Week 5 Prompt

In the library I worked before, I assisted in collection development for YA, graphic novels, and video games. I never once consulted any professional review sites; instead I focused heavily on reader reviews. What we didn’t get through Junior Library Guild—which are typically the strongly reviewed new releases—I supplemented through Goodreads buzz and reviews. Additionally, I play a lot of video games, and I am typically aware of the upcoming, hyped game releases. Outside of that, that library’s collection policy was strongly catered to patron recommendations and requests—they had a large collection of horror graphic novels because of patrons’ collaboration. Yet, now that I’ve recently moved to a larger library system, we have to justify our purchases through review sites. In buying an item, we have to state that it had favorable reviews or was featured on Kirkus/Booklist/Library Journal/etc.. Yet, I wonder, do my patrons read these review sites? 

Working in a public library, my entire thought process on collection development is patron focused; what to patrons want to read? Do they like ‘trashy’ romance novels? Are patrons reading paperback romances at the speed of light? Where do they find the books they request—Costco, NPR, People Magazine? In the case of Angela’s Ashes, I would add it to the collection because it is so well known, as suggested by the Booklist review and my own experience of having Irish-American relatives, regardless of the praiseworthy reviews (and I’ve received this as a donation so often I would never feel the need to buy it). 

Concerning the eBook romantic suspense reviews, combining the two mildly sparse reviews together, I have an idea of The Billionaire’s First Christmas: a “very common story” between a woman who “just loves Christmas” and a rich man who “doesn’t like Christmas at all.” Would I add it to the collection? If my patrons read a lot of holiday themed romance paperbacks online, yes, I would. Romance paperbacks tend to be one in the same and so I don’t think it’s completely unfair that they’re under-reviewed—it would be exhausting to analyze the plots and literary structure of this genre; so long as your typical reader is stating how the book made them feel, and that those are good feelings, I find that worthwhile in a collection. 

Personally, I love to read a good Bitch Media book review. Other than that, I tend to follow a select few reviewers on Goodreads whose judgment I trust on books I’m interested in reading.