Quality Books, the Oregon, Ill., book distributor to schools and libraries, has filed for bankruptcy.

In a letter sent to creditors last week, the company said that during the past few years it has "incurred substantial debt which it is unable to repay." After several meetings, the letter continued, the owners "found that they could no longer meet their obligations" and decided to liquidate the company's assets.

Quality Books, which was founded in 2007, began to downsize its operations in the spring, when it laid off a number of employees. In its letter to creditors, Quality Books said it has assigned the task of liquidating its assets to Chicago attorney Joseph Cohen, who is in charge of distributing the proceeds from the liquidation to its creditors.

In the letter, Quality listed total assets of $180,000 in cash.