Is library-as-publisher a viable option for small libraries?

In the perpetual struggle to be relevant and better serve our community, I'd like my small public library to consider publishing/serving e-books written by local authors, but I don't see any models coming out of small libraries. This seems like a great way to help young and unpublished authors find an audience. What are some of the problems to anticipate: server space, traffic, DRM, etc?

MariBar

• digital-media
• public-libraries
• legal-questions
• marketing
• publishing

Comments

• dsalo: Could you say more about how you envision this process working? It's okay to blue-sky here; I just can't really answer cogently until I understand better what you're trying to accomplish. Thanks!
• MariBar: Since we already largely redirect our patrons to a separate Website for downloadable audio and ebooks (Overdrive managed), I'm thinking about a CMS site where local writers could create an account & upload books & patrons could download their books (authenticating with their card numbers). Legally, would we need to set intellectual property agreements in place before authors join? Would posting the books as unencrypted files be irresponsible? Are there other risks I'm not anticipating?

Answer by dsalo

There's a book for that, amazingly enough! It's called The Librarian's Guide to Micropublishing: helping patrons and communities use free and low-cost publishing tools to tell their stories. Highly recommended.

Comments

• MariBar: Thank you! This looks like a good low-budget starting place.

Answer by jambina

Yes, definitely.

Check out iStreet Press at Sacramento Public Library. They received a grant to do buy an Espresso Book Machine, but are also offering courses on a number of other publishing-related topics to their public.

A big YES to Walt Crawford's book - cited above - which gets into the nitty gritty. I was fortunate enough to be part of a panel at South By Southwest Interactive looking at library-based publishing, where Nate Hill floated a few interesting (and public library focused) ideas about publishing. Slidedeck and audio here.

Comments

• MariBar: Thanks! I'd heard of Sacramento's iStreet but didn't know how to scale it down in an 8-person library. The slideshare is great, especially with audio describing the all-important catalog integration.

Answer by Mary Jo Finch

When considering this possibility, do not forget your library's collection policy. If you are going to publish local authors, you will need to extend yuor collection policy to cover what your local folks are writing. What if someone is writing stuff that is blatantly offensive to others in the community? What if it is grammatically horrific and without any literary merit whatsoever? What if it purports to be nonfiction but is full of falsehoods? What if it is over-the-top zealotry of one flavor or another? These are things that you would not normally have in your collection because they would lack the reviews to warrant their inclusion. You get into a dicey area saying you will publish one person's work and not another's. Are you going to accept all work or are you going to set standards, and if so, who will enforce them?

This is not to suggest that you shouldn't proceed, only that you really need to think through your policy ahead of time.

Comments