Baker & Taylor and Centraal Boekhuis Partner to Distribute Rich Digital Media Content Via Blio

FRANKFURT, Germany, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor, Inc., the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products, is pleased to announce at Frankfurt Book Fair that it has entered into an agreement with Centraal Boekhuis, the leading Dutch book distributor and wholesaler, to distribute Dutch and Flemish content via Blio, the world's most engaging and interactive e-reader application.

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Through its strategic relationship with K-NFB Reading Technology, creator and developer of Blio, Baker & Taylor is responsible for distributing digital media content via Blio and its vast worldwide distribution network. Together, Baker & Taylor and Centraal Boekhuis will obtain the rights from Dutch and Belgian publishers to convert Dutch and Flemish titles for digital distribution via Blio.

"Centraal Boekhuis is a valued customer of Baker & Taylor. We are delighted to enhance our existing relationship by collectively bringing new digital book content to the marketplace," said Bob Nelson, President of Baker & Taylor's Digital Group. "This partnership enables Centraal Boekhuis to offer new and exciting digital media services to their customers as well."

By leveraging strong relationships with the publishing community as well with its best-of-breed digital technology partners LibreDigital and K-NFB Reading Technology, Baker & Taylor is converting new content for Blio every day. With more than 41,000 customers in 120 countries, Baker & Taylor's global reach makes it the perfect partner to provide superior content management and distribution for the world's most innovative e-reader application. Baker & Taylor continues to grow its vast array of products and services for the international marketplace.

"Blio finally brings multimedia to books. It is the best way to read cookbooks, travel guides and other richly illustrated non-fiction e-books. And it works on the devices people already own," said Hans Willem Cortenraad, CEO at Centraal Boekhuis. "We are very pleased to be able to offer this breakthrough in e-reading to our publishers and Web shops."

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is the world's largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products. The company leverages its unsurpassed worldwide distribution network to deliver rich content in multiple formats, anytime and anywhere. Baker & Taylor offers cutting-edge digital media services and innovative technology platforms to thousands of publishers, libraries and retailers worldwide.  Baker & Taylor also offers industry-leading customized library services and retail merchandising solutions. Baker & Taylor is proud to power Blio (blioreader.com), the world's most flexible, engaging and revolutionary e-reading application. Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

Baker & Taylor and the Baker & Taylor logo are trademarks of Baker & Taylor Inc. Blio is a trademark of K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. Other company and product names mentioned for identification purposes may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Centraal Boekhuis

For more than 135 years, Centraal Boekhuis has been a leading Dutch book wholesaler and distributor, currently providing services to more than 500 publishers and more than 1,800 booksellers. For publishers, Centraal Boekhuis is their entry into the Dutch and Flemish markets. For booksellers in the Netherlands and Flanders, Centraal Boekhuis is the provider of the broadest assortment of Dutch-language books as well as a carefully selected range of foreign-language books. For more information: www.centraal.boekhuis.nl.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor, Inc.