This email contains important information that affects you if your K-12 school orders materials through Baker & Taylor (B+T).

You may be aware that in April 2016, Follett purchased B+T. CLC has discount contracts with B+T for books and non-print products. Unfortunately, Follett will not offer any contract discount to CLC or any other consortium.

Last month, B+T announced that all B+T K-12 school accounts would be transitioned to Follett by March 3, 2017. Since that announcement, CLC has been in discussions with company representatives. We can now confirm that Follett will NOT honor CLC's B+T contract pricing for K-12 schools. However, B+T has agreed to continue to serve CLC K-12 members and provide the B+T contracted book discounts through June 30. For more information about this extended offer, see below.

We are as disappointed about this significant change to your purchasing power as you are. We will continue to communicate with Follett to see if they will change their position regarding consortium discounts.

Meanwhile, CLC is committed to serving our school library members! Please keep the following in mind as you make your purchasing decisions going forward:

• CLC school members will get 3 more months of B+T book discounts than non-CLC members. B+T K-12 school customers that are NOT CLC members must be moved over to Follett by March 3. CLC members may continue to order books through B+T at contracted prices until June 30. If your school is told that you must move over to Follett before June 30, contact Andrea Turner, CLC's B+T representative for schools - 800-775-1200 x2281, andrea.turner@baker-taylor.com.
   
• CLC school members that don't currently have a B+T account may open one to take advantage of this short-term offer. Contact Andrea Turner (see above) to set up your account.

• B+T is NOT the only CLC discounted book and non-print supplier for school libraries. Ingram, Mackin, and other CLC contracted suppliers offer excellent pricing and are eager to work with schools.
  See our book suppliers
  See our non-print suppliers (remember, these contracts expire 2/28 - new contracts will begin 3/1)
   
• It may be easier than you think to integrate non-Follett purchases with your Destiny catalog! We'll help you learn how. Look for news about webinars with Mackin and Ingram specifically for CLC's school library members. The webinars will be in late February and early March, and will go over discounts, ordering portals, and how to integrate your purchases with your catalog. We hope to have several of your Connecticut colleagues who have used these suppliers share their tips and tricks.

We know that mergers mean change and change can be hard. We are doing the best we can to smooth the transition, lessen the impact on you, and make sure you are aware that you have options. Please note that this change only impacts K-12 schools - if you also work in another type of library, they will not be affected.

Please feel free to contact me with your questions.

Ellen