Information for authors and others submitting work for consideration by MCPL

Authors, publishers, and producers frequently ask us to include their work in Montgomery County’s public library collections. Our professional selection staff evaluates each published work or media production according to Montgomery County Public Libraries’ materials selection and access policy.

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Procedures for submitting work for consideration by MCPL for our collection:

  • Mail one (1) copy of your work to the following address:
    Collection Development
    Montgomery County Public Libraries
    2 Metropolitan Court, Suite 4
    Gaithersburg MD 20878
    Please note this address is not open to the public and drop-offs will not be accepted.
  • Collection Management staff will review your title, any relevant reviews, and consider if it fits within the greater scope of MCPL’s collection, our budgetary limitations, and check availability from our vendors. Our goal is to keep a balanced collection that supports our community’s needs.
  • Review copies submitted will not be returned.

Please include with your submission any published reviews about your work that might help to inform the decision of the library selectors. Our professional selection staff looks for reviews in publishing journals (for example, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal) as well as in the mainstream media. We rely on professional reviews to assist us in the selection of non-fiction, but also in assessing potential interest in and demand for fiction, poetry, and other library materials for library customers.

We will consider, but seldom select, titles that have been self-published or published with a book packager. (If your work is not selected for the general collection and you are a local author, please let us know if you’d like your book to be included on the local author shelf of your choosing (see Local Authors).

Local Authors

If you reside in Montgomery County, you may submit one (1) copy of your publication to be included on the Local Author shelf at one (1) MCPL Branch of your choosing. Duplicate submissions will be discarded. You may drop off your title at any library branch to be forwarded to Collection Management, or mail it to the Collection Development address above.

The Library cannot suggest a specific time at which a final decision will be made regarding the work, but, in general, a selected title would be added to the collection within 90 days of submission, and a title that does not appear in our catalog in that time may be assumed to be one that did not meet our needs for the collection. Due to the volume of submissions, the MCPL cannot respond to individual inquiries regarding the status of submissions.