Ebook only books, which are increasingly popular (especially in the romance genre) see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author, and then still it's usually only RT Reviews (formally Romantic Times) or other genre heavy publications. How does this affect collection development?
This could affect collection development because unless the library’s collection development librarian is aware of these other sources for reviews they may not purchase those kinds of e-books for their library. By not acquiring these types of books many library patrons will be left without books or resources catered to them. This is an issue because according to the Code of Ethics from the American Library Association we should “provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources”. We should also “uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” (American Library Association). While most wouldn’t consider not acquiring a romance e-book as a dire situation the implication goes beyond this. What about LGBTQ books that may not see mainstream reviews? Or books by foreign authors? It is important for selectors to look at a wide variety of review resources and not just the main ones in order to avoid an unconscious bias.
Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?
After looking at both reviews for the title The Billionaire’s First Christmas by Holly Rayner, I would be just as likely to buy this title for my library as any other. Since e-books in certain genres almost never get professional reviews it is still important to consider buying them for the library. At my library at least there is a large contingent of readers who like to read clean or Christian romances and this story would be a great addition to the collection for around Christmas time.
I find both reviews reliable. Since the book can be found for free on Amazon I have no reason to distrust the reviews. One of the reviews was pretty average and doesn’t come across to me as a paid review. The Amazon review also contains quite a few typos and grammatical mistakes which makes the review seem genuine to me.
How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?
I think this would be a great possibility for any library collection. The reviews, which are from professional review sources, describe a book that talks about the hardships of growing up in poverty but with humor and candor. The School Library Journal Review states “[r]eaders will enjoy the humor and the music in the language”. Library Journal Review says “[h]is story, almost impossible to put down, may well become a classic. A wonderful book; strongly recommended for readers of any age”. The Booklist Review is just as strong, stating “[m]any a lesser book gets the kind of publicity push that McCourt’s memoir is happily slated to receive. Expect demand, not only from those seduced by blurbs and interviews, but from word-of-mouth thereafter”. All of this praise leads me to think that this book would be highly requested by patrons. I know at the time the book came out it was very popular and even had a movie made about it. Even today I would consider this book one that the library should have due to the reviews and its impact on popular culture.
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 don’t think it is necessarily unfair that some books don’t get reviewed in major book review publications. There are tons of books published every year and it is impossible for reviewers to review even a small handful of them. For instance, according to Bowker.com the number of just self-published books rose to over a million in 2017! Trying to find a number for books published by book publishers in the US is a little murkier. The best I could find was from 2013 from Wikipedia (I know, I know) that puts the number of new titles and re-editions at 304,912. Of course there’s no guarantee that any of these books (self-published or otherwise) are the “certain type of book” that would get reviewed, but it helps give a picture of just how many books are out there and how many different options libraries have to dig through to find the best materials. Using review sources and trusted book lists is a way to keep your sanity when purchasing materials.
However, it is worth looking at more than just the main review sources (Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Review, Horn Book, and School Library Journal) for new books. Material purchasers should make it a point to look for book review sources for books that feature minorities, LGBTQ, foreign language, or other groups that come to your specific library.
I’m sure everyone is aware of this but the American Library Association has a ton of awards and book lists for different special interest topics that can be found here: http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/browse/bpma?showfilter=no
This is also a great source for finding books featuring diversity.
I’m conflicted about book review sources that won’t print negative content. I think people should be able to get the good, the bad, and the ugly when reading a book review. However, going to Goodreads and Amazon will definitely get you peoples’ no-holds-barred opinions. I don’t think it is the place of professional book review sites to completely lambast a book. They certainly can say what the author tried (and failed) to accomplish but it can be done without being cruel. John Updike’s rules for reviewing are a great guideline for any reviewer. Some of these rules include:
Try to understand what the author tried to do with the writing and don’t criticize the author for what they did not attempt
Include a quotation from the work so the public can get a sense of the prose
Don’t give away the ending (one of the most important in my opinion!)
