BusinessTN

Dan Davidson of Jackson has never been one to sit back and wait for life to happen to him.

Wanting a more rewarding career, Davidson switched jobs in the late 1970s from education administration to a job selling books to libraries.

After three years, Davidson decided he could run his own book distribution company. In 1980, he founded Davidson Titles in Jackson with his wife, Brenda.

From that humble beginning--the company's first inventory was stored in a relative's basement--the 110-employee company is now considered one of the largest "selling distributors" of school library books in the country.

"He's got the biggest staff, biggest group of sales representatives and biggest warehouse of any of his direct competitors," says David Wexler, vice president for sales and marketing of the Lerner Publishing Group. Lerner is an independent children's book publisher of fiction and nonfiction for grades K-12.

Davidson Titles is also unique because its 60 nationwide sales reps will put actual books--and not just a catalog--into the hands of potential customers as part of the sales pitch. This allows the librarians to really see what they are getting.

"Unlike wholesalers who sit back and take orders or just sell services, his reps carry and show books," Wexler says. "That's key to selling a lot of books. Librarians need to see and touch them."

Business has grown every year for the 25-year-old company. The first year, sales were well under a million. In recent years, sales growth has averaged 12%. Last year, the company recorded more than $10 million in sales, Davidson says.

The company sells mostly nonfiction books and media center materials to K-12 public school libraries. Other markets include private schools, prison libraries and community colleges.

Services include sales of pre-selected packages for new school libraries and the sorting and electronic cataloging of book information provided so students can search an online card catalog. Davidson will also provide manual labor to help librarians place books on the shelves in the proper order.

Processing the book information onto searchable electronic records is another service the company is providing for book resellers and publishers.

"Right now, we have a customer that is a 12-campus college. We are doing all its library book processing," Davidson says. "This is an area of growth for us."

Davidson also is looking at getting into sales for the classroom. For example, the company is branching into sales of soft-back literature books or workbooks that might be required class reading for a particular school.

Typically, books sold for classroom use have to be adopted for use across an entire state. But Davidson says many states are getting away from that, and this is why he sees more potential in such sales.

Finding new avenues for sales is important in the school library world. Public funding for school media centers across the country is not a constant, Davidson says. It can vary from year to year and state to state. When schools have to cut funding, often high on the list of initial cuts is money for new books and videos for the media center, he says.

With more than 90% of his business in the public school sector, Davidson has protected his sales volume by having reps all over the country.

"So when California is suffering, maybe Florida is having good funding," he says. "When Texas is not doing well, Ohio is doing great."

When public funds for media centers dwindle, his services are even more valuable to customers, he says.

"When there is less money, librarians take their time. They want to actually see the books to make an informed decision," Davidson says. "They can't afford to make a mistake."