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BNC BiblioShare is a free service and genuinely improves any book's discoverability. One of our clients, The 49th Shelf, lists any book in BiblioShare authored by a Canadian (appropriately marked in the metadata) and they provide an excellent service to those authors and the publishers of their books regardless of size. BNC CataList gets its information from BiblioShare. Many wholesalers are among its clients and include several services promoting books to libraries. Our data underpins AllLitUp a sales site run by the Literary Press Group, But BiblioShare has limits in what it can offer small publishers – the same as a product page on Amazon: Is anyone looking for a specific book? We don't charge to list book data but we also don't offer a "push" service. There isn't a public facing website. We support other businesses, and some support websites defined by their needs. Having data in BiblioShare doesn't force anyone to come look for it, it only makes it easier when they do. You should be aware that retailers accept data based on their accounts – who they've agreed to sell. No one will sell your book based solely on it's existence in BiblioShare.
Is there no escape?
BookNet supports the Canadian publishing supply chain and it's made up of a loose conglomerate of businesses and associations. Associations are the escape route, and while most associations have the same sorts of criteria described here they can be a way for small businesses to scale up. BookNet does work with associations and when we can we offer special pricing that reflects the volume they represent to us. So, look to join associations. Most provinces have at least one publisher group and the Association of Canadian Publishers is their umbrella organization.
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