With the issues surrounding self-­publishing in libraries ever-present, LJ reached out to Robin Bradford, collection development librarian, Timberland Regional Library, WA, and sometime LJ music columnist, to tap into her expertise and discuss the stigmas, challenges, and possible solutions.

RB: There is a persistent belief that self-published books are somehow not as good as books traditionally published when, in fact, the things that seemingly add value to the latter—story editing, copy editing, cover artistry—aren’t exclusive to publishing companies. There are freelancers who provide all of these services.

What you’re not getting in self-­published books is someone [other than the author] deciding which stories deserve to be told. The success of a self-published author in libraries still depends on a hook. Genre authors probably have a better path into libraries because the fan base can push them forward and that sometimes carries over to patron requests. I remember...getting requests for Jessica Beck mysteries and couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t seeing them in catalogs or on mystery-focused websites. I would buy them, and they would go out more than just to the person who had requested them. Yet, they weren’t anywhere to be found.... The books were still being written, and the patrons were still asking for them.

One of the biggest challenges is time. There are a lot of self-published books, and they are hard to find. They’re not in vendor catalogs and show up on book-industry news sites or in review journals only under special circumstances—usually if the author has paid to make that happen. When you have a lot of traditionally published books to discover, making the time to seek out [indie] books can seem impossible. But if you’re involved with authors and readers on social media, you keep an ear out for who is generating a lot of interest. People want to hear of a simple solution to discover self-published titles to buy for their libraries. This magic thing doesn’t exist. Sometimes, it feels like you’re doing this job 24-7. It’s a good thing I love it.

Another big challenge is thinking of this as a separate collection. It isn’t. I don’t distinguish self-published mysteries from traditionally published mysteries.

Even though it still seems like an uphill climb, I think librarians are getting better at recognizing the value in books that come from outside of the traditional publishing network. Sometimes, they’re seeing names they may know from traditional publishing (e.g., JoAnn Ross, Bella Andre) who have decided to self-publish, or they’re hearing a lot of buzz about a self-published book.

Librarians on social media are coming into contact with a lot of indie authors, and that is bridging the gap. Patron requests also help. You may not have heard of a certain book until someone asks for it. Then you research and find out that it’s part of a series that might be popular.

This is probably the hardest question to answer. Some libraries want to hear from authors about their titles, others are inundated already with cold calls from authors and publishers. Getting their books into the generalized stream of where librarians usually see books would be a great start. If they get their books into vendor catalogs, places like [e-galley platform] Edelweiss, or on genre websites that list upcoming books, that would be good. Getting them reviewed is helpful, too, of course, but I’m not sure it’s worth the cost [some outlets charge indie authors for a review]. And they shouldn’t forget about us in their marketing plans—letting libraries know about the books, how and where they can be acquired, things like that. When it comes to digital titles, know that libraries require a little bit of extra preparation in terms of making books available.

Also, if authors are setting the price of their books for the library market, they shouldn’t price themselves out of a purchase. It’s extremely unlikely that a library is going to pay the same markup on an indie book as it is forced into paying for a proven high-circulation item like a John Grisham or James Patterson. I saw a book for sale from an indie author for $75 when it was $3.99 at Amazon. That book remains ­unpurchased.

I wish people would think of these books as just books and not worry about how they were published. The component parts of what it takes to make a book isn’t what readers are interested in. They want to find titles that they think they might enjoy. The company that corrals the indie market into a [manageable] work flow for libraries will make itself a mint.