Library Purchasing Guidelines for Authors & Publishers

The Bellingham Public Library receives many inquiries from authors, artists, publishers, and publisher’s representatives to add their materials to the library collection. The Library will consider recently published materials for the collection that meet the selection criteria as described in the Collection Development Policy. The Library routinely acquires materials from trade publishers that fit these criteria.

The Library generally does not add self-published titles to the collection. Self-published materials may be acquired when they include unique local content and fit the scope of the Collection Development Policy.

The Library is more likely to consider adding a title to the collection if it has been well-reviewed in a major journal and/or news media. These journals include but are not limited to: Library Journal, School Library Journal, Kirkus, Publisher Weekly, VOYA, Horn Book, and Booklist.

The Library purchases through established vendors (e.g., Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com) whenever possible.

If you would like the Bellingham Public Library to consider adding your book to our collection please contact us by email or mail. Full contact details are below.

Please be advised, we do not accept unsolicited donations or review copies. Any books we receive will be subject to our Donations Policy.

Contacting the Library

Email
Email us and be sure to include:

Basic bibliographic information about your item (title, author, ISBN, publisher, date of publication, number of pages, price).
A link to your title’s website and links to reviews or other coverage in the news media (if available).
A brief description of your title, the intended audience, and information about how or where to buy it.

Mail
Please do not send a review copy. Any review copies received will be treated as donated items and cannot be returned. Send a flier or promotional materials to:

Bellingham Public Library
Attn: Collections Department
210 Central Ave.
CS-9710
Bellingham, WA 98227