East Orange Public Library

Thank you for your interest in the East Orange Public Library. The Library is pleased to have the works of many local authors in the collection. We have developed this policy to guide local authors in their efforts to have their works selected for the city’s collection.

For the purpose of this policy, Local Authors are defined as residents of Essex County, New Jersey. Included in this document are:

• Procedures to follow in submitting your work for consideration.
• Information on what you can expect the Library to do in support of your writing endeavors. o Professional Reviews
• Annual Local Author Showcase
• AuthorPrograms
• East Orange Public Library’s Criteria for Selection.

What we will NOT accept:

• Self-Published Family Histories
• Text Books
• Self-Published E-Books

How to Submit Your Work
Send a brief letter, completed Local Author Submission Request Form, and a copy of your published bound and printed work to:

East Orange Public Library
Attention: Collection Committee
21 S. Arlington Avenue
East Orange, New Jersey, 07018

We will acknowledge receipt of your work within 30 days. You will receive notification regarding the library’s decision within 90 days. We carefully evaluate all new books using the detailed selection criteria in in the library’s collection development policy. Acceptance of a copy of your work for the collection does not guarantee that we will buy additional copies. If we buy more copies, they may not be purchased directly from you.

Some works may not be considered without accompanying professional reviews. The library relies in part on professional reviews when making selection decisions, and it is up to local authors to solicit review for their works. You may resubmit your work if professional reviews appear at a later time. Please be aware that reader reviews on websites such as Amazon and Goodreads will not be considered by the library.

If your work meets the library collection development guidelines and the library decides to add your book, you may be asked to donate two copies if we are unable to purchase copies through the book vendors.

East Orange Public Library bears no obligation for marketing an author’s work. Authors are fully responsible for promoting their work. Local Authors titles added to the collection will be assessed on a routine basis using the same guidelines that are applied to other materials in the library’s collection. If circulations dwindles or totally declines, the title may be withdrawn from the collection.

Works not accepted for the collection will not be returned to the author. They will be given to the library’s friends group to include in the local book sales.

What you can expect From Us:

1. Your bound, printed work will be cataloged in the library’s circulation system, making it available to the patrons of the East Orange Public Library, as well as over 20 libraries across Essex County, New Jersey.
2. Your work will be included in the Local Author section inside the library. The collection will be shelved.
3. Occasionally, the library may use your work in displays.
4. Each year, the library hosts a Local Author Showcase at the East Orange Public Library. See below for more details.

Professional Reviews
It is very important that your work be tested in front of an audience of impartial readers. Those may include members of your writer’s group, beta-readers, professional editors, and professional reviewers. Public libraries often seek works that are professionally reviewed, as it is important for our patrons to be assured of a quality library collection. Be aware that Library staff will not discuss critical or editorial issues with authors.

Annual Local Author Showcase
Each year, usually in the October East Orange Public Library hosts a Local Author Showcase at the Main Library. This is an opportunity for you to participate in a Q & A Panel, give a brief presentation of your published work and sell copies of your work. The author must take responsibility for collecting all monies, and reporting sales tax as appropriate.

Each author must complete a Local Author Showcase Application. Space is limited, and awarded on a first come, first served basis. Authors who are traditionally published, independently published, or both are welcome, and treated equally. Please check this page for the next Local Author Showcase, and application acceptance dates and deadlines.

Author Programs
We are fortunate to have a great number of authors in our community. Though we would like to accommodate them all, we have limited time, space and staff for programming. Requests from authors to present programs are considered by the library’s adult program committee. Programs for a single author are rare occurrences and are considered only when the book has received widespread recognition.

East Orange Library Criteria for Selection:
East Orange Public Library will make every reasonable effort to provide a balanced collection reflecting a variety of perspectives, within the constraints of budget and shelf space. Materials purchased or added to the collection are not an endorsement by the East Orange Public Library of either content or viewpoint presented in them. They are generally purchased from mainstream publishers and distributers.

The following general criteria are used to evaluate potential purchases and gift material:

• Relevance to community needs and interests
• Positive attention of critics, reviewers, and the public
• Popular demand, even if not enduring in value, interest or accuracy
• Contemporary significance, whether local or national
• Artistic merit, literary value, or recognized award recipient
• Reputation/qualification of author, artist, publisher, or producer without regard to political, religious or other affiliations
• Clarity, accuracy and organization; comprehensiveness
• Date of publication (to maintain the most up to date collection while striving to preserve key works in the field)
• Permanence or timeliness
• Suitability of physical form for library use (size, paper, print, binding)
• Relationship to current holdings
• Cost in relation to value to the collection
• Availability of information elsewhere within region or electronically
• Author or illustrator is well-known or local

An item need not meet all of these criteria to be selected.

Items generally excluded from selection:

• Textbooks and curriculum-related work, unless they are considered useful to the general reader as an introduction to a subject and their presentation is superior to other sources.
• Scholarly and technical materials that are carried by academic or special libraries.
• Puzzle or workbooks that encourage filling in blanks.
• Materials that are publicized solely through infomercials or personal websites and where there is no authoritative or evaluative information available.
• Self-published materials, unless they are reviewed in established publications or they are of interest in the local community.

Due to limitations on staff time, we cannot discuss individual titles with authors.

Concerns about Local Author Policy must be presented in writing with specifics to the Library Director. Please provide your name and contact information. The Library Director may amend or supplement this policy time to time and reserves the right to do so.

Approved by the East Orange Public Library Board of Trustees