Current supplier route comes first
Libraries usually buy through approved vendors. We confirm whether the title is available through the route each system uses, including Ingram where relevant, before any submission is sent.
Get Book Into Libraries: A Clear Acquisitions Route
A library-ready review of your book's supplier route, catalogue data and outreach plan for selected U.S. public libraries, up to 25 where your package includes them. Each library makes its own acquisition decision.
- Library distribution service materials written for acquisitions
- Supplier, metadata and cataloguing readiness checked before outreach
- Up to 25 public libraries where your package includes them
- A completed report showing what was sent and what came back
What it gives you
Library Distribution Service
To get book into libraries, a good pitch is only one part of the job. The title also has to be orderable, correctly catalogued and relevant to the collection. Library Focus starts with those practical checks, then builds outreach around the way acquisitions staff actually review books rather than around a general consumer sales message.
Collection fit is made specific
Local subject, setting, author connection and community demand can all matter. We state the strongest reason for each system to consider the title instead of burying it in the description.
Cataloguing details are ready
Audience, subject headings, format, edition data and any valid Library of Congress or Cataloging in Publication information are checked so acquisitions does not have to rebuild the record.
Outreach ends with a record
The report names the libraries, dates, submission route and any response received, so you can judge whether the work is worth repeating in another system or at another time.
From Supplier Check to Collection Review: Sell Books to Libraries
Library outreach works best in order. First the book has to be available through a route the library accepts. Then the catalogue record, collection fit and submission method are checked before the title reaches an acquisitions desk.
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Library Distribution Service Check
We start with the ordering route. A title can be easy to buy online and still be awkward for a library to acquire if it is missing from the supplier path that system uses. We check the current distribution setup, price, format and availability against the target libraries' stated procedures. Older guidance may still mention the library wholesaler Baker & Taylor, so we rely on the current vendor route named by each system rather than an outdated assumption.
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Cataloging in Publication and Metadata
Libraries need clean records. We review subject headings, audience, format, page count, publication date, edition details and a description written for a catalogue rather than a sales page. If Cataloging in Publication data or Library of Congress information already exists, it is checked for consistency rather than invented. Where metadata is thin or different between editions, we prepare a clearer record so the acquisitions team has less work to do.
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Collection Fit and Reviews
Collection policies explain what a system buys, who it serves and which subjects or formats it prioritises. We select libraries where the title has a plausible fit, then make that reason visible in the materials. Local relevance can help, as can recognised library review journals when coverage exists, but neither replaces supplier availability or a complete record. The aim is to give the selector useful information without turning the submission into a general sales pitch.
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Outreach
Approaches follow each library's stated submission route where one exists. For print, that may mean a publisher form, acquisitions email or supplier record. If digital editions are in scope, we also check whether OverDrive library distribution or another approved lending route makes the ebook discoverable. Some libraries will suggest a patron request, some will decline, and many will not reply. Those are normal outcomes, and the report records them plainly.
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Reporting and Handover
You receive a completed report showing the libraries approached, date, submission route, materials used and any response received. Requests for more information, policy notes and decisions are recorded as they came back. If timing, budget cycles or supplier availability suggests a better window for another approach, the handover explains that clearly so you know what to revisit and what not to repeat.
Ready when you are
Your library route starts here.
Bring the book, its formats and the distribution setup. A publishing consultant will check whether a library can order it, whether the catalogue data makes sense and whether the title has a credible collection fit. If the supplier route or metadata needs work first, that is where the conversation starts.
Get Free Consultation
or call +1 877 275 5624
Selected work
Library Marketing for Authors, Built Around Real Buying Routes
The Supplier Route Was Fixed Before Library Outreach Began
The author had already contacted several libraries and heard nothing. The book was visible on retail sites, but the systems being targeted could not order it through their usual supplier route. We paused the outreach, corrected the distribution setup and checked the record again before resubmitting. The change did not guarantee an acquisition; it simply meant the next librarian could reach a real buying decision instead of stopping at availability.
Read More
A Local History Matched to the Libraries It Served
The book covered the history of one county, but the original materials described it only as general social history. We rebuilt the approach around the towns, institutions and families named in the book, then selected systems serving those communities. The title had not changed. The reason to collect it had simply become visible to the people responsible for a local collection.
Read More
A Catalogue Record Cleaned Up Before It Reached Acquisitions
One edition had incomplete subject data, another used a different author name, and the audience field was blank. We corrected the inconsistencies, clarified the description and checked the publication details against the live formats. The result was a record an acquisitions librarian could understand quickly. It did not make the book more marketable; it removed avoidable friction from the decision.