If the book is found lacking, try to make sure the failure is really with the author and not with you.
He also states you should not review anything that you are not a fan of and that it is “[b]etter to praise and share than ban and blame” (Freeman). Let’s see if I can hold to these rules when I do my Kirkus-style review! I specifically picked a book I hated to give myself a challenge.
I do not make purchasing decisions at my job. In my personal life I am a fan of Goodreads reviews. I try to read a few 5 star reviews and a few 1 and 2 star reviews to get a sense of what people liked and did not like about a book.
References:
American Library Association. “Professional Ethics”. Ala.org, 22 January 2008, http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics. Accessed 6 February 2019.
Book Reviews for The Billionaire’s First Christmas from Canvas Files.
Book Reviews for Angela’s Ashes from Canvas Files.
ProQuest Press Team. “New Record: More Than 1 Million Books Self-Published in 2017”. Bowker.com, 10 October 2018, http://www.bowker.com/news/2018/New-Record-More-than-1-Million-Books-Self-Published-in-2017.html. Accessed 7 February 2019.
“Books Published Per Country Per Year”. Wikipedia.org, 20 January 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_per_year#cite_note-publishingtechnology.com-2. Accessed 7 February 2019.
Freeman, John. “From the Archives: John Updike’s Reviewing 101”. Bookcritics.org, 21 April 2011, http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/from_the_archives. Accessed 7 February 2019.
This could affect collection development because unless the library’s collection development librarian is aware of these other sources for reviews they may not purchase those kinds of e-books for their library. By not acquiring these types of books many library patrons will be left without books or resources catered to them. This is an issue because according to the Code of Ethics from the American Library Association we should “provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources”. We should also “uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” (American Library Association). While most wouldn’t consider not acquiring a romance e-book as a dire situation the implication goes beyond this. What about LGBTQ books that may not see mainstream reviews? Or books by foreign authors? It is important for selectors to look at a wide variety of review resources and not just the main ones in order to avoid an unconscious bias.
Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?
After looking at both reviews for the title The Billionaire’s First Christmas by Holly Rayner, I would be just as likely to buy this title for my library as any other. Since e-books in certain genres almost never get professional reviews it is still important to consider buying them for the library. At my library at least there is a large contingent of readers who like to read clean or Christian romances and this story would be a great addition to the collection for around Christmas time.
I find both reviews reliable. Since the book can be found for free on Amazon I have no reason to distrust the reviews. One of the reviews was pretty average and doesn’t come across to me as a paid review. The Amazon review also contains quite a few typos and grammatical mistakes which makes the review seem genuine to me.
How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?
I think this would be a great possibility for any library collection. The reviews, which are from professional review sources, describe a book that talks about the hardships of growing up in poverty but with humor and candor. The School Library Journal Review states “[r]eaders will enjoy the humor and the music in the language”. Library Journal Review says “[h]is story, almost impossible to put down, may well become a classic. A wonderful book; strongly recommended for readers of any age”. The Booklist Review is just as strong, stating “[m]any a lesser book gets the kind of publicity push that McCourt’s memoir is happily slated to receive. Expect demand, not only from those seduced by blurbs and interviews, but from word-of-mouth thereafter”. All of this praise leads me to think that this book would be highly requested by patrons. I know at the time the book came out it was very popular and even had a movie made about it. Even today I would consider this book one that the library should have due to the reviews and its impact on popular culture.
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 don’t think it is necessarily unfair that some books don’t get reviewed in major book review publications. There are tons of books published every year and it is impossible for reviewers to review even a small handful of them. For instance, according to Bowker.com the number of just self-published books rose to over a million in 2017! Trying to find a number for books published by book publishers in the US is a little murkier. The best I could find was from 2013 from Wikipedia (I know, I know) that puts the number of new titles and re-editions at 304,912. Of course there’s no guarantee that any of these books (self-published or otherwise) are the “certain type of book” that would get reviewed, but it helps give a picture of just how many books are out there and how many different options libraries have to dig through to find the best materials. Using review sources and trusted book lists is a way to keep your sanity when purchasing materials.
