Representing approximately 80 percent of the trade book market, the Big Five publishing houses—Hachette, Harper­Collins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster—are key stakeholders in the library value chain. In Five Questions with the Big Five, LJ interviews publishing’s top brass to better understand the issues they’re facing, the trends that have their attention, reading culture, and where they see library and publishing interests aligned. We kick off this series with Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster, as he reflects on the state of publishing and his company's 100th anniversary.

LJ: What is your personal experience with libraries? What do you value about libraries?

Jonathan Karp: I love libraries! I frequented my hometown library in Millburn, NJ, habitually and kept my library card for years after moving away, just in case I found myself back in town, needing to borrow something. There is so much to value—the books, of course, but also free magazines! And a place for people to gather.

Libraries and publishers share a goal of growing the share of the population who are readers and increasing how frequently they read. How can the two better collaborate to build and nurture a positive and strong reading culture in the United States?

I’m a big believer in bringing authors into libraries, where they can meet their readers. Libraries can also be great places for establishing and building book groups. One of our authors made it a practice to call into library-sponsored book groups. She met a lot of readers on those calls. 

What external forces do you see impacting publishing over the next three to five years?

I’m hoping that the fragmentation of media will create a desire among readers for more shared experiences. There’s a dazzling variety of books available, and we always want to let a thousand flowers bloom, but every now and then, it’s quite satisfying when multitudes of people are admiring the same flower.

What are the growth drivers where you see greatest opportunity for Simon & Schuster?

Social media is a growth driver. Digital media makes word-of-mouth exponentially more powerful, so when a book has an emotional impact on a lot of readers, a lot of people know about it fast, and that is great for Simon & Schuster. We’re also getting better and better at targeting niche audiences and making them aware of our books. 

In light of Simon & Schuster’s 100th anniversary, how would you characterize its legacy? What has differentiated Simon & Schuster from other publishers, and will that continue to be a defining value into the future?

The original Simon & Schuster had their own ideas for books. They asked Albert Einstein to write a book. They published one of the instant books in the days after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. One of their colleagues convinced Dale Carnegie to write How to Win Friends and Influence People. Today, there are more than 200 editors and publishers at Simon & Schuster who have the same mission as our founders: We want to find the most talented and authoritative authors and help them realize their best ideas.

Librarians might be interested to know that when we recently selected our favorite 100 Simon & Schuster books, one of them was The Library Book by Susan Orlean. It’s a classic. Every library should have at least two copies.