Week 6 Prompt

Dear Director,

In response to your query at the staff meeting last Tuesday, I suggest we do the following to promote the horror genre here at the library.

·      Designate the first two weeks of the month as “The Weeks of Screams and Horror”

·      Since we have a large entrance area, place one display table to the right of the front door that is labeled Best Selling Horror and fill it with books that we have on our shelves that have sold well over the years. Have one of our I Pads under the display sign showing a series of images of book covers with three-second visuals.  

·      Place the other display table to the left of the front door and have it labeled “Horror of Horrors! Books to Movies!”  Place on this table all the horror movies that began their lives as books.  Place an I Pad under the display sign that shows snippets of horror movies.

·      At the Information and Reference Desk have a single sheet of Reader Advisory for Horror. As Horror literature is graphic, have the Reader’s Advisory have pictures of book covers that link book covers.  In addition, have a Rearer's Advisory linking authors, ideally with headshots of the authors above their names.

·      In addition to the pictorially oriented Reader’s Advisory, I think we want to have on hand a list of the top twenty horror novels of all time.  Included with the author and title will be a brief synopsis of the book. 

·      Hire a couple of actors to do a couple of scenes in the main area from one of the most popular horror novels: Jack Ketchum, The Girl Next Door or Ira Levin, Rosemary’s Baby.   We will want to promote the enactment before hand through the newspaper, local radio, website, email and twitter lists.  We also want to invite the local TV News station and local newspaper photographers to be on hand and interview you, staff, and willing patrons about this exciting development. 

·      At least one week prior we need to have a rotating display of images of horror books that come up automatically when people access our website for the catalogue and additional library information.

·      I think we have old book posters of horror books in our archival room.  We should dig those out and put them on the walls throughout the library.  

Let me know how I can be of service to make our promotion a success!

Jeff

Week 5 Prompt

Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations. For example, Booklist will not publish negative reviews, while, as you have all seen, Kirkus has no problems with it. 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?

Answer:

            I read reviews to help me know what is available, what the book is about, and whether or not someone else thinks its worth the time and effort.  I am glad to read negative reviews as long as the reviewer explains why the book is not worth the read.  I applaud the desire of the editors of Booklist to only publish positive reviews.  However, disagreeing by silence and omission is not really helpful to anyone.  Thankfully, others will publish the positive, negative, and indifferent.   

            I am not surprised that at this time eBooks do not receive professional reviews unless an author with name recognition writes them. Three reasons.  First, eBooks are generally accompanied by the release of a traditional book. When one goes to Amazon or elsewhere, one has the choice of purchasing either electronic or paper. Second, EBooks that are only published electronically or independently published do not have the recognition to bring people through the electronic door. Why pay for a book people will not necessarily read.  Libraries need readers and users to justify their expenses. Third, while EBook purchases and use are on the rise (Overdrive reported a 30% increase of use in 2014), the traditional book is still what people are reading. 

            Reviews are a significant decision making resource for those who develop a library’s collection.  If the buyer does not know the book exists or does not have sufficient information to make a decision, the book does not end up in the collection. 

            What is helpful is when patrons make requests for paper and EBooks and explain why they want it.  It is also helpful to have software that keeps track of searches for books that are not in the catalogue. Patron’s requests and searches can be one way to learn about books and their desirability without the use of reviews.

 I have posted two more documents in the week five folder. 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? Is this ebook even romantic suspense?

Answer:  From the reviews, I detected no suspense, only romance.  I doubt it falls under the category of romantic suspense.  I would purchase the book and make it available in the Christmas Fiction section if it was free.  I would not spend money on it.  The reviewers clearly enjoyed different parts of the book but they did not convince me that they thought the whole book was worth the effort.  The impression they give is that it is a great book to read if it’s the last book available AND one is in the mood for a syrupy, badly written, shallow story.

            The way in which a review is written does affect the reader’s response.  I am put off by the poor grammar, poor punctuation, and lack of clarity that I found in the two reviews.  The way the reviews are written in addition to the reviewers conclusions lead me to think that the writing in the book itself is probably not any good either.        

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?

Answer:

            I feel confident about trusting these reviews. The writing is better. The analysis is more thorough. One cannot take the reviewer out of the review, but there is much less concern about how this book impacts “me” and whether I am “bored” and “reading on New Year’s Eve.” Or not.  The review describes the impact and appeal of the book in terms that apply to many readers.

            Laying the reviews next to each other made me appreciate the latitude for length that Kirkus gives its reviewers. The second paragraph gives room for short quotes and a more detailed description of the book. The other reviews are briefer.

            This batch of reviews also shows that not all reviewers remember the details in the same way.  Library Journal noted that four of Frank’s siblings died.  While Booklist and School Library Journal noted that three of the siblings died. 

             

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?  

Answer: No, it is not fair that not all books, authors, or genres are equally covered.  However, the amount of coverage is connected to the numbers of readers.  General books get more press and attention than academic books because the audience is a different size and scale.  The library’s collection will reflect what people are most likely to read.  Every book a reader is the general rule.  If a book does not have a reader, then why keep it around? 

And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate?

Answer: I think that refusing to print a negative review is a disservice to those who want and need to know about the book. 

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?

Answer: I don’t buy for a library, however, that is an aspect of library work I would like to try when I start working in a library.  I find reviews to be very helpful in knowing whether to invest the time and money into a book for my own personal use.  For now I find the reviews in Goodreads, NY Times book review, Weekly Standard, and Books and Culture to be essential. 

Kirkus Style Review

Child, Lee. Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel. New York: Delecorte, 2013. Print. $28.00.

