Recommend a Title

Patron feedback is very important to building a vibrant, well-loved library collection, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your requests.

Patrons may contact their local branch via email or phone, listed on each location page, to request a title be added to their collections. Staff will submit your request to our central collection development office for review.

If you are an author or publisher please review our Submission Guidelines for Authors and Publishers.

Staff review your title recommendations regularly, and try to fill as many as possible by ordering items for the branch and digital collections.


Please note there are a few common reasons we may not be able to purchase a specific title for our collections.

 

The title is out of print.

We are unable to add used items to the collection, so we cannot purchase books and DVDs that are out of print. Even if online sellers show a title as available, that does not necessarily mean the book is still in print. If a title is out of print you can try to request via Interlibrary Loan.

 

The title is not available in the format you've requested.

  • Titles on streaming services that may not be released on DVD at all, or for a long period after their debut online.
  • Title is only available as an ebook.
  • Title is only available in print format. This is the case for many older titles.

 

The title is not available yet.

The Library generally orders new releases no more than 3 months before they are scheduled to be published. We will make a note of any requests made further out, but you won't see the order in the catalog until closer to release day.

 

The title cannot be purchased by libraries.

An increasing number of popular new titles are not offered for sale to libraries. This includes many Audible originals, any Amazon Publishing title in ebook (though we can and do buy those in print), and many self-published titles. Note that for technical and legal reasons, libraries must purchase library-specific ebook and e-audio licenses, and these can only come from library vendors. Books that are only available via Amazon are rarely available to libraries for purchase, and cannot even be added to the collection if donated.

 

The title is not available in a format that is compatible with US devices.

This is primarily a challenge with DVDs, as we can only purchase DVDs in the Region 1 format. DVDs that are only available in other Region formats cannot be added to the collection.