Lakeside Book Company Expands Its Reach With Strategic Acquisition of BTPS

Lakeside Book Company has broadened its footprint in the publishing industry with the acquisition of Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (BTPS), a major distributor serving more than 250 independent and mid-sized presses. The deal, announced Friday afternoon, strengthens Lakeside’s service ecosystem and positions the company as a more comprehensive, end-to-end partner for publishers.

With this move, Lakeside adds full distribution and order-to-cash capabilities to its existing print and manufacturing operations. The company says the integration will offer publishers a “streamlined and unified solution to sell, print, store, and distribute” their titles through a single, financially stable provider focused entirely on books.

BTPS—built on the foundation of Bookmasters, which Baker & Taylor acquired in previous years—brings with it a well-established print-on-demand manufacturing facility in Ashland, Ohio. The entire operation will now fold into the Lakeside Book Company brand.

Michael Shea, president of book services at Lakeside, will oversee the new division. In the announcement, he emphasized the importance of BTPS’s core clients: “Small and mid-sized publishers, a key customer base for BTPS and a high-growth opportunity for our industry, will now have direct access to Lakeside Book’s expansive manufacturing capabilities. Together, we’re creating a seamless supply chain under one strong partner committed solely to the book business.”

For many smaller presses relying on BTPS for distribution support, the acquisition offers the promise of stability and expanded resources at a time when supply chain efficiency and financial resilience are more important than ever.