Our Process
To execute this project we employed the following research tools:
- Comprehensive surveys sent to librarians via listservs
- Comprehensive surveys sent to independent publishers
- Direct contacts with publishers and distributors
- An interview with a self-published author
- Attendance at BEA (Book Expo of America)
- Networked at Indie Book Buzz publishing event at Random House
- A visit to 'BGSQD', a new LGBTQ community bookstore in the Lower East Side of Manhattan
- A comprehensive literature review related to the topic
- Social media posts on LinkedIn and Twitter
Surveys
We decided that our initial task would be to produce and deliver a set of survey questions to independent/small publishers
and to librarians in research institutions. The information we were trying to ascertain included:
and to librarians in research institutions. The information we were trying to ascertain included:
- How the publishers sold books to libraries
- What percentage of sales were to research libraries
- What challenges and barriers publishers and librarians faced
- How publishers promoted their books to libraries
- Whether each group attended vendor expos, and, if so, which ones
- Was there any value for a library to purchase from small/indie publishers