Conclusion
Librarians make purchases through book distributors
Librarians select books for purchase primarily from the catalogs of book distributors such as Coutts Information Services, D.A.P. and YBP. These aggregators of publications from a variety of publishers - large and indie alike - enable librarians to conduct one-stop shopping, while making invoicing and billing easier.
Overwhelmed by too many choices
Several librarians mentioned feeling overwhelmed with the amount of self-published authors and small publishers who exist outside the established distributor realm. These librarians relied on curators, faculty, and students to alert them to publications that may fall out of the mainstream of collection development practices.
Purchase Payment Issues
Lack of a library credit card and the need to have purchases pre-approved by administrative departments were two main barriers to purchasing outside the main vendor stream.
Budget and Purchasing Constraints, Limited Staff
Respondents also cited budget constraints and limited staff available to do the original cataloging required for some indie publications.
Indie Publishers need to have distributors
If indie publishers hope to include libraries as customers, they are advised to reach out to the book distributors used by libraries. Otherwise the landscape of indie books is too vast for librarians to be able to approach in any time-effective manner.
Libraries have restricted payment procedures
Until libraries are able to purchase books using credit cards (not happening for many libraries anytime soon), publishers will have to work within the payment structure that for most libraries includes invoices, checks, and administrative approval.
Librarians should research Small Press dIstributors who feature indie publishers
Librarians can expand the types of books offered in their libraries by researching a variety of distributors, including Small Press Distribution, that feature indie publishers.
Indie Publishers Should Attend Library Conferences
Publishers should send representatives to library conferences either as exhibitors in the vendor area or attendees so that they become better aware of how libraries function and what issues librarians face in collection development.
Librarians select books for purchase primarily from the catalogs of book distributors such as Coutts Information Services, D.A.P. and YBP. These aggregators of publications from a variety of publishers - large and indie alike - enable librarians to conduct one-stop shopping, while making invoicing and billing easier.
Overwhelmed by too many choices
Several librarians mentioned feeling overwhelmed with the amount of self-published authors and small publishers who exist outside the established distributor realm. These librarians relied on curators, faculty, and students to alert them to publications that may fall out of the mainstream of collection development practices.
Purchase Payment Issues
Lack of a library credit card and the need to have purchases pre-approved by administrative departments were two main barriers to purchasing outside the main vendor stream.
Budget and Purchasing Constraints, Limited Staff
Respondents also cited budget constraints and limited staff available to do the original cataloging required for some indie publications.
Indie Publishers need to have distributors
If indie publishers hope to include libraries as customers, they are advised to reach out to the book distributors used by libraries. Otherwise the landscape of indie books is too vast for librarians to be able to approach in any time-effective manner.
Libraries have restricted payment procedures
Until libraries are able to purchase books using credit cards (not happening for many libraries anytime soon), publishers will have to work within the payment structure that for most libraries includes invoices, checks, and administrative approval.
Librarians should research Small Press dIstributors who feature indie publishers
Librarians can expand the types of books offered in their libraries by researching a variety of distributors, including Small Press Distribution, that feature indie publishers.
Indie Publishers Should Attend Library Conferences
Publishers should send representatives to library conferences either as exhibitors in the vendor area or attendees so that they become better aware of how libraries function and what issues librarians face in collection development.