Meet Cari Dubiel, Sisters in Crime Library Liaison

I met Cari at the Malice Domestic Conference and was intrigued: What exactly does the Sisters in Crime Library Liaison do? Read on to find out more about this passionate advocate for writers who makes managing technology, jetting the country for conferences, wrangling a two year old, and meeting Elvis sound as easy as eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich. - Shari Randall

Photo by Ed Dubiel

Tell us, Cari, how did you discover Sisters in Crime (SinC)?

When I started working at Twinsburg Library in 2006, one of our circulation clerks was married to an avid mystery reader.  He put me in touch with all his favorite writers, many of whom were in SinC.  When the group started meeting at my library, it was a no-brainer for me to join.  I ended up on the National board when I met the previous library liaison, Mary Boone, at a conference.  Now I’m active on both the national and chapter levels.

So, what does the SinC librarian liaison do? (and please correct me if I have your title wrong!)

My National title is Library Liaison.  I coordinate the SinC booth at the two big library conferences: the American Library Association conference, which is annual, and the Public Library Association conference, which is biennial.  This helps librarians meet authors and vice versa, creating mutually beneficial connections. 

Not every writers group has a library liaison. Why did SinC institute this role?

Well, I wasn’t there when the role was created.  But last year, we revisited our strategic plan, and one of my goals is to be a voice of the industry and promote the profession.  I think librarians are well-poised to do that, because we get so many books in the hands of readers who might not have the resources to purchase them.  Those readers will talk about what they read, creating buzz, and they will buy books by those authors they really love.  As a writer and a librarian, I feel lucky that I get to see both sides, and I get to be the bridge between the two.

SinC will be at the ALA Conference in Las Vegas June 26-July 1. Tell us about the ALA conference. What do you have planned?

The conference is the biggest gathering of librarians in one place, and librarians of all types are there.  Our booth is on the exhibit floor, which in itself is huge.  Most of the booths in the exhibits are vendors and publishers, who often have freebies and author guests.  Everyone is competing for a piece of your time, so we try to make our booth a welcoming spot for librarians to take a break and get excited about their love of crime fiction.  We do lots of book giveaways, talk about the organization, and offer an iPad mini to one lucky winner who gets on our mailing list.  We also have author signings every hour.  I love that, too, because I get to meet locals from a different chapter every time I go to a new city.

Hoping for Elvis sightings?

Ehhh.  I’m already married, so I don’t really need him for anything.

By day you are a Computer Services Manager at a public library in Ohio. By night you are….

When I’m not working or with my two-year-old son, Henry, I’m either cleaning, writing, reading, spending time with my husband, or playing the bassoon.  That’s about all I have time for!

What do you like to read?

I will read pretty much anything: of course, mystery, but also YA, fantasy, women’s fiction, literary fiction, and any mixture.  I also love nonfiction.  I am the cohost of a podcast, The ABC BookReviews, so there is plenty of babbling on the Internet about my reading habits. And I’m on Goodreads.

When we met at Malice, you mentioned that you are writing. What are you working on? Short stories? Novel? Cozy?

Since I read everything, I find it difficult to choose a genre and category to write in!  Right now I’m working on a light cozy set in a community orchestra, as well as a few short stories.  My last (unpublished) novel was a YA paranormal mystery, so I’ll probably go back to that at some point in the future, too.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stick to one thing.

If it is a cozy, will there be a cat?

There is a cat.  I didn’t think I was allowed to write a cozy without one.

Tell us the truth. Which authors make you go all fan girl?

I saw Rainbow Rowell at PLA and was definitely fangirling over her (which is appropriate because the book is called Fangirl).  I have galleys from Hank Phillippi Ryan, Tana French, Jennifer Weiner, and Liane Moriarty burning a hole in my e-reader.  I know Hank from the National board, but I’m definitely still starstruck.  And last month I interviewed Kate Racculia on my podcast.  I was embarrassed at how fangirly I was over our conversation, but I think she had fun too.  I could go on, but we’d be here all day.

There’s a saying: Everyone is a reader. Some just haven’t found their favorite book yet. Do you remember the book that lit that initial spark of book lust and turned you into a reader?

My mom says that I could read from Time at age two, and I was into chapter books by kindergarten.  So I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love to read.  It’s the thing I still love to do best, even after all these years.  It’s probably also the reason I give most books four or five stars – if I don’t like it, I stop.  There are too many good books out there to waste time on the ones that just aren’t for you.  At the same time, I advocate that everyone should read and love the books that resonate with them, and we shouldn’t judge others for loving books that we personally don’t like. 

On WWK, E. B. Davis always asks her interview subjects, beach or mountains? So, beach or mountains?

Beach, as long as I have decent sunscreen and/or an umbrella!

Thank you for stopping by, Cari, and thank you for all you do for Sisters in Crime and libraries.

