The Author's Guide to Libraries

By Cari Dubiel

So you've published a book and you want it in a library. How do you start?

Written by a veteran librarian and hybrid author, this handy, slim volume will help authors reach out to libraries. If you're an author who wants to understand how to get into those stacks--whether hybrid, indie, or traditionally published--you're in the right place. You'll learn about the mission of libraries today, how librarians and library workers select books, and how to become involved with programming and becoming active in your local community. Make sure to have it in your back pocket every time you talk to a librarian!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duskbound Books
• Release date: Mar 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224423828

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

So you’re a writer. You want to get your book into your local library. Where do you start?

I’ll tell you how not to start:

Pretend you’re interested in joining the library’s book club, then ask to have them read your book

Follow a library worker around and ask them repeatedly to add your book to the collection

Call three times in one day asking if the library has ordered your book

Insist that the library purchase a second copy of your book when the first copy hasn’t even circulated once

Hijack a library’s social media thread with a link to your book

Send the librarian an unsolicited copy of your book and ask them to send you a thank you letter for your IRS tax return

Yes, all these things have happened to me, and I’m sure there are more incidents I’m not remembering!

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, I don’t have to tell you the don’ts of getting your book into libraries (although I’m going to!) But together, we can focus on the dos. Knowing how libraries work is half the battle, and I’m an indie writer with experience in both.

A little bit about me

I began my library work as a high school shelver in 1997. I’d been writing since I was a child, and I made the cringey note in my interview that I could think about writing while I’m shelving books. One of the interview questions was do you get bored easily? so maybe it was an okay answer? Anyway, I quickly found my young know-it-all self wanting to know more and more about how the library works. I went into technical services processing, which is a fancy way to say I put jacket covers and stickers on books to get them ready for circulation. Following that, I earned my master’s in library and information science and headed into a professional career.

I have done a ton of stuff in public libraries (mostly in the one I’ve been working for since the dinosaur ages, where I’m currently assistant director). Besides shelving and technical services, I have worked in circulation, reference, collection development, public programming, and outreach. I have been both a manager and an administrator. Recently, I’ve even worked in the children’s department, although I haven’t done a story time. This is where I come to my first disclaimer: nothing in this book represents the views of my employer; my words represent my thoughts and mine alone. 

I often find myself in the crosshairs of two different bookish worlds. There is a fine balance between selling work and providing it via free access. My cognitive dissonance kicks in when I see my friends signing big deals with Amazon, which doesn’t sell its ebooks and audiobooks to library platforms. I am represented traditionally in addition to my indie work, and I often wonder how I would feel if one of Amazon’s imprints offered me a deal.

My ultimate goal with this book is to illuminate the two sides of these worlds, creating a benefit to everyone involved. While my primary audience is indie, hybrid, and traditionally published authors, library workers can benefit from this work too. A fellow indie writer described the library as a black box, and it shouldn’t be that way! We should work together to promote each other’s missions. (Side note: a library’s mission isn’t just about books. I’ll go into this in more detail later on, but it’s important to say it up front. We’ve changed a lot just over the years I have been working in libraries.)

A disclaimer for library workers: This work is informed by my experience in Ohio public libraries, which are the best-funded libraries in the world. I was able to interview many people outside of Ohio, but if I have made mistakes representing other libraries, please let me know. I also share many anecdotes from my own experience.

I have alternated between the terms of librarian, library worker, and librarians and library workers. The generally accepted definition of a librarian is someone who has completed a master's degree in library and/or information science. However, some librarians may have reached their status by virtue of experience and tenure. Also, library workers are vital parts of our institutions—the outdated term of paraprofessional has never been accurate. Every library worker should meet the standard of professionalism. There is no paradigm for the person who serves you at the library. I'd like to do my best to encompass the variety of valuable contributors across our institutions.

Thank you to the librarians and authors who assisted with this project! You’ll see quotes and statistics throughout the book. I conducted a small survey of librarians and library workers who are members of the Library Management and Programming Facebook groups. These are large groups, and the people in them typically deal the most with authors. 24 participants responded to my survey, coming from all over the country. 91% work in public libraries, and 9% in academic. I also reached out to individual authors and librarians about their experiences; you'll see the list of those who wished to be named in the acknowledgments. In most cases, I have preserved the original formatting of the quotes.

There are three appendices: one includes resources I'll refer to in the text, one contains recommended books, and the last one contains the full interviews from the authors and librarians who were kind enough to take extra time with me. I am truly lucky to have a strong community surrounding me in both my writing and library lives.

Now let's get on with the show!

CHAPTER 1

THE BASICS: AKA THE BORING STUFF

Okay, maybe you won't find this boring. And I hope you won't! We are hitting the high points of basic library service in the United States as it is today. Reading this chapter will give you context for the development of the modern library and how modern libraries operate.

One of my first library school classes was called Foundations of Library and Information Science. I can’t replicate that entire course here, nor do you want me to. So here's a brief list of facts and concepts you might want to know about.

Membership libraries, which required a small fee from its patrons to operate, began opening after the Revolutionary War. These gave way to tax-funded libraries shortly before the Civil War.

Librarianship was the domain of elite men but eventually became a woman’s profession, even though men were generally still in leadership. (This has not changed much.)

Melvil Dewey founded the first library school in 1887. This is the eponymous Dewey of the decimal system. The classification is sorted into hundreds, tens, and decimals to represent individual topics. Libraries do still use this, but it is now outdated and the opposite of inclusive. The 200s section (religion) is particularly skewed. Most of the section is devoted to Christianity, while other religions receive only decimal numbers. Some libraries have switched to subject cataloging under BISAC, which is the same classification scheme indie authors use to tag their books in Amazon and Ingram. Others have embraced alternate classification schemes, including modified versions of Dewey. Fun fact: Dewey was an advocate of simplified spelling and sometimes signed his name Melvil Dui. How about the Dui Decimal System?

Andrew Carnegie is the guy to know when it comes to public libraries in the early twentieth century. He was the Pittsburgh steelman who built 3500 libraries worldwide. While Carnegie libraries are represent many architectural styles of the day, they are now outdated and difficult to renovate. Many public libraries have created additions or moved from original buildings into more modern ones. Some cities have moved different services into old Carnegie buildings such as museums, art centers, and even bars.

Librarians used to determine what a person could and couldn’t read. They’d have to go back into the stacks to get books when you asked for them, and they’d participate in book bans. But in the mid-twentieth century, libraries started adding public programs and meeting rooms. The American Library Association began touting intellectual freedom and the right to read in the 1950s. These tenets remain our highest standards today.

For more information, check out the Digital Public Library of America, a nonprofit that collects information and resources about and for libraries. The American Library Association’s website will have the latest on library news too. (As a reminder, links to all resources are collected in Appendix 1.)

Do you really have to have a master’s degree to work in a library?

Not at all. Library science and information degrees provide credentials for professionals to ascend to strategic positions in libraries, but they are nowhere near necessary. Shelver roles are often filled by high school students, and other positions require either a high school or bachelor’s degree. Some employees have earned specialty credentials such as a master’s in public administration or a master’s in counseling or community advocacy. We’ll discuss some of the roles that exist in libraries shortly.

Brief Soapbox: I got my master’s in 2005 and worked as a graduate assistant, which meant I did not pay for tuition. In my case, obtaining that degree made sense because it was free. Now I have more opportunities than someone without a master’s