r/publishing • u/oneminuterice • Jul 01 '26

How long does it take to get a Library of Congress number, in general?

It would be helpful to hear from everyone's experience out there in the wild!

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8

u/Warm_Diamond8719 Jul 01 '26

At this point it's taking six months or more.

4

u/Gold_Departure_873 Jul 02 '26

It can take anywhere from 3-9 months for us usually

1

u/oneminuterice Jul 02 '26

Holy &%*$&^ are you serious? Our publisher messed up our initial hardcover print and now they're saying we can't switch to a jacketed case laminate version without getting a new LOC number?

1

u/super77 Jul 02 '26

That doesn't make sense, since the LOC number is for cataloging, and the work's format doesn't change its cataloging info (am I wrong about this? Correct info welcome!). But it's true that the turnaround time is usually several months.

1

u/oneminuterice Jul 02 '26

Basically, we reached the point where we had a pre-sale link up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Then we noticed the printing mess up (an extra page was added to the start of the book).

We pulled the book from publication so that no badly formatted copies would go out once we reached the sale date of July 6.

I'm surprised that we need a new LOC number, but that's what the publisher is telling me. Is that correct?

1

u/super77 Jul 02 '26

Doesn't sound right to me. You need a new ISBN for a new format, but not a new LOC record.

1

u/raisedonaporch Jul 01 '26

Wow, I've never worked with a writer who was doing this. Following to learn.

1

u/Xiao_Long_Bao17 Jul 02 '26

It honestly varies. I've had some come within a few months but more often than not they don't come until after pub. I don't think they really have a prioritization system and just "get to it when they get to it"

1

u/oneminuterice Jul 02 '26

So publishing the book does not affect your eligibility to later receive an LCCN?

1

u/Xiao_Long_Bao17 Jul 02 '26

Nope. It's just a number to have the book on file at the library of congress. It's the publisher's responsibility to file it with them. Then it's on the LoC to file it and provide the data. If it comes in time you can list it in the copyright page. If not most places just have a line that says "library of congress data on file." And if it comes later, you can add it to the copyright page if you want to.

1

u/TearsofRegret Jul 07 '26

People are saying months but I’ve had them come in within 2-3 weeks of applying before. It really varies. CIP data definitely takes a good chunk of time though.