One Fast Way You Can Help
I'd really like to see my book in public libraries. You can make that happen.
As I wrote in my last dispatch, the best feeling I’ve experienced as an author is seeing readers engage with the book. I’ve had conversations with people in recent days in which they’ve told me that Discredited has made them think deeply about universities, college sports, or just the notion of blame and justice amid the overlapping systems that rule our lives.
I want this experience for as many people as possible. But I have to accept that not everyone is going to buy the book, nor should they! It should be available to read for free.
By my count, Discredited is only stocked in one public library that I can find — my native Charlotte. This is not good!
That’s where you come in. Your local public library has a way for you to suggest that they stock a title. Direct engagement from local readers is the best way I can see to try to get libraries to put Discredited on their shelves.
So here’s my ask: Go to your local library’s website and find the book suggestion portal. (A simple Google search — for instance “Washington DC Public Library suggest a purchase” — should do the job.) Then fill out a brief form suggesting they stock my book. (All the info they need is here.) In most cases, they’ll require that you give your library card number to verify you actually use the library.
To make it even easier for you to do this, I’ve tracked down suggestion-form URLs for many of the major libraries frequented by people who read this newsletter. Behold: Ann Arbor. Chapel Hill. New York City. Raleigh. Chicago. Washington, DC. Detroit. Columbia, SC. Athens, GA. Denver. Seattle. San Francisco. Bowling Green, KY. Brooklyn. Minneapolis. Saint Paul. Columbus, OH. Durham. Boston. St. Petersburg, FL. Baltimore.
Have at it. I’d love it if you could submit requests for any library where you have a card, including university libraries — where the subject matter is particularly relevant. Feel free to let me know if you’ve made a request, and I’ll monitor whether they end up stocking the book.
☝️ Another photo from my Raleigh event last month ☝️
Oh, and while we’re talking about spreading the word: If you’ve read my book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. This would mean so much to me since, as you can tell from my above plea, I lack the promotional resources that many authors have at their disposal. Every little positive word helps!
— Andy
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