Author Copies & Libraries

That's usually the publisher's job. The sales-force which works for the publisher should have someone who specialises in getting books into libraries.

If your publisher doesn't do that, or you have self-published, then you're going to have to contact the libraries yourself, one at a time, and ask how to proceed.

There are a couple of specialist publications for librarians, which review books: but they usually only accept books from publishers 3-6 months prior to publication, in order to have time to write and publish the reviews.

And for more ways to obsess, you can see which libraries have your book at this link:

http://www.worldcat.org/title/voiceless/oclc/768793332&referer=brief_results

(None are listed now only because the book isn't out yet.)

CaroGirl said:

For published authors, how do you ensure your book gets carried by local library branches? Do you call and ask them to order or do you donate author copies?

I'm in a pretty large city with lots of library branches, although an amalgamation effort allows for inter-library transfers. I'd be thrilled to see my novel on library shelves. My publisher is a small (but respected) national press.

How did you get your book into the library?

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I'll fall in with the "let your publisher do it" crowd, but I'll offer a reminder for you to be sure to register with PLR and Access Copyright next year, for your payments...

First, of course, chances are your book will have to be in hard cover, or libraries aren't likely to take it. At the very least, it has to be in trade paperback. Ordinary paperbacks have a very, very small footprint in most libraries.

Your local library should carry your book because they know you. If you aren't a regular patron, why would they care about a phone call?

If they do know you, it's a good idea to donate a copy or two. This won't harm your sales, will probably help them, and donating to a cash-strapped library means they'll be grateful.

And for the most part, libraries do not get their books from publisher contact, though many libraries do receive various catalogues from publishers, at least the ones in my state. Libraries in my state, at least, choose their books from two primary sources. One is the bestseller list, and the other is from reviews in such places as Library Journal. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/

But for local libraries, get out and do your own contacting. It's silly to hope the publisher will do it, or that your book will automatically get a review in Library Journal. Go to the local libraries in person and talk to them. If need be, donate books to any nearby library who will take them. Most libraries love local writers, and want their books on the shelves, but they have to know you.

And whether they buy it, or you donate it, you really want your books there. The more library patrons who read your book there, and like it, the better. Libraries are still where many readers find new writers, and if they like the first book they read, they'll start buying other you write, and even the one they read free from the library.

Libraries are always cash-strapped, they can only acquire so many new books each month, and unless you're a famous writer, you won't be on the automatic buy list.

But wherever you are, you want to access local libraries personally. Shelf space is scarce world-wide, libraries can only take a tiny fraction of the books published each year, and I mean a tiny fraction. You have to give local libraries a reason to choose your book over the thousands of others wanting the same shelf space, and the only way to ensure this is to be a regular visitor to local branches. If you're friends with libraries, libraries will be friends with you. Expecting anyone else to get the job done, your publisher, or reviews, etc., just won't cut it unless your book is a bestseller.

I know that in our (small) library, if a local author came in gave us a few copies of his book, we'd definitely put it on the shelf, despite our shelves being constantly over-crowded. (The only time we wouldn't is if they were self-pubbed.) We like local authors, and we try to promote them if we know them.

We're lucky in that we have a decent budget for new books, and can pretty much get any book that's requested by our patrons as long as it's available through our supplier. But I know that other public libraries in the area are not as lucky, and not necessarily able to get every book that's requested if it doesn't happen to be well-known or very popular.

I would talk to the reference librarian, and if it's YA, the head of children's/YA as well. You can call before you go in, just to see what the best time to speak to someone would be. Be friendly, maybe signing a few of the books would help. You can even ask if they'd like you to do a reading. Libraries love to set up little things like that for their events calendar. But don't let them take your books without talking to someone first. Why? Because many libraries take donations and put them in the book sale bin.

Adding: If you want them to order the books from your publisher, you have to speak to the same people I mentioned above. Just give them a call.

