Prompt #2: Review Sources

Reviews assist librarians in determining whether a book would be an asset to the library’s collection. They give us not only the summary of the plot, but also whether the story is told in a quality manner. Unfortunately, reviews are often only published in professional publications when they are “mainstream”. If a librarian relies too heavily on these types of publications for their reviews, it can affect their collection development in a negative way. While I understand that major publications prefer to review books that are considered mainstream or have incredibly popular authors, it seems unfair that those titles are reviewed over and over again by a multitude of sources while others, like E-book only titles, are never reviewed. Books that are “E-book only” or from lesser known authors may offer a new perspective or level of diversity to the collection that the popular books may not offer. The librarians may not be fully providing patrons with the types of books that they want. They are not purposefully omitting books in their collection that patrons may enjoy, but by not being aware of what all is out there in the publishing world, they may miss some incredible titles. In addition, their collections may be biased towards one genre/type of book or another if they rely on either mainstream and popular reviews or genre heavy publications.  

Looking at the reviews provided for The Billionaire’s First Christmas, I am not enticed to add this title to my collection. The reviews are not of professional quality with misspellings, incomplete sentences, and the use of non-professional slang (such as “lol”) included in the review. I personally was so caught up in the writing errors, that it was difficult to determine what the book was about. I do think there is some merit to reading customer reviews on websites, such as Amazon, and personal blogs as it increases a librarian’s exposure to new titles that may diversify their collection and meet the wants/needs of the community. These types of reviews allow librarians to see opinions on titles from everyday readers, with similar lifestyles, viewpoints, and preferences as their own patrons. However, it is important to consider the quality of the personal reviews and to look at more than one. If I only read the given reviews, I would not purchase this book, but there may be other reviews online that explain the quality and plot of the title in a clearer and more professional manner that would increase the likelihood of purchasing this title for my collection.

In contrast, the reviews for Angela’s Ashes have intrigued me to add this title to my collection. This title was given positive and descriptive reviews by many prominent professional sources. It is not unusual to have at least one good review on a title, but to have all of the major publications give rave reviews shows that this is a quality book that many would enjoy. In addition, I must consider the fact that Kirkus, in particular, gave it a positive review. Since I know that they are more than willing to give negative reviews, if warranted, then the fact that this title got a positive review shows that there is merit to this novel.

I appreciate Kirkus for their honest reviews, both positive and negative. By including negative reviews within their publication, they are giving readers a real look at the titles available, instead of simply sugar coating it. They want readers to truly understand the novels plot (both solid and weak), as well as the quality of writing. I think that those publications who do not include negative reviews are setting themselves up for the disappointment and distrust of their readers. Many who read book reviews are trying to determine if a novel is worth their time and money. If they are not getting both the positive AND negative aspects, then they can’t really trust that a book is worth it.

I do not currently buy for my library. However, as  reader, I mainly rely on the reviews of friends, family, and local librarians when determining if a book is worth my time. I also look at reviews by my favorite authors and those celebrities with book clubs that I follow on social media as they have similar taste in literature as I do. In addition, before buying a book, I always look at the Amazon and Goodreads reviews because it allows me to see what everyday people with similar reading preferences are saying about a title.