I
do not think that is fair that some books do not get the coverage they deserve;
this happens though I think the trend is that people want to now read books
that no one has hear before it becomes mainstream. Also, I have noticed that in
the last five years people prefer more fast-paced plot fiction with a
conversational tone. Libraries cannot purchase every book but it’s important to
review several lists besides Booklist
and Library Journal to accommodate
their patrons. Reviews are vital to verify the book’s quality and negative
reviews must be included to analyze bias. Librarians need to know the key
authors from each genre, as well as award winning books (Baker & Taylor
provides this information), and the timeliness/currency of the item to put it
into the collection for weeding purposes. The affect the book has on people,
whether it creates interest, and will they be motivated to come to the library
to check the book out is essential; most patrons trust the librarians’ decisions
regarding selection. If a book is
controversial such as Angela’s Ashes,
librarians have to be open-minded and because of its historical value include
it in the collection if patrons ask for the item. I think that if the library purchases a TV or
movie adaptation of a novel then it will more likely be included in the
collection.
Patrons
are influenced by Amazon.com, Goodreads, even Facebook, and like to select,
recommend, rate, and comment on titles. Libraries need to know what patrons are
reading, whether it has a high lexile (difficult vocabulary) or not. My local library has only Westerns, Science
Fiction, and Mysteries, and New Items separated from the regular large Fiction
section; there are times I wish that the Fantasy, Suspense, Gentle Read, and
Romance areas should be more classified as well. Budget cost and placement of where to shelve
new items is also of concern. Like other people have mentioned earlier in the
course, there are more Young Adult books but some can be easily cross-listed
and be put in the other sections of the library.
I
like Library Thing for reviews for personal reading because this site shows
reader’s habits and ratings regarding fiction and non-fiction books. There are
a multitude of recommendation lists as well as several book discussion groups
to join that are non-judgmental and sufficiently discuss the quality of books
from several genres. The group tags help
identify the book as to its genre, subjects, and series information. I like
Goodreads for some of the avatars and comments which provide humor and
Amazon.com does include editorial reviews which are short and interesting to
read.
Personally
I’m not a fan of the star ratings system; I do not find it accurate enough when
choosing a book. I preferred the Amazon review of The Chosen One because it displayed more descriptive attributes of
the Romantic Suspense genre (i.e., hero’s purpose, storyline pace, conflicts).
The eBook blog though gave a helpful summary of the book. The reason I did not
suggest any blogs is because I am still new to this readers’ advisory tool. I
would like to learn which methods of
evaluation are best from this course.
Do you feel like our jobs have diminished because of the access patrons have to reviews? I mentioned in my post that, in the past, the average person would have relied on people's recommendations or a book jacket, but they would never have read a review. Reading reviews was the librarian's job. It was more for purchasing books for the library and not reader's advisory. Do people do their own reader's advisory using Goodreads, Amazon, etc.? Food for thought...
ReplyDeleteI feel that many aspects of a librarians job have diminished because of the easy access to information on the Internet. In regards to readers' advisory, not only do patrons have access to Goodreads and Amazon but many websites have book recommendations. Also, beginning in the late 90s Oprah began to influence what book would be the next big thing. As soon as Oprah revealed her next book club choice we would have to buy multiple copies of the book to accommodate the holds on the book. It didn't matter if it was a book the library chose to pass on earlier, if Oprah said, It's the best book ever" the library had better rethink its decision.
DeleteI say yes and no...readers having more access is good because it can provide statistics on reading habits which might be useful for selection/trends. However, these reviews tend to be opinionated and affect the librarian's purchases. Librarians need to know all genres and maybe have each staff member specialize in a specific genre. My library still offers editions of "What Do I Read Next?" in different genres for patrons.
DeleteWorking as clerical staff at a branch that has self-serve checkout, I will freely admit that I do occasionally feel like I've put myself into a Dilbert cartoon. At our staff day, there was a session that included information on a different library that uses RFID chips so that patrons can check their own materials out and in both. (The books still don't shelve themselves, though -- not yet.)
DeleteLibrary Thing sounds like an interesting review site. I've never used it, but I may need to start because it sounds like a good one!
ReplyDelete