Just to add, libraries are fine with trade paperbacks. They are lighter, cheaper, take up less space, bindings generally take abuse, and patron feedback has been positive. Library directors hate spam with as much passion as the rest of us, but love when a patron with a local library card comes in and fills out a material purchase form.

Many large metro libraries are a different animal, using professional review sites as a filter for any purchases outside of their buying program subscription.

My wife was director of a rural library for six years, and patron suggestions were always welcome.

eqb said:

And for more ways to obsess, you can see which libraries have your book at this link:

http://www.worldcat.org/title/voiceless/oclc/768793332&referer=brief_results

(None are listed now only because the book isn't out yet.)

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But also keep in mind that WorldCat is far from a complete list of libraries carrying a particular title for a variety of reasons. Not all libraries are members of the WC cooperative, and not all libraries upload their collection to searchable databases outside their region/county. A WC search will give you anywhere from a half to only a quarter of the true number of holdings, despite some of the claims I've read.

On the other hand, a title might only seem to be shelved in a college library in a WC listing because the book is available via ILL. For example, if you search a college catalog for your book, you might get a "false-positive" result when it shows it's "available" through WC.

The library that employs me doesn't have criteria based on whether a book is hardcover or paperback. We do even have some self published books, mostly from local authors. Those, we receive because the author came in and said "I wrote this book and would like to donate it" and my boss said "Yeah, cool" (paraphrased).

Making sure it gets reviewed in something like Library Journal or Publisher's Weekly is another good way to go about it (something my boss bases a lot of her buying choices off of).

CaroGirl said:

How did you get your book into the library?

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I emailed the libraries with an attachment of my book cover, back blurb, publisher contact details and publication date. Libraries purchase from the publisher not you so contact your publisher's marketing department, tell them what you're doing and ask them for ordering information. Most of the libraries I contacted thanked me for the heads-up and most of them ordered at least one copy.

It's always good to cooperate in the marketing of your book, especially when your publisher is a small house. Find out what they're doing to market the book and go the extra mile to do your bit. My novel was historical so I sent a review copy to The Historical Novel Society, found websites that reviewed historicals and sent them a copy, sent gift copies as door prizes for seminars, fairs and regional historical societies etc. I wound up being asked to contribute to an article for The Historical Novel Society which was a great marketing tool as well. Good luck!

Oh, and one more thing. If your novel would be good as a summer read it could be a great idea to take a copy to resorts and RV campgrounds in your area, let them have a look at it and give them ordering information as well. Actually my in-laws gave me that idea when they parked their motor home at a local camp ground and my mother-in-law had nothing to read.

For my local library, I donate 2-3 copies when my author copies arrive. It's a courtesy as a member of the library.

For other libraries, if I get a direct request asking for one because they are out of budget for the year, I'll send one. Otherwise, I'll wait for them to order.

CaroGirl said:

For published authors, how do you ensure your book gets carried by local library branches? Do you call and ask them to order or do you donate author copies?

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Libraries are never required to buy your books. On the other hand, most have a soft spot for local authors. You can, like any other patron, fill out a book purchase request to be considered by their acquisitions board.

Donating a copy is good, too. The first copy of my wife's local history was donated to the library. It was checked out all the time, so the library went ahead and bought two more copies.

GingerGunlock said:

Making sure it gets reviewed in something like Library Journal or Publisher's Weekly is another good way to go about it (something my boss bases a lot of her buying choices off of).

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That's where most libraries find books, but there's nothing a writer can do to make sure a book gets reviewed in either place. Where a book gets reviewed is completely out of the writer's control.

Jamesaritchie said:

That's where most libraries find books, but there's nothing a writer can do to make sure a book gets reviewed in either place. Where a book gets reviewed is completely out of the writer's control.

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Good point. I in fact have no idea how those publications make their review selections.

Generally, publishers send them review copies and press releases 3-6 months prior to publication, and the magazines choose a few to review out of the hundreds of books they receive.

If books are sent in too close to or too soon before publication, the books are automatically rejected for review.