On Buying Books—Or Not

For the second time in as many days, a reader who wrote to me to praise my new book, Every Broken Trust, apologized for having checked the book out of the library. I reassured her that there was no need to apologize, but I know why these readers and others have felt this way. A few authors have been very vocal on Facebook and other places about their disgust at people using the library rather than purchasing their books. When you add in the justifiable distress that most authors feel and express about actual book piracy, which is usually of e-books, it might seem to readers that there are a lot of angry authors out there. I don’t believe that’s the case, at all.

I’m always happy to have readers check out my books from their local libraries, and most authors I know feel the same way. I think the authors who’ve exploded online about library copies cutting into their sales numbers are few—and mostly new to the business. For many of us midlist authors, library sales are quite an important part of our book-sale figures. Besides, most of us were at one time nerdy kids who adored and made great use of their libraries. Many of us are still big library users. Authors tend to love libraries.

I have known experienced authors who became upset at signings when presented with books that were purchased in used-book stores. They usually are gracious to the reader, but complain about it to their fellow authors later. And they have a point. The author and publisher receive nothing from that used-book sale after the initial sale. Some readers are not aware of this. Some are, but can’t afford to buy all of their books new, especially if the book is only available in hardcover.

None of this behavior mentioned so far is piracy. Libraries and used-book stores are legitimate outlets. Piracy, which usually involves e-books, is when copies of a book are made available for free in the millions on sites usually called torrent sites. These sites violate the copyright laws and basically allow people to steal books. Aside from the damage this does to publishers and authors, which can be substantial, it is fundamentally unethical and dishonest behavior.

I don’t want my books pirated, and I don’t care how many people tell me “all content should be free” or “it’s good exposure.” People can die from exposure. My attitude is Don’t steal my books. But used-book sales are not piracy. Those books were purchased once, much as library books are, and with physical books, certainly, there’s a limit on how many times that book can be checked out or sold before it gets ragged and must be discarded and a new one bought. In the meanwhile, people are reading my books and enjoying them and recommending them to friends and eventually, I hope, buying them new. My books are only available in hardcover and e-book at the moment, and I know the hardcover’s a big expense for students and folks on fixed incomes. Libraries and used-book stores make it possible for them to find my books and read them anyway.

However, I do think readers should be aware that used-book store sales count nothing at all for the writer. Library sales do count, though they are not figured in for the bestseller lists. And the way publishing works right now, if a writer’s sales don’t continually climb—at a fairly steep rate—that author will be dropped by the publisher after three to six books. Even if all those books earned out their advances. Even if all those books had stellar reviews and were nominated for awards. So if too many of an author’s readers use libraries only and/or, especially, used-book stores to access their books, that author and that series of books will disappear. The author may be able to start a different series at a different publisher, but usually s/he will have to take a pen name, making it difficult for fans to follow. Publishers today seem to think every author should become a bestseller eventually—and remember, neither library nor used-book sales count for that—and if s/he doesn’t, the publishers lose interest in that author.

So, like the inimitable Neil Gaiman, I’ll happily sign anything from anywhere. But I’d like readers to be aware that their choices will affect whether or not their favorite authors are able to continue writing their favorite books—or at all. But if, like my correspondents, you feel bad because you simply can’t afford to buy a new book by a favorite author, don’t. Just write a brief, thoughtful  review and post it on Amazon or Good Reads or other reading community. That will mean a great deal to the author and cost you nothing but a few minutes of your time.

What are your thoughts on this thorny issue?

Seed Lending Libraries

In sixty libraries across the country, borrowers can now check out a packet of seeds along with their books. Here’s how it works. First, local gardeners contribute seeds from their most successful plants to local libraries. The seeds are placed in envelopes marked with the plant name, year harvested, garden location, and name of the grower. They are usually stored in those old wooden card catalog drawers that some of us may remember.

Then, any resident with a library card can look through the selection and borrow a packet of seeds to grow their own fruit and vegetables. In return, they harvest seeds from their biggest and best plants and donate them back to the library.

Each seed lending library is a little different. Some are completely free while others offer seeds to members for a nominal fee. Some libraries even offer training classes on growing and harvesting seeds in partnership with colleges or other organizations.

Why do this instead of buying seeds in a store? Since the seeds are specific to the local biome, they are likely to grow better than store bought seeds. Locally harvested seeds may be more responsive to local growing conditions than those harvested from another part of the country or world.

Preserving the strongest seeds for the future isn’t a new idea. One of the largest seed vaults is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault set on an Arctic Island near Norway. It’s able to protect up to 2.25 billion seeds in the event of global catastrophe. Also, it is a store of genetic diversity since the world is quickly losing crop variety due to a number of reasons such as climate change and farmers adopting new hybrids. [Trivia alert--wheat has about 200,000 different varieties.]

So, why are libraries involved? National Public Radio quoted Basalt, Colorado library director, Barbara Milnor as saying, “You have to be fleet of foot if you’re going to stay relevant, and that’s what the big problem is with a lot of libraries, is relevancy.” She believes that in the digital age of downloadable books, tangible seed packets are another way to bring people into a library.

For information on how to start a seed library go to Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library: http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/

Would you like it if your library loaned seeds? What would you plant?