Hi Nicholas,
There are a lot of stereotypes about self-published books--some are true,
some are not.
The stereotype is that self-published books are all "vanity"
books, that is, books of poor quality that no publisher with high
standards would print. The stereotypes of a vanity press, or
self-published, author is someone who has a piece of poorly-written prose
or poetry or an item with fringe opinions that they could not get
published without using their own funds. Although this stereotype
is truth in many cases, it doesn't represent the full scope of
self-published books currently on the market.
Some self-published books are just that...the author has chosen to keep
the profit from their work by keeping control over the copyright,
production, and distribution process. If the author has a reputable
list of other publications, the fact that they chose to self-publish one
or more titles should not prejudice the buyer against them or the content
of their work.
As self-publishing has become easier in the last 20 years, more quality
authors are chosing that route on occasion. Also, in some countries
(my experience is with some Middle Eastern countries), I have seen
self-published books by scholars and well-known authors that are of high
quality. Many small documentary filmmakers also
"self-publish" their works; that is, they produce their works
and sell directly to buyers without using a large distributor.
With those caveats, I'd say a library is unlikely to purchase a huge
number of self-published books, simply because it is harder to find good
reviews of those titles. When writing a policy, it is not necessary
to exclude a title simply because it is self-published. On the
other hand, your collection development staff should review every title
being acquired, especially if it is a donation, gift, or self-published
title, to see if the subject matter and quality of the content fit within
your collection development guidelines.
A piece needn't be accepted simply because the item was donated by the
author or because the self-published author is a member of your faculty
or community. However, it shouldn't be excluded IMHO just because
it was self-published either.
This is a long way of saying that the content and quality of the book
should guide our decisions on whether to add a work to our collections,
whether as a purchase or a gift. The method used to publish a work
(trade, university press, self-published, etc.) shouldn't be the only
deciding factor.
Marsha
Marsha J. Hamilton
Professor and Head, Monographs Department
The Ohio State University Libraries
Room 5782
610 Ackerman Road
Columbus, Ohio 43202-4500 USA
(614) 247-7461 - ph.
(614) 292-2015 - fax
hamilton.8@osu.edu
-------------------------------
At 11:27 AM 7/20/2010, you wrote:
Dear
Colleagues,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I am hoping that you will consider sharing your formal or informal policy
on acquiring self-published books. By self-published I mean
subsidy/vanity press books, books that were self published through print
on demand services, and books for which that the author has assumed all
production tasks.
If you have added any self-published books to your collection, would you
please indicate the total number of books that you have added in the
number of years? For example, “I have added one self-published book in
the 4 years that I have had collection development
responsibilities.”
Any thoughts are appreciated. You may reply directly to me at
tomaiuolon@ccsu.edu , or to the
list if you think this is of general interest. Thank you for your
assistance.
Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo
Elihu Burritt Library
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, Connecticut
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Received on Thu Jul 29 2010 - 00:50:28 EDT