Public Library Book Acquisition
The Quick-and-Dirty Process

What happens when you want a book and are trying to figure out if your local public library will carry it? When will it arrive and will it be in your desired format or delivery?
In previous posts, I have discussed OverDrive and how to navigate it. Today, I’m back discussing the quick-and-dirty process of public library book acquisition in print and audio formats.
And since some aspects of acquisition are universal regardless of format, a portion of this article will mirror topics I covered in my previous posts on OverDrive.
To understand acquisition in terms of a public library setting also means knowing about Collection Development. Every library’s collection development policy is different. At its heart, the library will provide its highest level of quality information services and materials, which, in turn, support lifelong learning. The library hopes items will circulate based on the appeals to and interests of the community it serves. The library’s collection reshapes and grows (or should) as the community does.
Traditional (trad), indie/self-published, and hybrid authors’ titles are distributed through places like their publisher websites, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and several others. But the library uses vendors like Baker & Taylor, Ingram, and Midwest Tape to fulfill the acquisition. And libraries acquire self-published titles that work with vendors like them. Another thing to keep in mind is knowing publishers, their parent companies, their imprints, and other areas they have stakes in. A smaller or indie publisher might distribute through a larger arm of that company.
The libraries purchase titles as an individual local library and/or as a branch system. And the acquisition or selection rules differ per library system to support the needs and desires of our communities. They may choose to follow their local rules for collection development or agree, as a branch system, regional system, or consortium.
The tools we often use to steer those decisions are review journals like Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, etc. But many are also considering Patron-Driven Acquisition as holding the same clout, in the way major national newspaper Best Sellers lists, awards/prizes, and etc. have previously.
Librarians used to use their trained authority in terms of acquisition back in the day, but now purchasing has become more about patron/customer demand. Patron-Driven Acquisition (aka Demand-Driven Acquisition) is based on the patrons’ want, need, or desire, vs. the “longevity” of selected items in traditional collection development. PDA is a great way for a reader to recommend an indie/self-published or hybrid author with whom a librarian may be unfamiliar. And social media/buzz/influencing plays an amazingly huge part of that, especially when it comes to genre fiction (e.g. Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Domestic and/or Book Club Fiction, etc.).
Making suggestions for a library’s purchase under Patron-Driven Demand has never been easier. New York Public Library has “Recommend a Title” and “Submission Guidelines for Authors and Publishers” pages. Queens Library has their “Suggest-A-Book Service.” My own library checks its evergreen patron recommendation list daily and suggestion box weekly.
But the book/audiobook then also has to fit in with content, quality/longevity of item, appeals, objectivity, demand, relevance to community, and its context in a growing collection. Some libraries will take previous circulations of similar material into consideration.
Books/audiobooks should always have a certain professional look/sound to them. Think “judging a books by its cover.” They always need to be properly formatted/recoded, free of garbled text/voice…basically “look/sound like books/audiobooks.”
Gifts and donations also fall under the same guidelines and will vary from library/system to library/system.
Based on all of this, the acquisition orders go in, sort of pre-curated.
How many copies of an item truly depends from library/system to library/system, too. Everything is all about demand. In my library’s case, the amount of copies purchased also depends on how many pre-reserve requests are in the system based on our circulation population.
The turnaround from order to patron checkout can vary from 7–10 days to up to a month+. This depends on the vendor/distributor and publisher agreement, as well as the availability of/demand for title(s) and local internal processing.
So, for sure grab your TBR list, your library card/ID, and head on over to the Reference Desk!
I hope this gives you a rough idea of public library book acquisition.
I’m just one librarian, among many, who is here to help. We all have insight. So, tap into as many of us out there who can help. Start a dialog with your librarian and library/system. And I definitely look forward to helping you in the very near future.
Frannie Strober Cassano first stumbled into the romance section of her local drugstore as a teen, and then found herself back there during the Fifty Shades of Grey “phenomenon”. You can find her gleefully discussing book boyfriends, tropes, and Happily Ever Afters over at her Reference Desk or on Twitter.
