It's 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning in November, two weeks before the Guadalajara book fair is set to open in faraway Mexico. The light, high-ceilinged room of Bilingual Publications Company's office on the seventh floor of a building on Lafayette Street in New York City's SoHo thrums with lively concentration. Books neatly organized in bins on the four tables draw the full attention of seven librarians from the New York Public Library (the children's librarians were expected later in the day). They've come down to select from the many books Goodman and her staff have found for them from international and national publishers of Spanish-language books. It's like a show. The room sparks with the energy of the best book fairs as each librarian handles the books they are considering, and Goodman answers questions and guides individual librarians to books of interest.

This personal, energetic service is what has made Bilingual a go-to distributor for librarians, whether they are building on an extensive collection like NYPL's or making their first attempts to understand how to serve Spanish-language readers.

Librarians from NYPL visit Goodman's office four times a year. As old hands tending a large collection, they know what books they need. The process is less clear for others. "Newcomers don't have a shopping list," says Goodman. "I have to dig it out of them." To do that, she calls them up and explores their collection needs. "Then I can go to town," she exclaims. "Without their input I don't have work to do."

With many librarians, Goodman works through approval plans. The librarians give her a list of preferences and needs, then the Bilingual staff scouts and ships books that meet their requirements to the libraries for an examination period. After the librarians handle the books, they return what they don't want.

"Always a language person," she's fluent in Spanish and French as well as her native English, Goodman turned to work at a book-importing business after teaching romance languages in a high school. "The only live part of the business was showing Spanish books to librarians," she recalls. "People were starting to get that it was a good thing to be bicultural."

In 1974, Goodman decided she could improve on the materials she had to sell if she were the buyer. "So," she exclaims, "I went out and made me a company! I started this business using the buzzword of the day 'bilingual,' but if I had my druthers now I'd call it kaliedescope, because it is so dynamic. The picture changes daily." She has watched the changing times, continues to learn from her librarian teachers, and revels in being able to use Spanish in her work. She has also turned to teaching others, including sharing her extensive expertise when editors from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal decided to create Críticas.

"What doesn't change is that teachers and librarians are looking for the best in the field," Goodman says. Though teachers were important in the early years of the company, Bilingual now has a core business serving some 100 libraries, though many others look to it from time to time. The company moves between 80,000 and 100,000 titles for children and adults each year.

"The market is wide open," Goodman says. "That's what I thought in 1974, and it's what I think now. Now it's a given that there are readers in the United States, and my contention is that there will be ever more of these readers, new immigrants and people who want to keep reading in their heritage language." Goodman is happy to see publishers attending to copyright issues, which she sees as key to nurturing the market.

However, there are a few things the industry needs. "Guidance," Goodman says. "Everyone is publishing everything. There needs to be more market research and more dialog between readers and publishers." For this, librarians are critical. "Librarians have their fingers on the pulse of what the readers want," she explains. "I'm in New York City, the headquarters of publishing. The publishers need only talk to Adriana Tandler [Queens Borough PL], Ismael Alicea [NYPL], and any of many others right here to know what to do…. Why, for instance, isn't there a publisher who recognizes that the YA books being published are excellent and that these titles need to be published in Spanish?"

Beyond those office walls and site visits to libraries, book fairs are where it all happens for Goodman.

Her preparation for fairs like Guadalajara is extensive. Bilingual Publications is the eyes and hands for librarians who can't attend, and the walking resource for those who can. Those who attend receive "Making the Most of a Mexican Moment," a booklet on how to work with "Goodman's Guide to the Guadalajara Exhibits." These tools help librarians use their time wisely on the show floor.

The system is so seamless that Goodman doesn't take a booth for Bilingual at book fairs. Instead, she sets up a mailbox to collect orders and correspond with clients, so she and her staff can spend that critical time tag-teaming with librarians in the search for the right book—title by Spanish title.

Bilingual Publications Company 270 Lafayette St., NY, NY 10012; 212-431-3500; (fax) 212-431-3567; lindagoodman@juno.com