Books BC and BC Libraries Partner on E-book Initiative

The Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia, known as Books BC, has partnered with the BC Libraries Cooperative to spotlight BC e-books. The Read Local BC eBookshelf, accessible through the Libby app and supported by funding from the province of British Columbia, so far includes more than 650 titles published by 17 regional publishers. Books in the collection must be either about BC, set in BC, or written by a BC author.

Canada’s westernmost province is home to 5.5 million people, and all 71 BC public libraries are taking part in the initiative. Tami Setala, licensing and business development manager for BC Libraries Co-op, said in a press announcement, “While we have always housed a large collection of BC-published ebooks, locating these items was challenging for library users due to the absence of a specific search option for BC publishers.” 

The e-bookshelf helps patrons discover local titles more readily, Books BC executive director Matea Kulić agreed: “Library patrons across the province can now easily browse the Read Local BC eBookshelf collection and find titles that explore topics related to their communities and interests.”

A launch event will take place June 19 at the Burnaby Public Library, McGill branch, with appearances from Spencer Chandler Herbert, BC’s minister of tourism, arts, culture, and sport, plus authors Wayde Compton (The Outer Harbour, Arsenal Pulp Press) and Candie Tanaka (Baby Drag Queen, Orca Book Publishers).