Matthews Book Company

What Matthews Book Company does

Matthews Book Company is a wholesale distributor of medical, nursing, allied health, veterinary, dental, and bioscience books and information products, founded in 1889 in St. Louis and headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The company serves B2B customers including independent and chain health science bookstores, academic and medical libraries, and healthcare institutions through account-based relationships, maintaining inventory from 350+ publishers covering over 100,000 titles. Matthews also distributes ProQuest Ebook Central (1,000,000+ titles from 1,500+ imprints), OCLC WorldCat Cataloging Partner records, and Marcive cataloging materials to library customers. Its operating geography is domestic to the United States, and it fulfills multi-channel orders via advanced search, fast order entry, express order entry, wantlist/phone/fax/email intake, and a 99.5%+ accuracy fulfillment rate.

The company's technology platform is built around proprietary and integrated tools including the Med-Book POS and inventory management system (deployed in 50 health science bookstore locations), Electronic Data Interchange (ISO X.12) for computer-to-computer purchase order transmission, weekly book-inventory database updates, and integrations with ProQuest Ebook Central and LibCentral for demand-driven and perpetual-access acquisition models. Library services extend to OCLC WorldCat MARC record delivery, approval plans based on NLM or Library of Congress Classification, standing order programs, and Doody Core Titles subscriptions. Matthews' affiliated companies include Matthews Medical and Scientific Books (retail bookstores), McCoy Health Science Supply (medical instruments, supplies, and apparel; acquired 2004), International Wholesale Supply (convenience-store distribution; acquired 2011), and Landmark and Star Distributing (both acquired 2012).

Matthews operates as a 100% employee-owned company via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) originally established in 1989 when John Marcus sold 30% of the company, with employee ownership progressively reaching 42% (1996), 75% (2004), and 100% (2012). The business model is B2B wholesale with account-based, pay-as-you-go transaction pricing where customers must register and sign in to access wholesale discounts; returns are accepted for credit up to 12 months from invoice date. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based wholesale distribution margins across medical, nursing, allied health, veterinary, dental, and bioscience titles, supplemented by Med-Book POS licensing, ebook distribution fees, and cataloging service fees to library customers.

Name

Matthews Book Company

Legal name

Matthews Book Company

Website

https://matthewsbooks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Matthews Book Company is a 100% employee-owned wholesale distributor of medical, nursing, and health science books, serving B2B customers including health science bookstores, academic/medical libraries, and publishers across the United States since 1889.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Book Wholesale Distribution

NAICS

Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers (424920)

akta.pro primary industry

Book Trade Wholesale (Print Books) (CRAOALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious & Specialty Publishing Distribution (CRAOALAD), E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)

Keywords

• Medical book distribution
• Wholesale book distributor
• Health science books
• Library cataloging services
• Bookstore POS systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Maryland Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Book Distribution: Matthews Book Company generates revenue through wholesale distribution of medical, nursing, allied health, veterinary, dental, and bioscience books to bookstores, libraries, and healthcare institutions. The company maintains inventory from over 350 publishers and distributes through account-based B2B relationships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Matthews Book Company is a wholesale distributor of medical, nursing, allied health, veterinary, dental, and bioscience books and information products. The company maintains inventory of over 100,000 titles from 350+ publishers and supplies bookstores, libraries, and healthcare institutions across the United States through account-based B2B relationships. In addition to book distribution, the company offers supplementary services including its proprietary Med-Book POS system, ProQuest Ebook Central distribution, cataloging services, approval plans, standing order programs, and e-commerce solutions.

Product overview

Matthews Book Company operates as a wholesale distributor of health science educational materials, primarily serving bookstores, libraries, and healthcare institutions. The core offering is the Matthews Book Company wholesale distribution platform, supplemented by the Med-Book Point of Sale System (an inventory management solution with 50 installations), ProQuest Ebook Central distribution services, WorldCat Cataloging Partner integration, Approval Plans, Standing Order Programs, and Doody Core Titles subscriptions for library customers. The company maintains over 100,000 titles from 350+ publishers and operates alongside affiliated brands including Matthews Medical and Scientific Books (retail bookstores), McCoy Health Science Supply (medical equipment), and International Wholesale Supply.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Med-Book: A turn-key inventory management system specifically designed by Matthews to fully meet the many specialized needs of the health science bookstore environment. Med-Book is a point-of-sale and inventory control system with 50 installations across the United States.

