Thank You, Libraries

"Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one." - Neil Gaiman

Want to know a secret? I haven't actually formally submitted any of our books to libraries yet. This is something that I am doing starting this year as I have received the confirmation of the last book that I sent a while ago in the box for the legal deposit from the LAC and had been waiting for that final email to come - this week it came!

It turns out they are finding their way through the various systems on their own thanks to different distribution channels for ebooks and personal patron requests. 

Thank you so much to everyone who has checked out our books or requested them from your libraries your support means the world!

The Library Book is Different

Once I knew that my book was in a library close to me, I had to see it for myself. Today, I am holding a library copy of my book, Bye-Bye, Boobies, in my hands right now, and it feels very different from every other version I have held so far.

This is not a proof copy, where I am checking colours, margins, or tiny layout details. It is not the legal deposit copy sent to Library and Archives Canada, where the moment carries a sense of responsibility and record keeping. This copy belongs to a library. It belongs to readers I will never meet.

That difference matters to me as books are expensive and lots of families don't have the budget to purchase them, and why I shared how important libraries are before for authors and illustrators in this post.

Being Included in Curated Collections Matters

I am genuinely grateful to be included in the Indie Author Project, which helps libraries discover and evaluate independently published books and I know my co-author is as well for our book Shelved. I wrote more about that experience previously, and I will link it here rather than repeating it, because this post is about a different type of inclusion, the library shelf.

Inclusion is an opportunity. Selection and circulation are something else entirely.

Did you see the adorable sticker that helps parents find the book on the spine with the baby on it? These are so helpful for parents searching for books in the library and just another way that shows how thoughtful librarians are.

Digital library access and real readers

Before this physical copy reached my hands, my books were already quietly moving through digital library systems.

Seeing ebooks available through Overdrive, Libby, hoopla and other library platforms, and watching them be actually checked out in the monthly reports, is its own kind of milestone and I'll post about that in the future as well. There is something grounding about knowing a book is being borrowed, read, and returned, without reviews, algorithms, or marketing language attached to it.

Libraries do not rush, they observe, they decide and then they place books where readers can find them.

Why the physical library copy feels different

Proof copies are part of the work. Legal deposit copies are part of the responsibility. But a library copy represents trust.

This book was chosen by someone who took the time to request it from their library. A librarian agreed it was a good fit for their collection and then it was catalogued, processed, shelved and checked out.

Books from the libraries will be read in living rooms, on classroom floors, and at bedtime. They may be loved, skimmed, re-read, or quietly returned. This book from the library will exist independently of me, my plans, or my timeline.

That is a rare and meaningful thing as an independent author.

Gratitude, simply

Libraries support slow reading, long careers, and books that are meant to last. They support authors who are building catalogues quietly and intentionally. They support readers without asking for anything in return.

I am thankful for every librarian who considers independent work, for every system that makes room for it, and for every reader who discovers a book because it was waiting for them on a shelf.

This copy may pass through many hands. I am grateful for every one of them.

Cheers!

You can explore all of our current titles on our Books Page.

If you'd like to help share our works, visit our Libraries Page for circulation details and ISBNs.

Our books are available through major retailers including Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Waterstones.