Getting Your Self-Published Book into the Library, Tips from Librarian Marlene Harris

Getting Your Self-Published Book into the Library, Tips from Librarian Marlene Harris

Interview by Lindsay Buroker, Indie Fantasy Author

Marlene Harris, technical services librarian and Chair of the ALCTS Affiliate Relations Committee.

So, you want to get your self-published book and/or ebook into the library, where lots and lots of new readers can discover you. Me too! That’s why I hunted down librarian Marlene Harris for an interview. First I’ll let her introduce herself:

I am a librarian with more than 15 years experience. I’ve worked in both public and academic libraries all over the United States, from the Chicago Public Library to the University of Alaska Anchorage. I’m currently a consultant, book reviewer and blogger at Reading Reality. I speak to librarians about using the blogosphere to help with collection development, and integrating ebooks into library collections. My take on the best ebook romances for 2011 was posted at Library Journal in December. I currently publish Ebook Review Central every Monday, a service that provides links to reviews and ratings for ebook-only titles from around the blogosphere.

Welcome, Marlene!

Now for the interview…

Q. Let’s start with the question on every self-published author’s mind: Can we donate copies of our books to local libraries and get them on the shelves? If so, what’s the process? I imagine just dumping them into the donations bin might not be a good idea.

A. This is a terrific question, and it’s one every library gets asked. Sometimes after the fact. Let’s say you are talking about self-published fiction and popular-type nonfiction books, and you want to get them into your local public library. That isn’t the only case, but it’s the easiest one to describe…Read More

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