The Role of Public Libraries in Self-Publishing: Investigating Author and Librarian Perspectives

Little is known about self-publishing authors and about the concerns of public librarians regarding how best to support library self-publishing initiatives. This article presents and analyzes a survey of authors participating in programming at the Woodneath Library Center/Woodneath Press. It also presents and analyzes the results of a survey of public librarians. Findings suggest that self-publishing authors in this case study would benefit from author services support, and that librarians require targeted training to provide such support. As libraries explore this potential new role, more needs to be done to support author services in public libraries appropriately.