Do libraries and academic institutions really buy self-pubbed work?
Hi self-publish, I'm hoping to tap into your collective brain power and experience.
The big question I have is whether it's better to use the CreateSpace free ISBN and have CreateSpace listed as the publisher, which allows the libraries/academic institutions aspect of expanded distribution, or if I should pay the $10, use my imprint, and have access to everything but libraries/academic institutions.
My gut feeling is that very few libraries, if any, order CreateSpace titles, or self-pubbed titles in general. Is that accurate? Totally wrong? Thanks!
Edit So it finally occurred to me to check some online library catalogues, and lo and behold, all the ones I looked into had CreateSpace titles. Not a ton, by any means, but of course that could change. There was a mix of fiction and non-fiction books.
Odds of becoming one of those books? That would be difficult to say, though they might be getting better.
Posted Jun 3, 2013, 8:11 PM UTC · edited
I don't know... it seems like an attempt by Createspace to get publishing rights. There is no reason they can't put you on their library list if you own your own ISBN number. And it makes no sense. Libraries don't only buy from Createspace (if at all.)
That's what I suspect, in terms of libraries buying. It's odd that you can have access to all other channels but the libraries with any other form of ISBN, but maybe that has more to do with how libraries buy books.
I think the odds of getting a self-pubbed book into a library, aside from using Banksy's methods, are probably low enough not to make it a consideration. Thanks for the input.
Best of luck to you on your book!
Thanks so much! You as well :)