With the acquisition, Emmanuel Kolady, former SVP and Head of Stores for the eastern half of CVS Retail, was named CEO in February 2022.

[2][3] Follett Corporation was founded in 1873 when Charles M. Barnes opened a used book store in his Wheaton, Illinois, home.

In the mid-1970s, Dwight began to prepare for his retirement and Dick Litzsinger, R. D. Follett's son-in-law, was elected president and chief executive officer.

In 1998, to strengthen the company's ability to meet the needs of its customers, Follett aligned its various business units under three market groups – Higher Education, Elementary and High Schools and Libraries.

[12][13][14] In April 2001, Ken Hull retired and Mark Litzsinger was elected chairman of Follett Corporation.

Following a rigorous analysis of the company's portfolio of business units, Follett merged Follett Media Distribution, which provided audio visual products to school and public libraries, into BWI in an effort to provide its library customers with one-stop shopping for all of their book and media needs.

In addition, in June 2003, Follett sold its interest in Library Systems & Services (LSSI).

Prior to becoming chairman, she served as assistant general counsel of Follett and was a member of the company's board of directors for 11 years.

Under O'Hara's direction, the board underwent another transformation by bringing in outside directors to lead Follett into the digital future.

Schneider came to Follett from Chicago-based RR Donnelley, where she had been president, and Digital Solutions and Chief Technology Officer.

Litzsinger succeeded Steve Waichler, who held the role on an interim basis following the passing of O'Hara in 2013.

[21][22] In the 2010s, the company focused on e-commerce,[23][24] and digital offerings and text rental,[25] in addition to its core areas of expertise.

In 2013, Follett was described as a $2.7 billion, privately held company serving 70,000 early childhood, primary and secondary schools, and more than 1,000 college campuses.

[32] In November 2021, Follett sold Baker & Taylor to an investment group led by B&T CEO Aman Kochar.

[33] In February 2022, Follett Higher Education and its corporate entity was acquired by an investment group led by Jefferson River Capital LLC.

Library industry veteran, George Coe had come to Follett in April 2016, as part of Follett's acquisition of Baker & Taylor, where Coe had served as president and CEO since 2014, and since 2000 had been president of B&T's library and education division, the company's largest group.

[44] Further acquisitions included Access-It Software in December 2022,[45] a New Zealand developer of a library management system for schools since 1994.

[46] In October 2022, Follett acquired Willo Labs, a solution which enables in-course purchasing of digital course materials when integrated into a campus Learning Management System.