Week five prompt response

Well-known, established authors always have their works featured in the mainstream review sources and they will always need to be added to the collection. However, a review in Kirkus would be more telling about the actual quality of the work than one in Booklist. I am a huge proponent of patron-driven acquisitions and think that is a great way to guide a collection. If a book warrants a review in a prominent publication, whether it is positive or not, chances are patrons will want to read it. 

There are book review sites to aid in any collection development for any genre or type of book known. These sites are extremely useful in providing information about titles that do not make it mainstream publications or are only available in eBooks.

The Amazon review of “The billionaire’s first Christmas” was authored by someone who enjoyed the book and was sharing their thoughts. They also might have been looking for more information on the sequel. This seems like a reliable review as I could see patron’s writing a similar one. The Blog review confuses me. The description of the book itself is very professional and well-written. However, the review that followed it was very sloppily written and does not provide much merit. The bottom-line is whether this book would be read and enjoyed, and I believe it would; this type of book is popular in my library. This book is not a romantic suspense as there is not a dangerous situation taking place. The description from the blog introduction does give the book a hint of mystery that I do not believe actually would constitute a typing of suspense. This is a free eBook from Amazon, and is not a usual addition to the collection. We do lend Kindles that circulate and we add books to those and if requested, we would add this book so a patron could read it. (If they did not have their own reader)

“Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt should be a staple in the library. With four positive reviews and glowing statements like, “An extraordinary work in every way.” from Kirkus Review and "A wonderful book; strongly recommended for readers of any age." from Library Journal; it makes deciding to add this book to the collection easy. 

I also like to glance through Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly. I am not responsible for any facet of collection development so I don’t devote much work time to reading reviews. I often look at Amazon to get a quick idea of a book and skim a few reviews.  I generally keep aware of popular new releases (although it’s really hard to keep up on James Patterson!) from patrons requests. As far as utilizing reviews for my own personal reading, I usually don’t. I tend to read books recommended by patrons, co-workers and I also like to look at books based on the cover and generate an interest from there.