'There is a Lot of Noise Out There’: Self-Publishing Trends in New Zealand

Abstract

As self-publishing gains a stronger foothold both inside and out of the publishing industry (Dawson, 2008; Poynter), as well as gaining prominence in the public mind (Spenser, 2012), there is an increasing need for more research and understanding of this rapidly growing area. However, so far there has been, as Dilevko & Dali (2006) say, an “awkward silence from libraries about how to deal with self-published books”. This research project aimed to shed some light onto what was really happening with self-publishing in New Zealand. This research project collected data from the National Library of New Zealand‟s OPAC from a twenty year period: every second year from 1991 to 2009. A total of 3,625 titles from the National Library‟s catalogue were sampled. Once the data was collected it was analysed, and produced some rather surprising results. The total percentage of books being self-published has not significantly increased over the twenty year period sampled. The percentage difference between 1991 and 2009 was only 2.29%. Because self-publishing is such an unknown entity this research project was working with very little background knowledge for guidance. All the information points towards self-publishing increasing even more in the future as technology, in particular e-books and e-readers, grows and changes. Libraries need to know about self-publishing and how it is affecting the material that they purchase for their collections. More research needs to be done in this area to get a clearer understanding of self-publishing in New Zealand and this research project is only the first step.