However, it is worth looking at more than just the main review sources (Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Review, Horn Book, and School Library Journal) for new books. Material purchasers should make it a point to look for book review sources for books that feature minorities, LGBTQ, foreign language, or other groups that come to your specific library.
I’m sure everyone is aware of this but the American Library Association has a ton of awards and book lists for different special interest topics that can be found here: http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/browse/bpma?showfilter=no
This is also a great source for finding books featuring diversity.
I’m conflicted about book review sources that won’t print negative content. I think people should be able to get the good, the bad, and the ugly when reading a book review. However, going to Goodreads and Amazon will definitely get you peoples’ no-holds-barred opinions. I don’t think it is the place of professional book review sites to completely lambast a book. They certainly can say what the author tried (and failed) to accomplish but it can be done without being cruel. John Updike’s rules for reviewing are a great guideline for any reviewer. Some of these rules include:
Try to understand what the author tried to do with the writing and don’t criticize the author for what they did not attempt
Include a quotation from the work so the public can get a sense of the prose
Don’t give away the ending (one of the most important in my opinion!)
If the book is found lacking, try to make sure the failure is really with the author and not with you.
He also states you should not review anything that you are not a fan of and that it is “[b]etter to praise and share than ban and blame” (Freeman). Let’s see if I can hold to these rules when I do my Kirkus-style review! I specifically picked a book I hated to give myself a challenge.
I do not make purchasing decisions at my job. In my personal life I am a fan of Goodreads reviews. I try to read a few 5 star reviews and a few 1 and 2 star reviews to get a sense of what people liked and did not like about a book.
References:
American Library Association. “Professional Ethics”. Ala.org, 22 January 2008, http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics. Accessed 6 February 2019.
Book Reviews for The Billionaire’s First Christmas from Canvas Files.
Book Reviews for Angela’s Ashes from Canvas Files.
ProQuest Press Team. “New Record: More Than 1 Million Books Self-Published in 2017”. Bowker.com, 10 October 2018, http://www.bowker.com/news/2018/New-Record-More-than-1-Million-Books-Self-Published-in-2017.html. Accessed 7 February 2019.
“Books Published Per Country Per Year”. Wikipedia.org, 20 January 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_per_year#cite_note-publishingtechnology.com-2. Accessed 7 February 2019.
Freeman, John. “From the Archives: John Updike’s Reviewing 101”. Bookcritics.org, 21 April 2011, http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/from_the_archives. Accessed 7 February 2019.
Caitlyn, You make a great point about missing LGBTQ and foreign-authored books if libraries don't pay attention to e-book only reviews. I had not considered that! If I were collecting again, I would be sure to think about that when rounding out the collection.
ReplyDeleteLibraries simply couldn't read a review for every book that is published, even if there were reviews for every book. I agree with you that trusted review sources and lists are important.
I really like John Updike's rules for reviewers and find that writing a spoiler-free review is difficult! I also appreciate that he points out to be sure that a perceived failure in the book is not really residing with you, the reviewer. Such a great reminder!
Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the need to look critically at the shortcomings in our review resources so as not to unintentionally create bias in our collection development. I've found that sometimes patrons have good ideas about different publishers or reviewers outside the mainstream, and they can be worth taking into consideration. For example, a patron recently told me about Haymarket Books, which is a nonprofit publishing company that specializes in nonfiction, poetry, and fiction from marginalized groups. I looked into it further and was able to find some great additions to our collection! So I think we always need to be on the lookout for new collection development resources and not just stick with the familiar reviewers.
Excellent job on this prompt response! You pulled out a variety of great sources to back up your opinions. Your point about not looking over certain books/genres/ and special interest collections is soo important! It happens far too often. And Updike is always a safe bet for writing quality reviews. You can be critical without "crapping" all over an author, there is definitely a difference. Full points and great job!
ReplyDelete