Bejarano to B&T; Océano Added to B&T Catalog

by Aída Bardales -- Críticas, 11/1/2008 8:56:00 AM

Baker & Taylor (B&T) has hired Laura Bejarano, formerly with Brodart, as their Spanish-language Sales Specialist. In the newly created position, Bejarano will work closely with librarians to help build their Spanish-language collections. “Laura has a gift for selecting the right titles [for] librarian customers,” said Larry Bennett, VP of Spanish Language Materials and Print On Demand. 

Since her departure from Brodart this past August, Bejarano has been working with B&T on a part-time basis, primarily focusing on its Programa Puente, an initiative launched last July that aims to serve as a bridge between more than 40 Mexican publishers and the U.S. Spanish-language book market.

“When I got the approval to hire a dedicated sales consultant for the Spanish-language public library market,” said Bennett, “Laura was a no-brainer.” With more than ten years of experience, Bejarano has built strong relationships with both librarians and publishers. “She possesses a great depth of knowledge about the publishers, titles, and authors, has excellent rapport with librarians across the country,” he said.

Bejarano told Críticas she was very happy about the opportunity to work with B&T. “Despite the current financial crisis,” she said, “B&T is acknowledging the U.S. Spanish-language books market’s growth potential,” something she feels others in the industry ceased to do. “As a Mexican, that support is very important to me.”

“[We] hope Laura will bring some of the individualized services that customers have come to expect from smaller, boutique-type distributors,” said Bennett.

Currently living in San Francisco, Bejarano will move to New Jersey in January to work out of B&T corporate headquarters in Bridgewater.

Océano joins Programa Puente

Also starting this month, as part of Programa Puente, B&T will be distributing a portion of titles published by México’s Editorial Océano, including all of its children’s books. Bennett cited “Océano’s incredible depth and penchant for high quality and award winners.”

The agreement was signed in October. Meanwhile, Thomas Nelson will continue to serve as Océano’s U.S. distributor for a portion of Océano’s lineup for adults.