Week Eight

Hope you are all having a great week. Since papers are due at the end of this week, there is no prompt response due. However, please do the readings anyway - this week we are thinking about quality vs. demand in fiction - some pretty weighty issues. Do we spend lots of money on titles that are popular but that maybe aren't the greatest critical hits? Do we try to push people towards more "quality" books? Who defines what is a quality book and how? What is the role of reading? So many fun questions to talk about - I really picked the wrong week to have your papers due! Speaking of your papers... So far only 23 of you have run your topic ideas by me! I have to approve your topic before you write about it - so let me know ASAP if you haven't already done so!

So, due by the end of this week:

1. Special Topic Paper

2. Relationship and Gentle Reads Annotations

Can't wait to read your papers - as always let me know if you have any questions!

Week Seven

The readings this week are focused on book controversies. When providing readers' advisory services, patrons expect us to know the details behind books that are in the news - without passing judgment. The articles you are to read for this week talk about some of the most significant book headlines of the past. However book controversies aren't just things of the past, I'm sure many of you have heard all about the controversy behind the picture book, A Birthday Cake for George Washington eight years ago. And a few years ago, the controversy over Milo Yiannopoulos' book and Senator Hawley's rescinded book deal. And I would be remiss to not mention all the controversy surrounding American Dirt. Honestly there have been a ton of book controversies the past few years.  There are always two sides to every story whether it be A Million Little Pieces or Lance Armstrong's "memoirs." It's our job to be informed and give non-biased information to patrons. 

We will also be doing our science fiction and mystery annotations this week. Be sure to read the chapters! Saricks has some interesting points to make about serving the readers of these genres. 

Also, I want to remind you to be commenting on your classmate's blogs. Class participation is a huge chunk of your grade; everyone should be commenting at least three times a week.

Due by the end of this week:
Prompt Response
Science Fiction and Mystery Annotations

Prompt:
For our prompt this week, I want you to think about fake memoirs, author mills (like James Patterson), and celebrity inspired book clubs. Basically write a readers' response to one of the articles you are reading for this week (see syllabus or links in this post for readings) - or talk about a time when a book or author that made headlines affected you personally or your work.

Week Six

Great job on your Secret Shopper experiences! I know that is can be very uncomfortable and awkward to pretend in this way, but I think it's very valuable to see how the people we are trying to help are treated - both the good and the bad. Putting ourselves in patron's shoes helps us realize improve our own RA interactions!

This week, we are doing Horror and Romance. As strange as these two seem to pair together, they actually go very well as both genres are designed to elicit strong emotions on behalf of the reader.

We are also discussing integrated advisory this week. The concept behind integrated advisory is very simple: it's using forms of media, other than books, in your advisory. For example, if someone wants to get back into reading but they haven't read too much, you could ask what type of television shows or movies they like, or what kinds of games they like to play. The opposite works as well; I have nearly as many people ask me for movie suggestions as I do book suggestions. And I rarely watch movies, so I have to use sources - and these are not always as easy to find. With reluctant readers, having this knowledge and ability is even more valuable.

For this week's prompt, I would like you to think of an innovative way to promote romance or horror at your local library (pick one, just one!). What would be most effective? A catchy display? Some passive programming? In what ways could you incorporate integrated advisory? Pretend you're pitching an idea to your boss and write at least a paragraph in your prompt response. Hint, pinterest can come in handy, so can Facebook's ALA Think Tank. Have fun with this one!!

Remember, by the end of this week I will need the following posted to your blog (you don't need to submit anything through Canvas):

• Prompt Responses 
• Romance and Horror Annotations

Guest Post from former student Carmen Clark

Read about Carmen Clark's awesome experience becoming a professional reviewer for Library Journal. She was in my class in 2020 and was inspired by the reviewing portion of the class. If any of you decide to follow along the same path, please let me know! It's fun and rewarding!

"The week we covered reviewing in class, I got inspired to give it a try and apply to Library Journal! In the application they asked for my general information, which genres I preferred and an example of a book I'd read in that genre, as well as two writing samples. I took the Kirkus style review I wrote for Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane, changed it to fit LJ's format, and wrote another review for The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian. Once I submitted my application, an email arrived a couple days later letting me know I'd been accepted as a reviewer and an editor would be in touch soon with my first assignment.

I learned very quickly that "soon" in the reviewing world can mean weeks, which was the case with my first assignment. I waited almost a month. All I was given when the email finally arrived was the title, genre and the due date. The book came in the mail a few days later, which happened to be a couple days into quarantine, so I was thankful to have something to occupy my time. I reviewed The Silence by Susan Allott, who is a new author. I was especially nervous to write the review because I didn't care too much for the book. I wrote my review right away and then came back to it a couple days later to edit. I submitted it through a link from the original email. Library Journal uses a company called Media Source Inc. to facilitate their review submissions. I waited (impatiently) for word on if and when my review would be published--Library Journal contacts their reviewers if they don't agree with the submitted opinion, so no news was good news! I checked the website a couple times a week and finally saw it posted on Tuesday! It will also be in the May edition of Library Journal. I have already received my second assignment, this time in PDF form because of the COVID-19 restrictions. Doing this has been a great learning experience for me. I've been wanting to head down this path for awhile and for it to actually happen has been extremely surreal and exciting! I owe a huge thank you to Erin for mentoring me along the way!

Here's a link to my review for The Silence!

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=the-silence"         - Carmen Clark

Week Five

Hope you have had a great week and enjoyed your secret shopper experience! I haven't gotten a chance to read all of them yet - but I am looking forward to it. I should have feedback and grades posted by the end of the week.

Due by the end of this week:

• A Kirkus-style review of a book you loved or hated 
• Prompt Response

For the book review reading I have asked you to look over several different book review websites and write a Kirkus-style review. Kirkus has two things that make it stand out from other review sources - first, it is anonymous. This means that an aspiring writer can publish a bad review without alienating a publisher, or a librarian can publish one without angering a popular author. The second thing Kirkus has going for it, is format. Kirkus uses a very specific format that allows librarians and booksellers to quickly skim a review and find out if the book is one that they want for their collection. The first sentence or two is always a quick summary of the book, then the middle paragraph is a more thorough summary with criticism, and the last sentence or two sum up the reviewer's feelings about the title. Please go to the Kirkus site or look up some reviews of books you have read in the library databases - many databases provide access to Kirkus, I believe Academic Search Premier is one.

The PowerPoint in Canvas is about professional reviewing. If you're looking to see your name in print, earn some cash, or just score free books, be sure to check it out. I've been reviewing professionally for a almost a decade and it is very gratifying! I don't always get paid, but I get to see my name in print and I average about 100 free books and audiobooks a year. Plus it's great networking and an awesome resume booster!

Also, it may seem early, but you might want to start thinking about your midterm assignment. I have asked you to write a paper on a topic related to readers' advisory (please email me the topic for approval prior to writing the paper).

For this week's prompt, I want to start a conversation about the different types of reviews. Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations. For example, Booklist will not publish negative reviews, while, as you have all seen, Kirkus has no problems with it (check out this savage review - https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sebastia-alzamora/blood-crime/). 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?

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?

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?

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? 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? 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?