Week 5 Prompt

Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations.  How does this affect collection development?

In a previous class about Collection Development, we learned about the importance of reviews in the selection process.  While Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and others are useful tools to the collection development librarian, there are many more review sources available, and a good librarian would have a knowledge of and utilize the review sources most relevant to their communities’ needs.

How do the two reviews for The Billionaire’s First Christmas compare and do you feel they are both reliable?  How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?

The two reviews for The Billionaire’s First Christmas both seemed to be written by the general public on purchasing or reviewing websites.  While I don’t think these reviews bring a professional critical perspective of the books, I think there is a place for reviews from a genre’s readers in the collection development process because the readers determine demand.  I think my purchase decision would be swayed by my library’s reading tastes – do they enjoy the cozy Christmas romance novel and is there a demand for similar books?  Likely, this would only be purchased upon request if there is available funding.

How do the reviews for Angela’s Ashes make you feel about the possibility of adding it to your collection?

Assuming I would be purchasing at the time of release, Angela’s Ashes seems like a prime candidate for purchasing multiple copies across various formats.  The positive reviews from various reviewers indicate a high likelihood of this book being a best seller that could attract readers of various genres.  The Booklist review even references the fact that word-of-mouth will likely create sustained demand for the book.  I’m old enough that I can remember when this book came out and how popular it was for many years after its release. 

Do you think it's fair that one type of book is reviewed to death and other types of books get little to no coverage? How does this affect a library's collection?  And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate? If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions? If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?

I have mixed feelings about some books getting a plethora of reviews while other books don’t.   Many times books with a lot of reviews deserve the attention, but in other cases, a book is overhyped for one reason or another, likely a large marketing budget or a well-known author or topic.  I would assume that in these cases, the demand for these books burns fast and quick and then once readers start talking, the demand dies and a library might be left with many copies of a book no one wants to read anymore.   While on the same hand, a book that might not have been reviewed in many places, if at all, may build an audience slowly by word-of-mouth and a library may be left scrambling to get copies as demand grows and patrons are requesting that book.

I am skeptical of review sources that won’t print negative content.  I think there is a way to be critical of a book while still respecting the author and the work, and I’ve seen many reviews that are able to walk that line with finesse.  There have been many books I’ve read over the years that were not highly acclaimed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have an audience.  Likewise, I’ve read at least a handful of truly awful books where I wish I had read a truthful review earlier so I could have spared myself that experience.

I do not work in a library and have never bought for a library.  I do read some reviews for my personal reading, primarily from Goodreads and Amazon but also from blogs, social media, and other resources when I find them.  Overall, Goodreads is my go-to source for reviews as a casual reader, but I think that in order for Goodreads to be utilized most effectively, you have to put in the time to read a variety of reviews for each title and I try to read multiple reviews across all ratings to get a feel for why some readers liked a book while others did not.  Generally reading a variety of reviews helps me to develop a balanced opinion and determine whether it’s a good choice for me.  This can be time-consuming for a librarian having to review multiple titles to make purchasing decisions, so it’s not the most efficient method.  However, it can help a librarian who might be on the fence about a title to predict whether there would be patron demand for a title.