Week 5 Prompt Response

 RE: eBook-only books and reviewing

The popularity of eBook-only books shows that professional reviews may not be necessary for a book to be successful, but I imagine this would affect collection development if the library staff were looking for these criteria. As trends shift, it may be necessary for library staff to turn to other sources for collection development if professional reviewers are not changing the types of books they review.

RE: Amazon vs Blog Review

I am not confident using these two reviews to make a collection development decision. Both reviews read as stream-of-consciousness writing, lacking focus on the book (or at least the aspects that would aid my decision-making). It is difficult to tell how the book might appeal to a wider audience since the opinions (about the book and Christmas itself, from the looks of things) are so individualized/personal.

RE: Angela’s Ashes

Having read these professional reviews, I would feel encouraged to add Angela’s Ashes to my collection. I believe reviews such as these can be especially helpful in genres or areas that one may be less familiar with or knowledgeable about; while I myself may not have read many memoirs, these reviews offer insight into the writing, themes, and “selling points” of this book that would make this a good book for consideration. While no review is ever purely objective, I appreciated how these professional reviews emphasized the appeal to readers, rather than only their personal reception as you see in many nonprofessional reviews.

Further Points

Is there such a thing as fairness in reviewing? In a perfect world, coverage would be split more evenly, but I imagine it’s a cycle; a book gets reviews so it gains more traction and popularity (due to exposure) OR a book becomes popular so it gains the attention of more professional reviewers. With that said, I’m sure this imbalance affects library collections, especially when collection development is looking through reviews to determine what materials they purchase – you’re more likely to purchase a book that has more information available to you.

When it comes to sites or sources that only have positive reviews, I don’t see the appeal as much. Is a review as legitimate if it’s submitted to a source knowing that it has to have a certain level of positivity to be accepted? Should librarians and individuals treat a lack of a review from these sources as a negative (they couldn’t post a review because they didn’t like it) or did they just not review the book at all? It’s a strange choice.

I am not currently involved in collection decisions at my library, nor have I used many review sources for my personal reading until this class. I will, at times, look to reviews for a book on sites like Goodreads during the selection process, but in the past, I haven’t looked much further than the ratings (3/5 stars, for example). Reading professional and nonprofessional reviews this week has helped me recognize their value more so than before.