Author support

Sunshine Coast Libraries and your book

Author support

If you have written or illustrated a book that you would like libraries to include in its collection, your book needs to meet the following selection criteria:

  • Community relevance and demand
  • Extent of publicity and promotion
  • Subject matter, style, accuracy, level, language, and format
  • Relationship and importance to the whole collection
  • Construction, quality of presentation, ease of use and suitability for public lending
  • Date of publication and/or currency of information
  • Price
  • Obtainability through library suppliers
  • Availability elsewhere in the community
  • Legal, digital rights management or copyright compliance

Sunshine Coast Libraries’ books are selected and purchased by our suppliers, who have detailed reports of what is popular with our community. Books that meet these detailed descriptions are automatically purchased for the library. Books are also purchased if requested by customers through the library catalogue.

If your title is suitable for our collection and there is customer demand for your title, it will be purchased and added through the library’s suppliers.

Purchasing physical books

Sunshine Coast Libraries purchase physical resources through Peter Pal Library Supplier. To make your publication visible to all libraries that purchase resources from Peter Pal, complete and submit the new publication submission form on the Peter Pal website.

The Peter Pal website also has a self-published services page with tips and frequently asked questions to assist authors with distribution and sales.

Purchasing digital books

Sunshine Coast Libraries’ digital book suppliers are:

  • OverDrive - eBooks & eAudiobooks
  • cloudLibrary - eBooks
  • Bolinda Digital - eAudiobooks

If you make your digital book available through these suppliers, the title can be purchased if requested by a library member.

Overdrive has a partnership inquiry form to assist with this process. With cloudlibrary you need to register your book with publishing platforms such as Publishdrive or Draft2Digital.

Bolinda Digital advises authors to contact their individual partner publishers which include ABC Audio, Audible, Harper Audio Australia, Bonnier, Brilliance Audio, Canongate, Gill Books, Macmillan Audio, O’Brien, Pan Macmillan Audio Australia, Penguin and Random House Audiobooks.

Donating physical books to Sunshine Coast Libraries

Libraries do not accept donation of physical materials except for:

  • Materials about the Sunshine Coast region, which may be suitable for the heritage collection
  • Original works by local authors (authors that reside in the Sunshine Coast local government area) that meet the library selection criteria.

If you believe your publication is suitable for the heritage collection or you are a local author whose work meets the library’s selection criteria:

  • Give your book to a library staff member at your nearest library. Fully enclose your book with your contact details and clearly label the item To: Library Collection Services
  • Mail your book and contact details to:

Sunshine Coast Libraries
Library Collection Services
Attention: Cataloguer (AR02)
Locked Bag 72
Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Qld 4560

Required contact details include your name, address and contact number.

If your donated title is assessed as not suitable for the library’s collection your item will be mailed to the return address you have provided.

Legal deposit

If you publish in Queensland, then legal deposit applies to you. This means that you are required by law to deposit a copy of your publication with State Library of Queensland. For more information see the State library of Queensland’s Legal Deposit guidelines. Electronic publications and recordings are included in legal deposit and can be made through National edeposit.

Contact

If you have questions that are not covered in this guide, contact Library Collection Services by calling (07) 5475 8989 or email [email protected]