Promote your book

Items considered for the library collection are evaluated according to the criteria set forth in our Resources Selection Policy. As a public library, we purchase titles for the general reader and do not generally purchase specialized or academic materials or textbooks.

Positive reviews, either in national review sources such as Library Journal or Booklist or in local sources such as the Durham Herald-Sun, are the best way to bring a book to our attention and increase the likelihood of purchase.

We often receive requests to include independently-written and/or independently-published items in our collection. Because of the large number of titles that are independently published each year and because of the additional staff time required to review and process these types of books, we will consider titles:

• whose authors come from or currently live in Durham County; or
• that feature Durham County as the setting for the story; or
• that are of local interest.

Drop-in visits to market your book are not encouraged.

If you would like Durham County Library to consider your materials, you must submit a copy of each title to be considered along with a fact sheet to:

Durham County Library
Collection Development
300 N. Roxboro Street
Durham, NC 27701

Please be aware that all preview copies will be treated as donations and will not be returned to you. We will purchase any additional copies needed.

The fact sheet should include:

• Your contact information
• Any connection to Durham County or the relevance of your title to a Durham County audience
• Your background, such as education, experience in the field discussed, and experience as a writer
• A brief summary of the item and an indication of its intended audience (for example: adults, young children, teens)
• A basic description of the item (ISBN, price, date of publication, publisher)
• How materials can be purchased
• Copies of any professional reviews

If your book is available in a digital form, please be aware that Durham County Library purchases ebooks through our vendor, OverDrive. You must sell or donate your ebook to OverDrive before we can consider it for purchase.

The review process takes approximately four to six weeks, and we will notify you of our decision.