Your Impact on Book Buying
Educational publishers need to revise their marketing strategies
By Evan St. Lifer -- School Library Journal, 9/1/2004
In case the numbers in our nonfiction book buying survey ("SLJ's Book Buying Survey," pp. 40-44) aren't conclusive enough, let me be more succinct: school librarians, as a group, have nearly half a billion dollars in buying power and exert direct influence over the more than $1 billion that teachers spend annually on nonfiction titles. Throw in fiction—more prevalent in libraries than in classrooms—and the market for supplemental titles significantly influenced by librarians approaches $2 billion.
Interestingly, only trade publishers are keenly aware of librarians' influence. The instructional and educational publishers unabashedly market their materials to the classroom while continually eschewing school librarians. This bifurcated approach to selling books needs revamping to reflect what's actually taking place in our nation's schools: librarians' evaluations and recommendations on all supplemental products—particularly books—are pervasive.
Of critical import is the role of the public library, serving as an indispensable after-school homework haven to millions of children across the nation. Instructional and educational publishers sell their wares in Barnes & Noble, some to great success. How could their materials not be of use to the droves of children attending after-school programs in massive public library systems serving Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia? The answer is that these publishers are missing out on a potentially lucrative market.
While we're on the subject of marketing, let's examine the concentration of wealth in a school, as it relates to the purchase of books and related media. According to our survey, 2.2 million teachers spend $1.1 billion, or an average of more than $600 per teacher, annually. In this group, we included reading specialists, who spend significantly more than classroom teachers ($1,331), as do curriculum specialists ($929). Classroom teachers, in fact, spend much less (an average of $353), according to our survey, and most of that is from out-of-pocket funds. To publishers, that amounts to a very diffuse target market: a multitude of educators spending very few dollars per buyer. And to make matters worse, it's very difficult to track teachers' buying predilections because, unlike librarians, they don't buy through wholesalers. Ironically, with the little money that teachers have, they don't even obtain noteworthy discounts because they're buying from Amazon.com or running across the street to big bookstore chains, which offer negligible customer service.
The library market, by contrast, consists of roughly 85,000 school librarians or library media specialists, who spend an average of nearly $6,000 per school purely on nonfiction. Throw in fiction, and that amount climbs to $7,000-plus, a much more concentrated target market for publishers amounting to nearly $650 million. Add public libraries to the mix, dozens with materials budgets approaching $1 million or above, and the library market becomes that much more attractive for instructional and educational publishers. I encourage any instructional and educational publisher to contact Tutor.com's George Cigale (via jkohn@tutor.com), and ask him if public libraries have been a viable market for his homework-help products.
Librarians, don't underestimate the extent of your power over school and/or school district book purchases, whether you or someone else places the orders. Be proactive. The authenticity of a child's learning experience is at stake. Educators need to learn about good books, and with your expertise, you're the best person to make it happen.
Evan St. Lifer
Editor
estlifer@reedbusiness.com
