POD inventory offers 200-plus foreign-language editions in previously unserved 'heart languages'

STL Distribution North America (STLD) has added a virtual Bible library to its inventory to help stores find and tap into new markets in their local communities.

The Elizabethton, Tenn.-based wholesaler is making available more than 200 foreign-language Bibles and New Testaments for overnight shipping through its new print-on-demand program (POD).

Being offered through a partnership with the Virtual Storehouse ministry, the Scriptures are being made available in languages like Uzbek, Caquinte and Siriono. With 31 ethnicities having a population of 1 million-plus in the U.S. and more than 30 million people speaking a primary language other than English or Spanish, the need for Bibles is being matched with new technology, company officials said.

Slow turns of stock prevented stores from carrying books in obscure languages in the past, but digital publishing means such Bibles can be printed in minutes when needed. Special orders placed with STLD can be printed and shipped the same day, consolidated with the store’s other items ordered from the distributor.

“This is a natural fit for us, and we are thrilled to help distribute God’s Word in the heart languages of another couple hundred tongues and dialects,” said Rick Regenfuss, STLD’s vice president of merchandising.

Don Olson, president of Virtual Storehouse, said that even though translations have been completed in many foreign languages, some of these Bibles have poor distribution. “Previously it has not been economically feasible to ship internationally from the region of origin,” he said. 

But STLD’s POD program—an alliance with technology provider Snowfall Press and printer Dickinson Press launched in May—“has dramatically improved this situation,” he added.