I donated a copy of my self-published book to our library (town of 40,000 with a well-funded library). Months later, when it wasn't on the shelf, I questioned the librarian who said they almost never accept a self-published book for shelving, and that they probably donated my book to the Friends of the Library resale shop. It would have been nice if they told me that when I brought it in. A best friend told me that at his town library they won't accept any book donations from patrons, however published and no matter where the author is from, as the librarian wants to make all selections.

Norman D Gutter said:

I donated a copy of my self-published book to our library (town of 40,000 with a well-funded library). Months later, when it wasn't on the shelf, I questioned the librarian who said they almost never accept a self-published book for shelving, and that they probably donated my book to the Friends of the Library resale shop. It would have been nice if they told me that when I brought it in. A best friend told me that at his town library they won't accept any book donations from patron, however published and no matter where the author is from, as the librarian wants to make all selections.

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I understand not taking or keeping a self-published book. Libraries simply have too little room for this. But not taking donations from anyone is stupid.

As far as I can tell, there isn't a library in my state that follows such a moronic policy. Doing so is a great way to lose patrons.

willietheshakes said:

I'll fall in with the "let your publisher do it" crowd, but I'll offer a reminder for you to be sure to register with PLR and Access Copyright next year, for your payments...

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Yup, my publisher does this... and PLR and Access Copyright ROCK. Just got my PLR cheque a month or two ago... a very happy day

Jamesaritchie said:

I understand not taking or keeping a self-published book. Libraries simply have too little room for this. But not taking donations from anyone is stupid.

As far as I can tell, there isn't a library in my state that follows such a moronic policy. Doing so is a great way to lose patrons.

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My boss (the library director) has made the rule that she's the only one who can "okay" donations when they come in. We have so much crap that people try to give us that we just can't get either use or sell in our perpetual booksale, she finally put a moratorium on just accepting everything (we're talking out of print magazines, 70's encyclopedias, stenography books, moldy gross disgusting books...)

Of course, a lot of donations that would otherwise come in are just fine. Brand new, read once, now the patron thinks "Oh, I should give this to the library. Everybody wants to read it now!" And we have to say no, if my boss isn't there. It's super lame, because some of us are in fact able to exercise judgement, and sometimes those people don't come back or call back when we inform them of my boss' hours. Those books are in their car right now and they're getting rid of them, come hell or high water. I point them at the local nursing homes, which are frequently lacking in their own library materials.

Sometimes the way my boss declines materials is not exactly the most beneficial to our PR, however, and that's no good either. Our library is a house that was built in the 1890's, though, and our space is indeed extremely limited. But, people don't become librarians because they've got amazing social skills. So there it is.

GingerGunlock said:

My boss (the library director) has made the rule that she's the only one who can "okay" donations when they come in. We have so much crap that people try to give us that we just can't get either use or sell in our perpetual booksale, she finally put a moratorium on just accepting everything (we're talking out of print magazines, 70's encyclopedias, stenography books, moldy gross disgusting books...)

Of course, a lot of donations that would otherwise come in are just fine. Brand new, read once, now the patron thinks "Oh, I should give this to the library. Everybody wants to read it now!" And we have to say no, if my boss isn't there. It's super lame, because some of us are in fact able to exercise judgement, and sometimes those people don't come back or call back when we inform them of my boss' hours. Those books are in their car right now and they're getting rid of them, come hell or high water. I point them at the local nursing homes, which are frequently lacking in their own library materials.

Sometimes the way my boss declines materials is not exactly the most beneficial to our PR, however, and that's no good either. Our library is a house that was built in the 1890's, though, and our space is indeed extremely limited. But, people don't become librarians because they've got amazing social skills. So there it is.

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Bought, read once, and by a fan, I understand, but a brand new book just released by a major publisher, and given to the library by the author?

Any library in my state would love to have writers donate such books.

I donated to a couple of local libraries in my county, just to get kissy-face with the staff. But I'm in agreement about letting your publisher do this. It also helps to have a shiny hardback and some reputable reviews, like Kirkus and Library Journal.

tri