Selection Guidelines
Scope of the Collection
The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) Local Reads Collection exists to highlight new and independent authors in VIRL communities. All titles are subject to the same selection guidelines as any title considered for VIRL’s collection. Guidelines for selection are available in the Collection Development Policy.
Eligibility for Submission
Authors complete the application form in order to be considered for inclusion.
- Residency: Prospective authors must live within the Vancouver Island Regional Library service area.
- Currency of work: Works submitted must be newly published (i.e., copyrighted) within the previous two calendar years. For example, in 2022 we will accept 2020 or later.
- Content of work: Works may be fiction or non-fiction. Books for any age group are welcome. VIRL welcomes books in other languages already collected by the library.
- Format of item: Print books only. Click here for eBook submissions. Works submitted must have a registered ISBN and be professionally bound for borrowing. Click here to find out more about obtaining an ISBN.
- Rights assigned: The author must be the legitimate rights holder of the work being submitted, and the work must comply with Canadian legislation.
Authors do not need to submit reader copies or donations for consideration, only the application form.
Inclusion in the VIRL Collection
Books accepted for inclusion in the collection will be purchased at full list price by our external vendor (Library Bound Inc) on behalf of VIRL and will become property of the library.
The Local Reads materials are evaluated using the same collection maintenance guidelines used for the broader VIRL collection. Items that are damaged, lost, or missing are not necessarily replaced or reordered.
If you would like your material considered for the collection, please complete the application form.