How to Get a Self-Published Picture Book Into Libraries in New Zealand

New Zealand is a small book market with a big library culture. Public libraries run busy children's sections and weekly storytimes, school libraries borrow widely, and a picture book with a local setting or te reo Māori content can find a warm welcome. For a self-published author, getting into a library system is also a quiet mark of credibility that helps when you approach schools and bookshops.

Libraries in Aotearoa do buy self-published picture books, but they buy them through a process. Here's how that process works and what to do, step by step.

How New Zealand libraries choose picture books

Most councils' library services have a collection or acquisitions team, and larger systems such as Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch often have specialist children's selectors. In smaller districts, one librarian may do everything. Whoever it is, they're asking the same questions:

• Will local whānau borrow it? A clear hook and age range help them see where it fits on the shelf.
• Is it professionally produced? Cover, binding, editing and illustration quality all count. A book that looks home-made struggles here.
• Can we order it easily? Selectors prefer to buy through the library suppliers they already use, with an ISBN, a price in NZ dollars and proper metadata.
• Is there local relevance? Many libraries actively collect New Zealand authors and stories, and some have local-author donation or suggestion policies.

Step 1: Get the basics right before you pitch

• An ISBN in your own name. New Zealand publishers, including self-publishers, can get ISBNs free of charge from the ISBN Agency at the National Library of New Zealand. Use a separate ISBN for each format.
• Legal deposit. Publications produced in New Zealand are subject to legal deposit with the National Library. It's a legal obligation and it puts your book on the national record, so check the current copy requirements and deadline on the National Library's website.
• Distribution libraries can order from. New Zealand libraries commonly buy through library suppliers such as Wheelers. Ask your printer or distributor whether your title can be ordered that way, at a discount that still leaves you a profit.
• A library-friendly format. Hardbacks last longer in circulation. A paperback is fine, but say so up front.

Step 2: Find the right person

Look on your council library's website for "suggest a purchase", "collection development" or "local authors". Many have an online form, and using it is both polite and effective. If there's no form, ask for the children's or youth services librarian at your local branch. They can pass your details to the selector and, crucially, they run storytime.

Start close to home: your own library, then neighbouring districts in your region, then the large city systems. A local author with a local connection is far easier to say yes to.

Step 3: Send a one-page sheet, not the whole book

Selectors want the facts quickly. The industry uses an Advance Information (AI) sheet for this: one page with the cover, title, author and illustrator, ISBN, format, page count, trim size, price in NZ dollars, publication date, age range, a short description and how to order. Add one line on local relevance: you live in the area, the story is set in New Zealand, or it includes te reo Māori.

Keep the covering email short:

Kia ora [Name],

I'm a picture book author based in [town], and I'd love [Library] to consider [Title] for the children's collection. It's a [one-line hook] for ages [3–6], available in [hardback/paperback] through [supplier/distributor].

I've attached a one-page information sheet with the ISBN, price and ordering details. I'd also be glad to offer a free storytime reading at any branch.

Ngā mihi,
[Name]

Step 4: Offer a storytime or event

Libraries are always programming, especially in the school holidays. Offering a free storytime, a drawing activity or a seasonal session gives the children's librarian a reason to champion your book, and an event is often what prompts a library to buy copies. If the branch allows sales, bring a simple sign-up sheet for families who'd like a signed copy.

Step 5: Don't forget school libraries

Primary and intermediate school libraries buy picture books too, usually through the school librarian or a teacher with library responsibility. A library copy is often the first step towards an author visit. The National Library's Services to Schools team supports school libraries across the country, and organisations such as Storylines champion New Zealand children's writing, so it's worth following their news for events and opportunities.

Step 6: Register for Public Lending Right

New Zealand's Public Lending Right for New Zealand Authors scheme makes annual payments to eligible authors and illustrators whose books are held in New Zealand libraries. There are eligibility rules, including residency and minimum holdings, and registration has deadlines. Check the current criteria on the official PLR website and register each new title once it's in libraries.

Track it and follow up once

Log every library you contact with the date and outcome. If you hear nothing in a few weeks, one polite follow-up is fine. Search the library catalogue a couple of months later; if your book appears, thank the librarian and offer that storytime again.

Do it faster with templates

The Picture Book Launch Kit includes a fill-in Advance Information Sheet (the one-pager library selectors and bookshop buyers expect), a Metadata Checklist so your ISBN record is right, an Event Checklist for storytimes, a School Visit Pitch & Menu for the school-library route, and an Outreach Tracker to log every library you contact. The Pricing & Profit Calculator checks your supplier discount still leaves you a profit.

It's a 47-page PDF with 10 chapters and 18 templates and an instant download. The UK & US edition covers the same school, library and bookshop routes New Zealand authors use. See what's inside the Launch Kit.

Just getting started? Download our free Picture Book Launch Checklist for a one-page plan of the months around publication.