Reacher goes back to the headquarters of the 110thMP to meet Susan the new CO and finds a man as CO. Reacher is promptly re-enlisted, threatened with two criminal allegations, breaks Susan out of jail, and is pursued by civil and army law enforcement all the way to California.

Reacher spoke with Major Susan Turner by phone when he was in Bolton, South Dakota and needed information.  He was captivated by her voice.  He arrives at the old headquarters in order to ask her out to dinner.  The action starts right away when Reacher is met with one surprise after another.  The newest new CO is Lt. Col. Morgan who re-enlists Reacher without his consent and informs him that he is under criminal and civil investigation for killing one Juan Rodriquez and for failure to provide child support for the child he had with Susan Dayton.  Reacher doesn’t remember either one of these people nor does he know about any offspring. When Reacher is taken to his motel he is met by two army men who call him a disgrace to the unit, threaten to beat him up, and urge him to go AWOL and never come back.  Reacher is tempted but he wants dinner with Susan.  He learns what information he can from his two lawyers; break Major Susan Turner out of jail, and flies to California in order to learn the truth about Rodriquez and Dayton.  Turns out that this isn’t about Reacher at all.  Susan stumbled into a drug smuggling operation from Afghanistan to the USA that is being run by men in higher offices of the US government.  She was arrested and Reacher was encouraged to go away in order to put Susan off their trail.

Reacher figures out who is behind the arrests and false accusations.  He learns that he still has friends in the Army.  He gets to know Susan better.  Justice, Reacher style, is meted out upon the bad guys. Child gives us another action packed Reacher story. 

Bookends from NYT Book Review

Since one aspect of this class and Reader Advisories is creating book reviews, I thought this was interesting.  What is the purpose of the book review?  Two editors offer opinions.

Seems to me that the Kirkus Review, Library Journal, etc. kinds of reviews are really public services. We tell the reader of the review what the basic premise of the book is and whether or not we think it is any good.

Longer reviews such as in the NY Review of Books, even the NYT Book Review, New Yorker, etc. are more about showing off the writing and analysis skills of the writer of the review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/review/is-book-reviewing-a-public-service-or-an-art.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fbookends&_r=1

Week 4 Secret Shopper Report

At 4:30pm today I entered a previously visited library where I was not known by the staff.  I am familiar with the layout of the library from my previous visit.  The quickest way to find a librarian was to go to the Information and Reference desk.  This desk is clearly identified and easy to see from numerous vantage points in the library.  I am pleased to say that two people staffed the desk. 

There were two patrons ahead of me at the desk but no one behind me.  The female staff became available first. She smiled and asked, “How may I help you?”  I explained that I was looking for a book recommendation.  She said, “I am more of computer person.  I can usually find a book, but he (pointing to the other staff person at the desk) is better at giving a recommendation.”

While waiting for him to finish assisting the patron in front of me, I looked around.  I saw no sign indicating that they had book lists or Readers Advisories available.  There were no binders or books of that sort on the desk either.  When my turn came, I explained that I was looking for a book recommendation.  He turned to his computer.  But didn’t ask anything right away.  I said, “I’ve been reading entirely too much serious stuff lately, I need to read something that will take me away.”  He empathetically said, “I hear that.”

He asked, “Anything in particular you are looking for?”  I said, “I was hoping to read something that is hot right now.  Something lots of people are reading.”  He didn’t respond.  He just looked at me as if I should know to tell him what I wanted.  So, I said, “When I was younger, I read some Science Fiction.  Can you direct me to what’s popular in Science Fiction?”

He turned to his computer and began keying.  I thought, “Well, now we are going to see how it’s done!”  But, alas, he stood up.  I was going to be shown how something is done, but not right here, apparently. He said, “Let me show you where the Science Fiction Section is.”  So, I followed him. He showed me where it started and where it ended.  He showed me where the “A” section started. The books are listed alphabetically by the author’s last name.  I asked him again, “Can you recommend a couple of authors or titles that are popular right now?”  He said, “Well, what I would do is look through the section and see what catches your attention.”  I asked, “Are there new authors that everybody is reading?”  He said, “What you want to do is look for the newer looking books, especially books that are in a series.”  I asked, “Do you have any favorite authors? Or do you hear people talking about a particular author?”  He then went back to the “A” section and pointed out Isaac Asimov.  He said, “He’s kind of the grand daddy of Science Fiction.”  I said, “I remember reading him as a youth.” Then he pointed out Orson Scott Card, Arthur Clark, Elizabeth Moon, and S.M. Stirling. He concluded the tour with, “These all have books in series.”   And his parting words were before he turned around and walked away were, “Let me know if I can help some more.”  At least he said it to me directly rather than talking while he walked away. 

Gosh.  After that little exercise in frustration I could not bear the thought of troubling him anymore today.

Was he successful as a Reader Advisor?  Yes and No.  Yes, because he did get me to say what I was looking for.  He showed me what he knew.  He showed me where the Science Fiction section is.  In addition, he did tell me what authors he was aware of that were worth reading.  No titles, but authors.  I suspect he likes to find his books by perusing the stacks.  And, he assumes others enjoy that kind of journey too.  As the saying goes, “it’s the journey, not the destination.”

But, the answer is also No because I was clearly looking for a destination and not a journey.  He did not directly answer my questions.  He did not look up in the computer/Internet/database or in a book or a three ring binder an answer to my questions about what is popular right now in terms of authors or titles. Nor, did he go that extra step to find out from someone else how to secure that kind of information.   Aside from showing me where the Science Fiction section was I was not really served in the way I needed to be.  I felt a bit lost and frustrated.  I know he heard my voice, but he clearly did not know how to answer.  He did not judge or condescend or convey any negative impression other than that he just didn’t know how to answer the questions I had.  If he ever participated in Readers Advisory training, he was clearly not implementing the training with me.