‘By hook or by crook,’ the Lawrence Public Library’s collections team gets books, materials in patrons’ hands

Even as the library world experiences turbulence with the closure of a major book distributor, the oft-unseen denizens of the Lawrence Public Library’s basement remain steady in delivering materials to their patrons.

One of the first things a patron will spot walking into the library through the Vermont Street entrance are the rows of new books adorned with recommendations from the literary experts who make up the Book Squad. 

Many readers in Lawrence look to these skilled professionals to supply their next read. But these librarians can recommend books until they’re blue in the face, and it wouldn’t do much good for the library if those books can’t be found in the online catalog or on the shelves.

That work rests on the Collection Services librarians, who collaborate with the “upstairs” librarians and programming departments, receive requests from patrons and read media reviews voraciously to decide what to buy.

One of Kevin Corcoran’s responsibilities as the collection services supervisor is to curate and purchase library materials through wholesale distributors.

He specializes in graphic novels for adults and youth, as well as all of the library’s non-book media, including DVDs, CDs, video games, board games and more.

“We buy everything that’s on the shelves upstairs,” Corcoran said of his whole department.

If you recently placed an upcoming book on hold at the library and were curious as to why it wasn’t in your hand on its publication date, it’s likely because of the closure of Baker & Taylor.

B&T was a wholesaler and distribution giant in the library world. Founded in 1828, the company shuttered this fall, almost two centuries later.

“It going away is not good for the entire (national) library environment,” Corcoran said.

Libraries across America relied on B&T for the bulk of their buying, and the closure sent many into a frenzy.

Corcoran said LPL hadn’t used B&T as a primary distributor since moving to another company, Ingram, in 2015. Now, thousands of libraries are making the same switch at the same time, and it “gums up the works a little bit,” as Corcoran said Ingram deliveries are sometimes slower to arrive.

“In the past, we’d get new titles two weeks out from their … publication date, and that way we could have them processed and ready to go on the shelf for our patrons the day they come out,” he said. “Now we’re seeing them show up on or after the release date, which is a bummer.”

Fortunately, Corcoran says the setback is temporary on Ingram’s end, and the effects are minor for LPL thanks, in part, to the institution’s unique structure and capacity. 

Many public libraries are required to have a written contract with a supplier before they can buy materials. LPL’s collections department isn’t bound to this rule, so they can order from any seller that takes their tax exemption form. That comes in handy for acquiring indie or self-published titles that are less readily available for Ingram, and for responding to approximately 500 to 600 purchasing requests from patrons per month.

Although there are naturally limits based on a material’s availability, price or hyperspecific content, “By hook or crook, we’ll get whatever we want,” Corcoran said.

LPL pays Ingram to provide some shelf-ready services, like putting the library’s proprietary stamps and protective covers on incoming books. However, library staff members are outfitted to do at least a portion of that processing in house so they’re not entirely beholden to Ingram.

“That’s one of the benefits of having a cataloging department — some libraries don’t and have to rely entirely on paying a vendor to do it for them,” Corcoran said.

Once the team receives incoming orders, the materials go to catalogers, like Emily McDonald, who make sure the item is added to the library’s online catalog.

In this process, McDonald adds a unique barcode to each book, spine stickers declaring the genre and RFID tags that speak to the self-checkout scanners.

An extra dose of care and attention is apparent in the children’s picture book section. McDonald receives all of these titles, which she sorts into subcategories, like “animals” and “celebrations.”

She worked on expanding the spine stickers in “celebrations” to include stickers for Ramadan and unique Jewish holidays, so that Hanukkah and Passover have their own tags, rather than share a generic one.

“We care a lot. We want patrons to find the right books,” McDonald said. “So we put a lot of effort into making sure that happens.”

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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