Posts

Week 15 Prompt: Promotion

The promotion of library resources and materials can be a difficult challenge to tackle. I believe it is important to assess the needs and wants of the community/demographic that you intend to target. One group that I believe it would be worthwhile to target is not necessarily an age group, but rather the people who utilize streaming and subscription-based media services. Where subscriptions to media services like Netflix, Kindle Unlimited, Audible, etc. may have once been considered to be money savers (compared to cable at least), the quantity of those services is only increasing. I believe that libraries could work with this concept and lean into the promotion of the “freeness” of library materials; if more people knew that the same books, audiobooks, and other materials that they pay a subscription for could be accessed for free through their local library, they may be more inclined to get a card or check out library offerings. This would serve to promote all kinds of library materi
3 comments
Read more

Week 14 Prompt: Separating Collections

When it comes to collection organization (as well as most aspects of the library) I believe the first thing to consider is the needs of the community that the library serves. Would patrons benefit from dedicated sections for differing genres? Is there potential for a decision to exclude or harm community members? Etc. Because libraries serve unique communities, I do not believe there is a universal answer to this prompt, but it’s definitely worth thinking about. For this question as well, the size of the collection as well as the available space and resources is also important to consider. For instance, within my local area we have libraries of various sizes – the downtown library with multiple floors and wings would naturally be better suited to separation space-wise compared to a small branch in the suburbs. The library I work at is the former, so I’ll respond with my current library in mind. Regarding LGBTQ Fiction: I would not separate LGBTQ fiction from the rest of fiction, for se
2 comments
Read more

New Adult Annotation: Red, White & Royal Blue

Image
Author: Casey McQuiston Title :  Red, White & Royal Blue Genre : LGBTQIA Romance, New Adult Fiction Publication Year:  2019 Number of Pages : 421 Geographical Setting:  United States (Washington D.C.), United Kingdom Time Period:  2019-2020 Series:  N/A   Plot Summary: First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is finishing out his Bachelor's, preparing to assist in his mother's campaign for reelection as United States President, and dreaming of his own political future. When his anger towards his stuck-up "rival" Prince Henry of Wales results in international publicity, the two are forced to play up a friendship to the press. Alex learns quickly that Prince Henry may not be as boring as he seems, and the two grow closer in secret amidst political, familial, and personal conflicts. Subject Headings:  Children of presidents, International relationships, Royal houses, Family relationships Appeal: Characterization:  Both new adult readers and others will app
1 comment
Read more

Week 11 Prompt: eBooks vs Physical Books

  I, like several others based on the posts I’ve read so far, used to be a bit of a book snob when it came to eBooks. I was dedicated to physical copies above all else, and if given the option, most of the time I still will opt for a physical copy of a book – but is one really better than the other? Physical books have the appeal of being tactile, something that you can feel, hold, and manually progress through by flipping pages. Many books, also, are formatted by their author with the intent of being in print, so some design elements or stylistic choices may not translate as well on an eReader –I’ve found this to be the case with poetry. When reading an eBook, a wonky looking line (meant to emphasize or stand out in print) might be all it takes to draw me out of a book and start thinking about the structure instead of the story. With that said, eBooks have their own set of appeals, mainly relating to convenience and accessibility. Nearly everybody has a phone or portable computer to
1 comment
Read more

Historical Fiction Annotation: The Alice Network

Image
  Authors : Kate Quinn Title :  The Alice Network Genre : Historical Fiction Publication Year:  2017 Number of Pages : 560 Geographical Setting:  France, United Kingdom Time Period:  World War I (1915), post-World War II (1947) Series:  N/A Plot Summary: The year is 1947. Charlotte “Charlie” St. Clair is unmarried and pregnant, a condition considered disgraceful by her wealthy parents. In the few years since World War II, her and her family have suffered great losses, but Charlie has a desperate hope that her beloved French cousin, Rose, who went missing during the war is still alive. In her search, Charlie encounters a haggard, drunken, and traumatized woman in London who she is convinced can lead her to her lost cousin. This is Eve. The year is 1915. Young Eve Gardiner is recruited and sent into France as a spy to uncover secrets of their German occupants. Eve’s country, the safety of her fellow spies, and her life all balance on the believability of her cover and
2 comments
Read more

Book Club Experience

My book club experience actually took place this afternoon, and I am glad to have found a group to observe/participate with within the deadline! Over the past few weeks, I have been looking into book clubs offered by libraries within approximately 20 miles of me, and unfortunately the meeting times of those I could find each conflicted with my work schedule. Thankfully, a friend of mine mentioned her office’s book club to me last month and extended an invitation to me for today’s meeting. This was the third meeting of the group in as many months. We met at a bar in the area, where everyone ordered their own drinks and appetizers. While the club was created by a group of coworkers together, only one of them had prior experience with book clubs, so she took the lead of the discussion, as she had for the other meetings. I later learned that she also has been selecting the books that the group has been reading, though the other members have had some input regarding the type of book they ar
1 comment
Read more

Special Topics Essay: Awards

For this assignment, I decided to explore literary awards, their merit, their impact, and whether readers do (or should) care about them. While I might not consider this to completely fall under the category of a literature review essay, much of the content does revolve around the published opinions of others in the literary world, the points that they make, and how those opinions connect with one another. One of the key points I touched on in this essay was the impact of awards on writers. While there is much contention around literary awards and who wins them, it is worth noting how impactful these awards can be for writers. Yes, an award can help an author's works be more popular, serving as an advertisement of sorts, but many awards also come with direct monetary prizes that can greatly impact writers' lives. Here's a brief excerpt: Generally, writing is not a very lucrative profession. According to the Authors Guild’s 2023 Author Income Survey, “median author income fo
3 comments
Read more