bring product over and to manage the shelf life. We’re working with both local and offshore publishers in Mexico and Spain to establish a repository of [print on demand] titles to make it more cost effective for libraries to acquire Spanish-language books. In the next year to two, we hope to have 60-75 percent of our Spanish-language titles available in POD format. That model isn’t just for Spanish. The demand for all kinds of languages continues to grow whether it’s for Eastern Bloc languages, Chinese, or Japanese. The capabilities and proceeds from distributing Spanish-language will allow us to grow in other areas. One final question. Where do you see B&T heading? The exciting thing is where we’re going in relation to all kinds of content, particularly electronic. And the capability to work with partners who c
