Today’s resource is from Todd’s column called “Publishing Follies,” posted at Comic Book Resources every two weeks.

Though the article is primarily focused on the sale of comic book collections and graphic novels through libraries, Todd Allen offers some interesting research:

How many libraries are there? The ALA lists 16,549 Public Libraries (counting branch libraries, as well as the central administrative unit), 3,653 Academic Libraries, and 93,861 School Libraries. Special (i.e., corporate, law, etc.) Libraries probably aren’t a factor here, but that’s still over 114,000 venues for graphic novel product. If a publisher could get 10% penetration into libraries, that’d be 11,400 copies sold. That would rank as the #4 title for Graphic Novels on the November 2007 list at ICV2. Of course, the “Heroes” graphic Novel, “Black Dossier” and “Dark Tower” all came out in November, so a more fair comparison would have that same 11,400 hypothetical books outselling everything in the category for October 2007 and August 2007, while coming in 2nd behind a new “Walking Dead” volume in September. We’re not talking about a small market, here.

What’s really interesting is that I’ve heard librarians love to carry graphic novels because people actually read them. Sadly, librarians usually have little to no idea which graphic novels to order because many comic book publishers simply do not market to them.

There are several ways to get your product in front of librarians. First of all, you can attend a convention where librarians are likely to be present, such as BookExpo America or an ALA conference. You can get a review in the ALA’s
Booklist or Publisher’s Weekly, both of which librarians depend upon, though it’s hard to get them to review you even if you follow their strenuous guidelines. You can also send media kits to individual library buyers and hope that some samples or galleys will do the trick.

And, at the local level, you can always encourage your readers to help you out:

Now if you’re a reader, not a publisher, there are two things you can do to get graphic novels in your library. First, most libraries will have a form to request new books. Fill some out. The second thing is to start ordering books through inter-library loan like a demon. Get your friends to do it, too. If the demand is documented, the library will likely capitulate. Remember, the mandate is to serve the community, and you’re part of the community.

It’s worth a try. After all, a sale’s a sale, and who knows? You may inspire a whole group of readers to wait for your next book to arrive at the library.

There’s more in the article, too. Check it out!