How Do Libraries Choose Their Books?

So how do libraries stock their shelves with all those tens of thousands of books -- and now ebooks and audio books, too?

The New York Times has just published a fascinating story about how the New York Public Library chooses all the millions of books on its shelves.

For many books, it's a bit of a formula. All James Patterson books get chosen.  So too with John Grisham, Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts.  A few copies of almost all titles issued by major publishers Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers, Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins Publishers are chosen, but in lesser numbers than the best-seller names.

The process also involves sometimes taking a chance.  The Library ordered a dozen copies of Angie Thomas' first novel, The Hate U Give, before it was released. The book became an acclaimed best-seller. Now the New York Library has 400 copies -- and 200 copies on order of soon-to-be released second novel.

And as for self-published books, the New York Library even has a smattering of them.

Here's the link to the New York Times article, "How the N.Y. Public Library Fills Its Shelves (and Why Some Books Don’t Make the Cut)" CLICK HERE. 

For writers and readers alike, it's an interesting behind-the-scenes read.