Read More
Summaries of work carried out in house. Titles, authors and retail details are withheld under the confidentiality terms of the engagements.
Library Focus, Prepared for Library Buyers
Library Focus prepares your book for selected public libraries and the people responsible for acquisition decisions. We review the ISBN, formats, pricing, metadata, distribution route and library-facing information before any outreach begins.
Where included in your scope, we prepare the pitch materials for selected public libraries and check that the title can be found and ordered through the appropriate library distribution services. The book's subject, audience and availability are considered before the outreach list is prepared.
You receive the approved materials and a clear record of the work completed. The service helps you get your book into libraries with accurate information and a usable ordering route, while each library still decides whether the title fits its collection, budget and local demand.
The bookselling family
Complete Bookselling Support, All in One Place
Bookselling works best when each retail decision supports the next. Pricing, royalties, catalogue listings, returns and outreach are separate services, so you can choose only what your book actually needs.
Explore each option to see what it covers, what it depends on and how it fits your retail plan. Each page explains its scope and limits clearly.
Our commitment
Why authors trust us with library distribution decisions
A library submission has to pass supplier, metadata and collection checks before enthusiasm matters. We show those checks in the scope and keep the difference between an outreach attempt and an acquisition decision clear.
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01
A named coordinator
One person coordinates the readiness check, materials, outreach and final report, so you know who is responsible from the first supplier review through to the final handover and follow-up notes.
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02
Readiness before outreach
If the title is not orderable, the metadata conflicts or the chosen libraries are a poor fit, we stop there and explain why. Fixing the route first protects the contact list and gives each submission a fairer chance to be considered.
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03
You keep the files and accounts
Your copyright, ISBNs, publishing accounts, distribution accounts and approved materials remain yours. We prepare the library-facing work and coordinate the outreach. We do not acquire rights or take a share of library sales.
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A fixed written scope
The libraries or selection method, materials, formats, digital checks, outreach route, reporting and fee are written down before work begins. Anything outside the scope, including guaranteed placement, is excluded just as clearly.
Questions
About Library Focus
We prepare the record, confirm orderability and make the agreed submissions. Each library then decides under its collection policy, budget and supplier arrangements. No service can guarantee acquisition or shelf placement. The useful outcome is a submission that reaches a selector without failing on avoidable setup issues.
Where the chosen package states it, the project may cover up to 25 public libraries in the United States. The systems, or the method used to select them, are named in your scope before outreach begins.
Yes, some do. To sell books to libraries, the title still needs professional production, usable metadata, an accepted ordering route and a clear collection fit. Policies vary, so a decline may reflect budget, format or supplier rules rather than the writing.
It covers the readiness and outreach work named in your scope: supplier availability, catalogue information, target selection, submission materials and reporting. It does not replace the library's acquisition policy or guarantee that a system will order the title.
Sometimes. A durable hardcover can suit certain collections, but format is only one factor. Price, supplier availability, demand, shelf space and the library's policy still matter. We compare the available editions and present the format the system can actually buy rather than claiming that hardcover automatically earns preference.
Complete metadata, subject headings and valid Cataloging in Publication or Library of Congress data can reduce cataloguing work when those records exist. Reviews from recognised library review journals may strengthen the case. Neither guarantees selection, and we do not create credentials or review coverage the book does not have.
Yes. Patron requests can signal local demand, but the title still passes through collection policy and supplier checks. They work best when the book is already orderable and the metadata is complete. We treat them as a route into consideration, not a shortcut around the process.
If your ebook is available through OverDrive or another platform a library uses, that can make digital lending possible for that system. We can review availability where digital editions are in scope. Licensing, collection selection and OverDrive ebook lending terms remain with the platform and library.
Libraries use approved vendors, and those arrangements change. We check the supplier named by each target system. Where Ingram is part of that route, we confirm availability. Older documentation may still mention Baker & Taylor, so the live procedure comes first.
Often longer than authors expect because acquisitions follows collection schedules and budget cycles. A system may hold a title for later review rather than decide immediately. The final report records the timing, any response received and, where a later approach makes sense, the window that appears most practical.
Talk to a publishing consultant
See whether libraries can actually order your book
Thirty minutes, no obligation. We will look at your supplier route, formats and catalogue data, then tell you whether library outreach makes sense now or whether the setup needs work first.