SELF-PUBLISHED BOOKS NOW EXEMPT FROM CIP SUZANNE ANDERSON
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any Canadian authors were surprised to receive an email from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) informing them that self-published materials are no longer eligible for Cataloguing in Publication (CIP) services. The new policy took effect on May 29, 2017. There was not much notice and no explanation for the change. According to the LAC website, they define “self-published” as publications that are produced and marketed at the expense of individual authors. This includes print-on-demand (POD), subsidy publishing and collaborative publishing as well as strictly self-published books. Basically, any book not published by a trade publisher is no longer eligible. CIP is a program for publishers and libraries that is coordinated by the LAC. It allows books to be catalogued months before they are published and the information is sent to both libraries and booksellers. CIP has always been an integral part of the professional look of a book. I have been encouraging authors who intend to self-publish to apply for CIP since 2004 when the first edition of Self Publishing in Canada was released. Many libraries and bookstores will not consider a book without CIP. A representative of the LAC says the reason for the policy change is because research done last year shows that self-published materials were less likely than other categories of materials to be found in Canadian libraries. Because the numbers of self-published
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books are small, the CIP program was not useful to Canadian libraries. Because they have limited financial resources, the LAC decided to make the cut. They are quick to point out, though, that self-published books are still eligible for ISBN and still subject to cataloguing through Legal Deposit. A book that is added to the Legal Deposit collection is catalogued after publication and not before. Lynne Jordon, Deputy CEO of the Greater Victoria Public Library, says that CIP is not a factor considered in purchasing decisions. She explained that the library staff have enough expertise to incorporate material into their collection and ensure it is discoverable. The format of the copyright page does not impact their decision to acquire a book. Rather, they choose books to meet the community’s needs. The trend toward non-acceptance of self-published books appears to be international. In the U.S. self-published books are exempt from the Library of Congress CIP, as well as POD books and books published by firms that have published less than three authors. In the U.K. self-published books are not exempt from CIP, but POD books are. Implications to Authors So what are the implications of this new policy to writers who want to self-publish besides missing out on pre-publication promotion? Right off, the lack of CIP
