Keywords
Citation
Fitzsimons, E. (2001), "The library creates cash stream by publishing own books", The Bottom Line, Vol. 14 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2001.17014aab.011
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
The library creates cash stream by publishing own books
The library creates cash stream by publishing own books
Keywords: Public libraries, Publishing, Book publishing
Dateline: Charlotte, NC
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County (PLCMC), NC, has gone far beyond the conventional fund-raiser while performing a service to the literary community. In a particularly creative move, the library has started its own publishing operation, the Novello Festival Press, named after the city's celebration of reading, which has been held annually since 1991. Amy Rogers and Frye Gaillard will serve as the executive editors of Novello Festival Press. When interviewed by Library Journal, Rogers said that in spite of the city's literary history, there is no true literary press. "We have a number of small presses that do poetry and community-based histories, but nothing really cohesive that operates in an ongoing fashion, nor do we have anything that's able to seek out new works from emerging writers, get that work into print and gets those books into stores." She and Gaillard had approached Library Director Bob Cannon with the proposal, pointing out that the library was already essentially functioning as a publisher. Urging the director to make the role formalized and expanded, she marketed herself and Gaillard to be in a charge of acquisitions. As a publisher, the library will receive the profits from book store sales. Writers and contributors will be paid an honorarium on smaller scale projects involving just a couple of hundred copies but, Rogers added, "like everyone in publishing, we do want to be equitable, so that if Oprah decides one of our books is something she wants America to read, of course, we would want to compensate the author fairly and we would work that out." Print runs will range from several hundred, for example, for poetry titles, to 2,500 for others. Available at http://www.libraryjournal.com/articles/books/booknews/booknewsindex.asp
Eileen FitzsimonsFitzsimons Editorial Services