If you dream of seeing your book on library shelves, spring is the perfect time to contact them.
Most libraries buy books at the start and end of their fiscal years, and for many libraries that year runs from June-July, according to American Library Association figures. That gives you just enough time to whip up a promotional mailing to all the libraries you think might be interested in your work.
And if you don’t have promotional materials ready to roll, remember the university libraries will often have a buying cycle that starts and ends with the academic year – so you have time to prepare a late-summer campaign targeting academic institutions.
If you are unsure of where to begin in constructing a mailing to a library, you should take a look at the Publisher’s Marketing Association site. PMA is an association for the education and support of independent authors. Founders Tom and Marilyn Ross have organized co-operative mailings for several years, and their public library mailing deadlines are at the end of April, May and June – just in time for peak library sales. Mailings to libraries at academic institutions go out in August.
To become part of one of the PMA mailings you will have to join the association, create a flyer (PMA gives you specifications and recommendations for content and style) and have them printed and shipped before the deadlines (again, PMA has lots of helpful information).
All is not lost, however, if you miss the peak buying seasons, as most libraries make purchases throughout the year.
Other Ways to Attract Library Attention
At the very least your book should be listed with Books In Print, the database produced by R. R. Bowker, of all in-print titles.
Reviews play an important part in a library buyer’s decision to acquire a title. There are several publications that are very important to target if you wish to attract library attention. Many of these have a policy of not accepting self-published books, although if you have created a publishing imprint and your presentation is flawlessly professional, you may be able to ‘forget’ to mention that the book is self-published and succeed in obtaining a review. Competition for space in these publications is fierce. It is not enough to tell the reviewer the plot or subject of the book, you must give them information about marketing plans, potential audience, everything a major publisher would do.
The major publications read by librarians are listed at the end of this article.
Making It Easy to Order
For your book to be ordered by a library it must have a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) – a number distinct from the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and one that is used by libraries for their ordering process. This is can be obtained (by US publishers) through the Library of Congress’s Preassigned Control Number application program (for more information visit the Library of Congress’s guide for publishers online.
Cataloguing In Print (CIP) information is defined by the Library of Congress as a prepublication description of a book that is likely to be widely acquired by libraries. For this reason it can be difficult to obtain CIP information if you are a small publisher (and therefore less likely to be launching a nationwide marketing campaign) and the Library of Congress states that it will not give create CIP information for self-published or subsidy-published books. While it helps librarians understand more about your book, CIP information is not essential. Even without CIP information however, you should still be able to obtain a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN).
Publications read by Librarians:
Kirkus Reviews, 200 Park Avenue South, Suite 1118, New York, NY 10003. Tel. 212-777-4554.
The New York Times Book Review, 229 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036. Tel. 212-556-1234
Publishers Weekly, 245 W. 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. Tel. 212-463-6758.
The Horn Book Magazine, 56 Roland Street, Suite 200, Boston, MA 02129. Tel. 800-325-1170. Specifically for children’s and young adult books.
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