Week 5 Prompt Response:
From my experience (not a lot), collection development is very review based, at least it is at my library. When there is buzz about a new book coming out, it is important for us to know so that we can order the right amount of copies to meet the demand of patrons. Patrons will also see and hear reviews or author interviews about upcoming books and ask if the library plans to purchase it, and if so, they want to be on the hold list. Therefore, the fact that some books are heavily reviewed while entire genres don't receive a lot of publicity, affects collection development in a skewed way. If the library only buys what is reviewed positively or what patrons ask for, some variety is lost, especially in regards to the not often reviewed genres like romance.
Both reviews of The Billionaire's First Christmas seem legitimate, but the blog review seems like something written just to have something to post to the blog. The Amazon review seems to really be rooting for the book and looking forward to the sequel, but the blog is sort of like "meh, it was an okay book." I would probably be likely to buy the book for my library just because I know how popular Christmas romances are at my library, but also because the Amazon review seemed so sincere.
All of the Angela's Ashes reviews are in favor of the book. While the only one I found eloquently written was the Kirkus review, the others would make me buy the book for my library. I would certainly include it in a collection now because of the classic it has become, but if I were buying it at the time of publication, the reviews would definitely sway me. I would also buy it for the subject content, as a library might be unlikely to have many memoirs about growing up in 1930s poverty stricken Ireland.
I definitely don't think it is fair that some books are reviewed in excess while others don't receive any. Some publishers have the money to pay for positive reviews while other more independent companies might not be so lucky. That is how some terrible books end up with a lot of readers and some great books might not even make it into the hands of some readers that would love it. This could have a negative effect on a library's collection. It depends on who is doing the buying and what resources they use to choose materials. If the staff member that buys the bulk of the fiction genre only uses popular review sites to choose materials, they might miss out on a lot of great books because they don't know where to look and then the fiction section fills up with a lot of so-so books.
I feel that review sources unwilling to print negative content are a little suspicious. It seems like they could be taking some sort of payout from publishers. I also don't see the point of an only positive review site. If they're all going to be positive reviews, then why write them? It would be a lot easier to post pictures of book covers and say "Here's what's coming out this month. They're all good." With negative or neutral reviews, you get a more honest idea of a book's content.
I do buy for my library, but I have only just started. I 'm actually still filling my cart at work and finding it a little daunting. I buy for our small Spanish language section and I do try to use reviews to see what is coming out soon that I might want to order. It is important though to not just buy English bestsellers that have been translated into Spanish because then you just end up with a popular materials section. I have to take reviews plus the interests of our Spanish speaking community into consideration.
From my experience (not a lot), collection development is very review based, at least it is at my library. When there is buzz about a new book coming out, it is important for us to know so that we can order the right amount of copies to meet the demand of patrons. Patrons will also see and hear reviews or author interviews about upcoming books and ask if the library plans to purchase it, and if so, they want to be on the hold list. Therefore, the fact that some books are heavily reviewed while entire genres don't receive a lot of publicity, affects collection development in a skewed way. If the library only buys what is reviewed positively or what patrons ask for, some variety is lost, especially in regards to the not often reviewed genres like romance.
Both reviews of The Billionaire's First Christmas seem legitimate, but the blog review seems like something written just to have something to post to the blog. The Amazon review seems to really be rooting for the book and looking forward to the sequel, but the blog is sort of like "meh, it was an okay book." I would probably be likely to buy the book for my library just because I know how popular Christmas romances are at my library, but also because the Amazon review seemed so sincere.
All of the Angela's Ashes reviews are in favor of the book. While the only one I found eloquently written was the Kirkus review, the others would make me buy the book for my library. I would certainly include it in a collection now because of the classic it has become, but if I were buying it at the time of publication, the reviews would definitely sway me. I would also buy it for the subject content, as a library might be unlikely to have many memoirs about growing up in 1930s poverty stricken Ireland.
I definitely don't think it is fair that some books are reviewed in excess while others don't receive any. Some publishers have the money to pay for positive reviews while other more independent companies might not be so lucky. That is how some terrible books end up with a lot of readers and some great books might not even make it into the hands of some readers that would love it. This could have a negative effect on a library's collection. It depends on who is doing the buying and what resources they use to choose materials. If the staff member that buys the bulk of the fiction genre only uses popular review sites to choose materials, they might miss out on a lot of great books because they don't know where to look and then the fiction section fills up with a lot of so-so books.
I feel that review sources unwilling to print negative content are a little suspicious. It seems like they could be taking some sort of payout from publishers. I also don't see the point of an only positive review site. If they're all going to be positive reviews, then why write them? It would be a lot easier to post pictures of book covers and say "Here's what's coming out this month. They're all good." With negative or neutral reviews, you get a more honest idea of a book's content.
I do buy for my library, but I have only just started. I 'm actually still filling my cart at work and finding it a little daunting. I buy for our small Spanish language section and I do try to use reviews to see what is coming out soon that I might want to order. It is important though to not just buy English bestsellers that have been translated into Spanish because then you just end up with a popular materials section. I have to take reviews plus the interests of our Spanish speaking community into consideration.
I completely agree with you about the negative review sites. If I know they're all going to be positive or at least not-negative, then I don't need to bother with it or waste my time. I'll use other sites and do an aggregate of the reviews to find books that seem worthy and popular.
ReplyDeleteYour experience, as little as it may or may not be, gives you a point of view I do not have in knowing your library patrons enjoy Christmas romances and therefore you're more willing to buy that book and give it a chance, even though the reviews are somewhat less-than-stellar. From my perspective, the book doesn't seem worth it unless people start asking about it, but I can see how knowing your community would lean you toward purchasing this one for the collection. That's a good thing to keep in mind.
As we talk about reviews and how we are individually and professionally swayed by them, it is interesting to see how we all find different review sources more trustworthy. Where you considered the Amazon review more sincere I feel like if I am following a blog I am more likely to know if our reading likes and dislikes are similar and would judge it off that. Not that either is right- just another example of how personal it all is.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about not just ordering best-selling books that have been translated into Spanish, but actually finding books that fit the interests of a Spanish-speaking community. I think some librarians would choose the option of just ordering what already does well in English, but that's just taking the safe, easy route. I'm glad that you're taking the feedback of your patrons into consideration and also putting in the work to read reviews.
ReplyDeleteFantastic response! I love your point about if all the reviews are going to be positive then they should just slap the titles together and give it a stamp of approval! It made me chuckle. Kudos to you for starting to order for your collection. That's awesome! Full points!
ReplyDelete