Week 5 Prompt Response (Review Sources)

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? 

The collection development efforts of librarians, who cannot possibly read every potential purchase individually, are dependent on review sources. This leaves some, in fact many, titles out of the running for shelf space. Ebook only publications are often overlooked by reviewers as are self-published works and works from small and independent presses. Publishing is dominated by the “Big 5” (formerly the “Big 6”) and is on its way to consolidating again into, I guess, the “Big 4” with Penguin Random House’s attempt to purchase Simon & Schuster underway. A letter from the Author’s Guild, the National Writers Union, Romance Writers of American, the Horror Writers Association and the Western Writers of America opposing the merger and reported by the LA Times argued (2021), “Such a massive publishing merger, the letter contends, would “lead to increased leverage and price squeezing over authors, increased concentration of power over independent retailers” and the curtailment of the diversity and quality of books available to readers” (Pineda, 9th para.). This is the world of publishing that dominates professional reviews; it is powerful, profit driven, and hard to break into for many good authors. It also logically leads to more self-published and Ebook only offerings from authors who can’t, or don’t want, to contract with the major publishing houses. Digital publishing tools have already led an explosion in the number of books self-published annually. The concentration of media ownership threatens librarians’ ability to develop a balanced collection, but in order to collect outside the mainstream librarians need professional reviews to support their collection decisions. Kirkus offers indie reviews for a price, starting at a considerable $425. Publisher’s Weekly offers Booklife, which reviews some indies for free, but authors can also pay to have their books promoted by PW select. Librarians need more reputable review sources for alternatively published books; without them future collections may suffer. 

The Billionaire's First Christmas. Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library? 

Both of these reviewers seem to be avid and aware readers. Deborah hits on some important points, for example, the book is “clean,” and has dual points of view, while giving a nice plot synopsis. The blogger also gave a very honest review, identifying both things they liked and did not like about the story while hitting on some appeal factors like “fast and light read” and “warm and cozy.” Together these reviews give a fairly good sense of the story and its appeal. However, I think relying on any single Amazon review is questionable. Purchasing this book for the library would really depend on cost from my perspective. (Of course, if this title is actually free on Amazon or only cost an accessible $0.99 I would not purchase it.). If the price was right, I guess I would be somewhat likely to purchase this book.

How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection? 

The reviews for Angela’s Ashes make me feel like this is a must-have for the library. They are all very positive! I think the described juxtaposition of miserable and gritty with optimism and humor is a winner for many people and would also make a popular book club pick. 

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?

I think it is a problem for library collections that some books receive little to no coverage. The few major (international) publishers have an enormous amount of ability to control the marketing and distribution of titles, to determine what gets read in a very real way. While it’s nice and important that libraries can stock books readers are hyped for, it is also the goal of collection development to present a diverse, balanced, and eclectic selection to patrons. This goal is made more difficult when too much attention is paid to the summer blockbuster and too little is spared for the variety of smaller titles on the way. 

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

I personally enjoy a good pan where the reviewer lands some sick burns, but I don’t think it’s inappropriate to only print positive content. Ultimately, the choice between 10 positive reviews gives the user more options to choose from than 7 positive reviews and 3 pans- who reads a bad review then seeks out that book? It probably goes without saying, but it is definitely inappropriate to print a positive review of a book that is dishonest in any way. Which makes me wonder about mixed reviews that contain some positive and also some negative comments. I think these should be included. There are so many good books out there I can understand not wanting to give space to a poorly written one. 

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 don’t buy for a library, but I rely on reviews in my personal reading more and more. I use reviews to discover titles for my to-read pile and also to help me choose a book from that pile based on my current mood. Goodreads reviews are more helpful for the latter. I use the Bookmarks website from Literary Hub for reviews. Bookmarks is great because it compiles reviews from a variety of top sources, kind of like critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, offering a snippet and a link to the full review. In addition, the site breaks down the reviews into the categories rave, positive, mixed, or pan. So, for example if a book links to nine different reviews, right away a box at the top will show that 2 were raves, 4 positive, 2 mixed, and 1 pan. It’s interesting to see the variety of responses a title can earn! Bookmarks is also searchable by categories like “Best Reviewed” or “Coming Soon.” I recommend it, especially if you want to get a quick sense of what is being said about a book. 

 Reference: 

 Pineda, D. (2021, Jan. 29). Authors Guild urges DOJ to stop Simon & Schuster and Penguing Random House Merger. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-01-29/authors-guild-urges-doj-to-stop-simon-schuster-penguin-random-house-merger#:~:text=ViacomCBS%20has%20announced%20plans%20to,whopping%20%242.18%20billion%20next%20year.&text=ViacomCBS%20announced%20in%20November%20its,to%20be%20finalized%20this%20year.. =