See our growing Local Author collection in the catalog. (Books are marked with special “Local Author” tape on the spine and shelved in their respective collection)
If you are a local author, defined as authors currently living or having lived a significant portion of their lives in McHenry or Lake County, IL, and would like to donate a book to our collection, please read through our donation guidelines:
- The Library does not accept workbooks, audiovisual materials or e-materials for inclusion in the local authors collection.
- Books must have been published in the last three years and be in new condition.
- The Library will only accept one copy of each title.
- Author donations are limited to 5 titles per year.
- The book must be bound and the binding must be strong enough to withstand multiple readings/circulations.
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For works containing multiple authors, the local author must have contributed 50% of the content of the book to be considered as an addition to the Local Authors Collection. If the local author has contributed less than 50% the book may be considered for addition into the regular collection (no local author designation).
- Materials donated become property of the Cary Area Public Library.
- The selector responsible for the collection or subject area will decide whether or not to include the book in the collection based on the selection guidelines in the Library’s collection development policy. Items will be withdrawn from the collection following the weeding guidelines in the Library’s collection development policy.
- Materials selected for inclusion in the local authors collection will be marked with special tape noting “Local Author” and shelved in the section corresponding to the collection or subject of the title. All materials in the local authors collection will be cataloged and searchable/discoverable in the Library’s catalog.
- Materials that are not added to the collection will be given to the Friends of the Cary Area Library.
To donate a copy of your book to be considered for addition to our local author collection, please complete this donation form (fillable pdf) for each book and include it with your donated copy.