What is CIP data in a book?

Cataloging in Publication (CIP) data is a bibliographic record — author, title, subject headings and classification numbers — prepared before a book is published and printed on its copyright page. Librarians use it to catalogue and shelve the book without starting from scratch.

In the US, official CIP data comes from the Library of Congress. Its CIP program has historically been limited to publishers that meet certain criteria, and self-published authors have generally not been eligible — they can usually apply for an LCCN instead. Check the Library of Congress's current eligibility rules, because they are revised from time to time.

Some self-publishers buy a "Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication" (P-CIP) block from a private cataloguing service. It looks similar on the page but is not issued by the Library of Congress. It can make a book look more library-ready, but it is not required, and whether it is worth the cost depends on how seriously you are pursuing library sales.

Other countries have their own arrangements: many national libraries offer CIP or a similar pre-publication record to publishers in their country. If you publish in India, the UK or elsewhere, check what your national library offers.

For most self-published fiction sold online, CIP data makes no practical difference to sales. It matters mostly for nonfiction and children's books aimed at libraries and schools.