Week 5 Prompt

 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. How does this affect collection development?

This affects collection development because without having reviews from professional publications, libraries are less likely to hear about these materials. The only way they could hear about popular Ebooks would be from patrons themselves. Most libraries buy new materials based on reviews, popularity, and patron requests/recommendations. At least that is how my library determines what to buy. With Ebook-only materials not having proper representation libraries won’t have as much knowledge about their popularity in order to buy the materials for their patrons. 

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?

Based on the two reviews, I would trust the blog review over the Amazon review because the blog review seems more honest in its review. The Amazon review is too complimentary and sounds more like a marketing tactic rather than a genuine review. It also seems a bit too dramatic. The review from the blog sounds more sincere and provides both good and bad things about the book rather than just stating overly good things like the Amazon review. Based on the review I would buy the book for my library because I know patrons who would love this type of book due to the blog’s review.  

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 that adding the book to the collection would be a great idea to add Angela’s Ashes to the collection. The reviews clearly state the tougher topics of the books while also stating the more wholesome contents. Based on the content and reviews from these publications, Angela’s Ashes. 

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? 

 I do not think it’s fair that one type of book gets overly reviewed. I feel like indie books, Ebooks, and other types of books should also get a chance to be reviewed by big publications. That way libraries can have a more diverse collection and smaller authors can have a greater chance of spreading their stories. 

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? 

I feel that reviews that don’t print negative content are only providing half the story. Only seeing good reviews does not provide buyers with the information that allows them to make a fully informed decision. I know that may sound too serious for a book but I know when I personally look for books to read I like to see the bad reviews as much as the good just to see what I am getting into with the story without having it spoiled. Plus bad reviews can provide information about things that, although may be bad to the reviewer, could be good to the potential reader. For example, a book may have a bad review saying how sappy the book is but sappy books could be just what the reader wants. 

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 do not buy for my library but we do get a say in what new materials we get and look at multiple review magazines including Booklist and Kirkus. I will say I do tend to prefer looking on Goodreads for book reviews because I feel that they are honest and I can also receive recommendations from friends who I know I can trust to tell me if a book is bad.