Basket: 
Well, there were a lot more books featuring the Tees area than I thought! As Reader in Residence. I have read or listened to at least 50 books from cover to cover and skimmed or revisited many, many more.
One of the pleasures of the project has been discovering new authors and getting to meet many of them. I discovered that we have a wealth of writers around the Tees Valley and that their books do not always find their way into libraries. Book marketing and purchasing often happens through major book sellers and publishing houses. Many of our local authors are self publishing or working with small independent presses.
Some of the authors I spoke to were unaware that libraries were unlikely to be aware of their books, unless they told them about their writing. Some had donated one copy to a local library but not realised that they were more likely to be borrowed from a larger branch. Some had been unaware that authors can collect payments through PLR (Public Lending Rights) when a book is lent by a library.
Readers often do not realise that borrowing a book from a library can help authors. Some early career authors can earn more through PLR than through book sales. Any author can receive up to £6,600 every year from PLR. This is a maximum amount, so it is possible for a new author to earn as much as best-selling UK authors such as Richard Osman or Ann Cleeves. When an author gets a book contract, they receive an advance. They do not then receive any more money until the publisher has recouped all the advanced money through sales. So, the only money an author receives might come from library loans unless their book becomes a best seller. Self published authors can also receive PLR uf they have registered their book with an ISBN (international Standard Book Number).
Thank you to the following authors and organisations who have all donated books to Middlesbrough Library as part of my Reading the Local Area project:
A S French, Black Path Press, Bob Beagrie, Edna Hunneysett, E F Young, Fiona Erskine, Esk Valley News, Eva Carmichael, F E Birch, John Kennedy, Mark Hadlett, Masimba Musodza, T F Lince, and Theresa Tomlinson.
Thank you also to people who have given me second hand copies of books to add to the library collection including Marta from Read and Rabbit second-hand bookstore in Loftus for passing me books about Teesside she came across. Thank to Middlesbrough Library for ordering books that I recommended when they could be bought from their normal supplier.
I started this project with the aim of finding books within Middlesbrough Library Service that were of local interest. However, I ended up expanding the books that were on offer. Thanks to the generosity of authors there are an extra 50 books on the shelves, and I am still discovering more relevant books and trying to track down books to add.
If you are an author, then please let your local library service know if you are publishing a book and register your book for PLR through the British Library. If you are reader, then know that you are financially supporting authors when you borrow their books from your local library.
