The True Tails of Baker and Taylor

May 1, 2016

Avid readers, librarians, and collectors of Baker and Taylor memorabilia will be familiar with the two felines emblazoned on the company's items. Who were these characters, and how did they become the mascots for a major book distributor? The story begins in the early Eighties, when Louch was the assistant county librarian in Douglas County, NV. Constructed in the middle of an alfalfa field, the library building had a mouse problem. The logical solution: a cat, or cats. Feline fancier Louch and another library employee embarked on a journey to find the perfect animals to solve their dilemma. They discovered an obscure breed at a local show and saved enough money to purchase a Scottish Fold kitten, which they named Baker. The library's Baker and Taylor rep was aware of mascot "Baker" and eventually the company offered to purchase a second cat, to be named "Taylor," and the rest is history. VERDICT Replete with images and stories of these feline personalities, who were wildly popular not only in Douglas County but also became national celebrities, this heart-warming treasure of a book should appeal to readers of all ages. [See Prepub Alert, 11/23/15.]--Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016
To combat rodent problems at the new library in Miden, Nevada, two cat-loving librarians adopted a Scottish Fold and named it, very intentionally, Baker. After the eponymous book wholesaler heard of the pet, they smartly offered to buy the cash-strapped librarians a second cat named Taylor. That was in 1983. Decades later, Louch's book about the now-iconic cats and their library will appeal primarily to those who attend library conferences, giddily queuing up at the Baker & Taylor booth for freebies. Librarians will also identify with Louch's almost obsessive love of reading, with her staff struggling to master evolving technology, and with her desire to always do right by book, by patron, by cat. Many will also marvel at a marketing coup that saw more than one million tchotchkes distributed in two years and promoted the wholesaler in a way they couldn't overdo. They'll also note today's bloat of social-media cat memes and trending pets, and recognize the furry duo's fortuitous pre-Internet existence. Dog lovers and those uninterested in librarianship will be unmoved, but the rest of us will be purring happily.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)