Products and services

• Matthews Book Company Wholesale Distribution Platform Core wholesale distribution platform providing medical, nursing, allied health, veterinary, dental, and bioscience books and information products from 350+ publishers to B2B customers (bookstores, libraries, healthcare institutions). Account-based ordering with access to 100,000+ titles.
• Med-Book Point of Sale System Proprietary turn-key inventory management and point-of-sale system tailored for health science bookstore environments. Includes inventory control, purchasing management, special order processing, course order entry, UPC/ISBN/SKU tracking, multi-location support, sales departments, on-hand/on-order quantities, physical inventory processing, and bestseller identification. Installed in 50 health science bookstores across the United States.
• ProQuest Ebook Central Distribution Distribution service providing library customers with access to ProQuest Ebook Central platform offering over 1,000,000 titles from 750+ publishers. Supports subscriptions, demand-driven acquisition, and perpetual access models.
• WorldCat Cataloging Partner Service OCLC WorldCat Cataloging Partners service that delivers MARC records with library materials ordered from Matthews, automatically setting holdings in WorldCat and improving cataloging efficiency.
• Approval Plans Customized library approval plans based on subject profile, publisher lists, format exclusions, and Standing Orders exclusions using NLM or Library of Congress Classification. Ships books, bibliographic slips, or combinations to health science libraries.
• Doody Core Titles Subscriptions Subscription-based collection development tool providing integrated online access to core title lists, DCT scoring and specialty information, edition tracking, and purchase history programs for health science libraries.
• Standing Order Program Program maintaining library collections up-to-date with new editions, annuals, and series. Includes monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and/or yearly reports for review with customization options for shipping schedules.
• E-Commerce Solutions E-commerce solutions for bookstore customers including online account access, fast order entry, express order entry, wish-list features (My Bookshelf), and approval plan management.
• Bookstore Services Comprehensive bookstore services including wantlist processing, inventory management, labels with bar-coded pricing, booklists, agency plans, and returns management with recall notifications.
• Publisher Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.5+% error-free accuracy rate in fulfillment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Matthews Medical and Scientific Books, Inc.coreOthersAffiliated retail company that operates health science bookstores. Part of the Matthews Group of Companies founded in 1889, serving the health science book distribution and retail market.
• McCoy Health Science SupplycoreOthersDistributor of medical instruments, supplies, and apparel. Acquired by Matthews in 2004 as part of the Matthews Group of Companies expansion.
• International Wholesale SupplyminorOthersWholesale distributor of clothing, souvenirs, accessories, consumables and novelty items to the convenience store market. Acquired by Matthews in 2011.
• Landmark DistributingminorOthersBook distribution company acquired by Matthews in 2012 as part of expansion strategy.
• Star DistributingminorOthersBook distribution company acquired by Matthews in 2012 as part of expansion strategy.
• ProQuestcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to offer ProQuest Ebook Central platform providing access to over 1,000,000 titles from 1,500+ imprints. Includes support for subscriptions, demand-driven acquisition, and perpetual access models for library customers.
• WorldCat/OCLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationWorldCat Cataloging Partner Service integration for MARC record delivery and library holdings management. Facilitates OCLC WorldCat Cataloguing Partners service for free MARC records within 24 hours of purchase.
• 350+ PublisherscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership network with over 350 publishers including Elsevier, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, McGraw-Hill, and others for distribution of medical, nursing, and health science titles.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Springer Healthcare: Publisher of medical textbooks and reference works with growing direct distribution in the same health-science vertical that Matthews supplies; an incumbent publisher that has been moving toward integrated digital distribution.
• McGraw Hill Education: Major medical textbook publisher and one of Matthews' 350+ publisher partners; competes indirectly by offering direct-to-institution distribution and digital platforms, reducing reliance on third-party wholesalers for some accounts.
• Amazon Business: Mega-platform B2B bookstore and procurement offering that competes broadly with Matthews' wholesale book distribution by providing inventory from major publishers to institutional buyers; not niche-specialized but increasingly attractive on price and convenience.
• EBSCO Information Services: Largest library content and services aggregator offering ebooks, databases, and approval plans; overlaps with Matthews' library offerings (ProQuest Ebook Central, Doody Core Titles subscriptions) at the library service layer rather than as a wholesale distributor.

Others

• ProQuest: Provider of the Ebook Central platform that Matthews distributes; a technology and content partner that could theoretically disintermediate the wholesale relationship by selling direct to libraries, making it both a partner and adjacent ecosystem participant.

Direct peers

• Ingram Content Group: Major global book wholesaler providing print and digital distribution plus publisher services; overlaps with Matthews in academic and library supply through its Coutts division, making it a directly comparable wholesale competitor across multiple customer segments.
• GOBI Library Solutions (EBSCO): Academic and health-science library acquisitions and approval-plan service owned by EBSCO; the most direct competitive overlap with Matthews' library segment, including health-science approval plans, standing orders, and MARC records delivery.
• Baker & Taylor: Largest US book wholesaler serving public libraries and bookstores with a comparable B2B wholesale distribution model across print and digital titles. Matthews competes with Baker & Taylor in library and retail book supply, but Matthews has differentiated through deep health-science specialization.
• Coutts Information Services: Specializes in health-science and academic library supply with approval plans and standing orders—nearly a one-to-one competitor to Matthews' library services business in the medical library vertical.
• Midwest Library Service: Regional B2B book distributor serving academic and medical libraries across the US Midwest with standing orders and approval plans; a directly comparable mid-sized niche wholesaler.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MatthewsBook
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/matthews-book-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matthews Book Company