Book bloggers: What to do with those old ARCs?

Following up on my post about how librarians can get ARCs, I'm turning my attention to book bloggers and the question of what to do with an ARC once you're done reviewing it.

Donate to your local library

Please (please please please!) consider donating ARCs to your local library. Most book bloggers know libraries can't add ARCs to our collections or sell them at our Friends of the Library bookstores for legal and ethical reasons. Trust us, we won't do that. But did you know we can still use ARCs in other ways?

I use them as prizes in my library's teen Summer Reading Program, which encourages teens to read for fun and maintain their level of literacy while they're away from the school setting.

Each participant is invited to earn a free paperback book in exchange for writing five brief book reviews. In the past, I've had to budget for the expense of prize books, which, of course, takes away from other things I could be providing for the teens. And with library funding the way it is these days-- well, believe me, every penny counts. Getting ARCs to use as prize books for free is a truly wonderful thing.

And Summer Reading is just the tip of the iceberg. Some librarians use ARCs as door prizes at teen events, or as giveaways for contests throughout the year. Others share ARCs with their book club or distribute them to their Teen Advisory groups who often have input on purchasing books for the library's collection. Your local librarian will find a way to get your old ARCs into the hands of young readers and introduce them to some really fantastic recent titles.

Other donation possibilities

Although I am biased toward the library (natch!), there are other venues for ethically passing along your ARCs, including classrooms, homeless shelters, hospitals, juvenile detention facilities, or organizations that serve youth, such as Boys and Girls Clubs.

You can do something good with those old ARCs. They don't have to go in the recycle bin. Even if they're really old, somebody can use them.

Did I miss any donation possibilities? Please share in the comments. Book bloggers, how have you passed along your old ARCs?


Edited to add: Oh no! What I said up there about libraries not selling ARCs in their Friends of the Library bookstores? Apparently not always the case! Thank you to the commenters on this post who let me know that it does, unfortunately, happen. I still stand by my plea for donating ARCs to libraries, but I will add that it's not advisable to drop off the ARCs without talking to anyone. Please make personal contact with your local librarian and verify how they might be able to use donated ARCs before passing them along.


Big thanks to Michelle from Never Gonna Grow Up Reviews for the ADORABLE photo above demonstrating the book blogger/ARC quandry. Be sure to check out her blog, because it's just as awesome as she is. And she does, in fact, donate ARCs to my library!

Librarians: How to get ARCs

Book bloggers are pretty savvy about how to get ahold of books before their publication date. But librarians don't always have a source for getting advance reader copies (ARCs)-- even though reading them can influence our book-buying decisions as we add to our library collections. Being knowledgeable about the latest titles (even before they're published!) can also boost our ability to make excellent book recommendations to our patrons.

Librarians usually rely on professional review journals to keep up with forthcoming titles, but the question of how to get ahold of ARCs often comes up in the library community. Reviews are invaluable, but clearly a lot of us like to read books first-hand and evaluate them on our own.

So how can librarians get ARCs? Here are a few strategies that have worked for me:

1. Attend conferences

I know this can be easier said than done for many of us, but when ALA Annual or Midwinter is in your neighborhood, it's a must-do. Bookmark this list of upcoming conferences to keep tabs where ALA will be held every year through 2017. Other conferences where ARCs are distributed include BEA and NCTE. If you can attend these conferences or know anyone who’s going, it’s a great way to gather a ton of ARCs. I'm sure there are other conferences where you can pick up ARCs-- please share in the comments if you have any suggestions!

2. Contact your local independent bookstore

My library has a wonderful partnership with a local independent bookstore, and the owner has occasionally brought over boxes of slightly older ARCs that she and her staff were done with and had no room to store. Such a treat! So if you have any great indie bookstores in your area, see if they would be willing to donate the ARCs they're no longer using. Even if the ARCs are past their publish date, you can use them as giveaways for your library teens, who won't care that the titles have already been published. They'll just appreciate the cool books.

3. Sign up for NetGalley

If you've got an ereading device (or don't mind reading on your computer screen), NetGalley is one of the easiest, most convenient ways to read ARCs. A variety of publishers choose to make ARCs available in digital formats. You can create a profile on the site, request ARCs (which expire after a certain time period), and easily send your feedback to the publisher when you're done reading. I LOVE NetGalley!

4. Join YALSA-BK

Publishers occasionally post ARC giveaways on YALSA-BK, a mailing list primarily of interest to young adult librarians. But you have to be quick! ARCs go like hotcakes, and the publishers usually have a limited number to offer.

5. Build relationships with local book bloggers

Many book bloggers approach publishers directly for books to review, and would welcome an ethical way to pass along ARCs once they're done reading. Try to make contact with book bloggers in your area and ask them to consider passing along their ARCs to you. You'll probably have good luck meeting book bloggers by attending author events in your area-- and hopefully you'll not only build a partnership, but make a friend!

Edited to add...
6. Contact publishers directly

You heard it here... book bloggers aren't the only ones who can ask publishers to send them ARCs. When I tweeted about this blog post, the Library Marketing Team at Hachette Book Group responded to encourage librarians to contact publishers' library marketing departments.

Isn't that awesome? I honestly never thought of simply asking for an ARC... I was worried it might seem pushy or grabby. But truly, ARCs make a huge difference when I'm selecting for my library's collection.

Even if I read an ARC and it turns out not to be my cup of tea, I'm able to see its appeal for another type of reader. I'm much more likely to order a book for the library if I've read it and know I can recommend it to someone.

It really does benefit the publisher to make ARCs available to librarians, and I see that I shouldn't feel so hesitant about asking. So, thank you to the Library Marketing Team at Hachette Book Group for the excellent tip!

Of course, I'm not sure if all publishers share Hachette's stance on this, but it's worth a polite inquiry. Even if a publisher isn't in the practice of sending ARCs to librarians, their library marketing departments have some cool stuff to offer- reading guides, newsletters- so check them out! EarlyWord has a great round-up of library marketing contacts from various publishers:

Publisher Contacts: Library Marketing, Children's
Publisher Contacts: Library Marketing, Adult

So, those are my tips on how librarians can get ARCS, and I hope you find them helpful. What strategies have worked for you?

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