Week 5 Prompt Response

Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations. Ebook only books see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author, and then still it's usually only genre heavy publications. How does this affect collection development?

The fact popular ebooks don't get as much spotlight in professional reviews certainly affects collection development. In my local library system, as well as several others, staple guiding factors of the Collection Development plan are that the item in question has "critical reviews" and "current and anticipated appeal." With independently published romance ebooks that don't often get pre-publishing hype or coverage, there is bound to be many ebooks that don't make the collection development cut. However, as Wyatt & Saricks (2019) detail, the relationship genre readers "deeply appreciate the genre and advocate for it" (p. 201). Additionally, "...avid fans turn to these novels time and time again, reading widely, because the books and their characters reflect everyday realities...hopes and aspirations of their readers" (Wyatt & Saricks, p. 201). Collection development is supposed to reflect the wants and needs of their patrons, but I'm sure it is difficult to locate which lesser known authors/titles to include within the allotted ebook budget.

References:

• Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (3rd edition). ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.
• Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. (2020). Collection Development Policy. Retrieved from https://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/policies/collectiondevelopment.html.

I have posted two more documents in the week five files. One is two reviews of an ebook only romantic suspense novel, one from a blog and one from amazon. Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?

The combination of the customer Amazon review (plus it's rated 4 stars) and the blog review better "sell" this book to me. It's part of a series of Christmas romances to be released right before Christmas, which would definitely circulate. The final reviewer on the document kept bouncing back and forth between coming off as liking it and not really liking it. I think they needed to ruminate over their thoughts a little longer to figure out what they actually thought, though the final thought was positive. But overall, I would say I would not add this to the collection since it's already offered for free on Amazon. If there was a wide variety of free Christmas romance ebooks, I would make a infographic/display for patrons to show how they can access these already-free ebooks.  

The other document contains some reviews of Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, an incredibly popular memoir. These reviews are all from professional publications, feel free to find more on your own I just nabbed a few from the Book Review Digest database for you. How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?

These reviews make me feel positive about adding Angela's Ashes to the collection. At my library, the historical programs are always well-attended, and McCourt's story is gripping, compelling, and gives a unique view of the Depression and WWII eras. The content may be too intense or uncomfortable for some readers, but the positive reviews from all different reviewers make this a strong contender to add to the collection.

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 think there's positives and negatives to books that are reviewed to death, often award-winners; on one hand, looking at award-winning and notable literature lists will connect librarians and readers to some pretty terrific books. However, a common trend of award-winning books is that they are typically "heavy" since they often tackle deep and intense topics. Plenty of books that are more lighthearted and/or not as literary have large followings and are beloved by readers.

Review sources that won't print any negative content does seem a bit questionable; every book has its flaws or elements that all readers might not want to invest in. No one wants to read total ranting of books, but what sets Kirkus Reviews apart is that readers expect the reviewers to be candid and point out some of the negative points along with the good. I think a balance of looking at books getting all the attention in addition to librarian, genre-specific websites, and fan-made blogging websites to also gain perspectives of what is popular among "common" readers and fandoms.