How to Help Books Get into Libraries 💖⚙️📚
Plus, bookish events coming soon!
Hello!
Happy Wednesday! I had so much fun last weekend at the Read Local Author Book Fair at the Johnston Public Library. It was amazing connecting with readers and authors in my area! Readers visited each table to have their brochures signed by the authors to be entered into a drawing hosted by the library. It led to lots of good conversations and new readers. I’m hoping to do more library events again soon! 💖
My next event is a book signing on Saturday, March 9th, at the Jordan Creek Barnes and Noble in West Des Moines from 1 - 3 pm. I’ll have copies of Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast, bookmarks, and postcards with me. If you’re local to central Iowa, come say hi! If you already have my books, bring them with you and come get bookmarks and postcards.
For more details on my upcoming bookish events, check out this page on my website.
During the Author Fair, a hardcover of Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast was added to Johnston Public Library’s collection. After it has been processed, patrons will be able to check my book out. While both Monsters and Machines + Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast have print books available from distributors to order, sometimes patrons have to request to have a book added to a library’s catalog.
The process for requesting a book is usually simple.1 Generally, libraries have a form either on their website or at the front desk for requests. Here’s an example from one of my local libraries in West Des Moines. They ask for the name of the book, author, category, and your library card number.
Another alternative is to ask if your library participates in interlibrary loans and check if a nearby library will loan a copy of the book. The form is similar at many locations. At the West Des Moines Library, it’s the same web page as the one for requesting a title purchase.
If you want an ebook added to your library’s catalog, the process is a little different. Libby has an excellent page on how to notify libraries you’re interested in a book here. Please note that this will not work for Monsters and Machines or Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast. Both of those titles are in Kindle Unlimited, which means if you’re a KU subscriber, you can read those titles for free. However, this also means the ebooks are exclusive to Amazon. Libraries can still order the print books, though.
However my books are read, whether its print, ebook, or borrowed from the library, I’m thankful for all my readers! 💖
Happy reading!
Kelsey
This is true for libraries in America. I’d love to know how the process works for my readers in other countries! If you know, please comment below and I’ll update this post.