How Do Libraries Select Books

The majority of adult fiction, mysteries and science fiction is ordered for the library based on reviews.  I regularly read Booklist, Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly.  In addition, I subscribe to several on-line review sources and also check the reviews in People and the Sunday edition of the Star Ledger.  Whatever I am reading, I look for reviews.  The reference staff checks a variety of bestseller lists.  Yes, we do our homework before a book is shelved and available to our patrons.

Reviews can be very straightforward and even forceful,  the reviewer may command, 

"All public libraries should buy this book!"  

 Reviewers are sometimes very polite and use phrases such as,

 "Nice but not essential," or imply the book might not be the author’s very best effort. 

     

Reviewers can be absolutely brutal,

"No public library should buy this book!"

Frequently, the reviews are puzzling and offer no real guidance or indication of who the intended audience might be.

The following snippets caught my eye this morning:

           " … sensitive readers may not get past the foul language…"

            "…if her novel has any weakness, it’s a lack of plot and character development…"

           '"…recommended for fans and those who’ve enjoyed a good cookie table…"

            "…fun if gruesome horror read…"

            "…gets off to a strong, compelling start but loses its way midpoint…"

            "…her novel’s startling ending may leave some readers scratching their heads…"

            "…readers will find that all their tears are worth it…."

Would you read any of those books?

Oh well, back to reading reviews and trying to find the right books for your library.

Related websites:

The New York Times bestseller lists

USA Today book section

The EarlyWord

S. Bakos

Pet Sounds by Quinn Cummings

Pet Sounds, new & improved stories from the QC Report by Quinn Cummings is a collection of the author's recollections of the various pets she has had in her life. As a volunteer at an animal shelter, and all-around soft-hearted person, the author often fosters kittens from the shelter as well as having a menagerie of old dogs, cats and the odd small animal for her young daughter in her small California home.
I count Ms. Cummings as one of my favorite humor writers. I follow her on Twitter and read her blog and I recommend her first book, Notes from the Underwire to many of our library patrons if they are looking for something funny, light, you know, GOOD! I've had a lot of satisfied customers because of her talents at getting readers to actually laugh at loud. Many thanks, btw, to our patron who first brought this author to my attention. That's the kind of book this is; word of mouth will spread the good news that you don't have to read depressing books to find good writing. I think all the dogs I've had in my life would recommend this book too, but first they might give it a little chew around the binding edges...

My Granddog, Reggie - would definitely like this book

Related links:
The author's blog: the QC Report
Interview with the author: Write Online
The author on Twitter @quinccy

A Self-Help Book by Kermit the Frog

Before You Leap, a frog's-eye view of life's greatest lessons by Kermit the Frog (2006)
Whilst hopping down the stacks, looking for Aristophanes "Complete Plays' which of course includes his best work: 'Frogs', I happened to spy my dear friend Kermit's picture on the spine of a book of wisdom, not just for frogs, but for everyone, amphibian or, purely land-dwelling, and maybe even flying, swimming or other creatures of the earth. To jump at the chance to check out such a font of wisdom was the work of the moment. I produced my Berkeley Heights Public Library card at the Circulation desk and the staff that work there very kindly came around the desk to put it in my backpack after they checked it out to me.
Here are some of the bon mots I have gleaned so far from this book:
In the very useful, and strangely familiar sounding chapter, 'The Seven Dreams of Highly Effective Amphibians.' Kermit tells the reader, "It always starts with a dream" (75) and goes on to enumerate 'Kermit's Seven-step dream identification system' (77). The reader can use this system as a blueprint to success in or out of the swamp.
Addressing the common fear of public speaking, Kermit advises:
"Imagine the audience is naked. If this doesn't help, do what I do and just work naked yourself." (89) Now there's a bit of advice you won't find just anywhere.
As for "Fear of Pigs. This is just good sense. Go with it." (89)
Again, I can't find anything wrong with that advice.
In the chapter, 'The Wealth of Frogs', Kermit starts by saying, "Money is not a big issue with frogs." (97) If, like me, or any other frog, you agree with that, you could just skip right over this chapter and go to chapter 11: 'Finding Your Inner Tadpole, a frog's spiritual journey.' (139) If you don't nurture your inner tadpole, you will have to face your outer toad, (140) so it's best to attend to your spiritual self before you turn into a toad.

For other self-help books, take a look at this aptly-titled blog post: Self Help Books

Waiting for new books in series: George R.R. Martin and the Eager Fans

There may be nothing more impatient and enthused than a fan waiting for the next installment of a beloved book series. Whether it's fans of George R.R. Martin's series 'A Song of Ice and Fire' or readers of Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series or of Jean Auel's 'Earth's Children' series, fans are caught up in a world of internet author sites, fan sites, Twitter hashtag hysteria, Facebook 'likes' and even publisher-fueled rumors. The next book is right around the corner! here's an interview with the author! the last book is just out in paperback! the movie is in the works! and so on. All false hopes to the series-starved reader.
Here are some of the misunderstandings that can come about with books published in series.

• Often a series is referred to by the first book in the series, but this may not be the actual name of the series. The series known as 'A Game of Thrones' is actually titled 'A Song of Ice and Fire.' Remember that Auel's first book 'Clan of the Cave Bear' is not the name of the series which is 'Earth's Children'. 

• The name of the TV show or movie may not be the same as the name of a book or series; it may be the name of the first book, but cover all or part of various books in the series. Think: 'All Creatures Great and Small,' the TV series, drew from many of the books and no doubt made up some material and altered some too. 

• Now add in the fact that about a year after a book comes out in hardcover, it will be released in paperback to as much fanfare as the publishers can give it. Sometimes, the book will be re-reviewed. This often gives readers the idea that their favorite author or series has a NEW BOOK OUT! But no, really no, trust us on this, we can check the catalog, check Amazon, check Fantastic Fiction and there still will not be that new book you have been yearning for. We feel your pain.

And so there are many a slip between cup and the lip when it comes to sequels in series fiction. Sometime authors rapidly churn out the first few books in a series and then j u s t 
s l o w doooowwwwn. And who can blame them? Series, especially fantasy series, tend to be real door-stoppers in size. And even in the non-fantasy area, think about Ken Follett's series: his 'Century Trilogy' started with - 'Fall of Giants' (2010) which clocks in at an impressive 985 pages, while the second in the series, 'Winter of the World' (2012) came to an equally impressive 940 pages. Not a week goes by that patrons don't ask where the third in that series is. Ken? Oh, Ken? Typing away, are you, I hope?

Resources we use to verify series sequels rumors:
Fantastic Fiction lists authors' books by series and in chronological order
The Berkeley Heights Public Library catalog with enriched content from Novelist and Goodreads that lists read-alikes and books in series
Good old standby Amazon.com
Author websites often tell the next book an author is working on with a target date for completion, to be taken with a grain of salt.

Note to fellow librarians and collectors of weird professional lingo: the process of figuring out exactly what book a patron wants by piecing together the clues that are given is called 'bibliographic verification'. Right, anyone remember that? I was totally mystified when my professors went on about that, but now, I know. it can be tougher than it sounds. A cigar might just be a cigar to Dr. Freud, but to librarians, it could be any number of book titles, subtitles, authors or just plain unsubstantiated rumors. The watchword for bibliographic verification: mistrust & verify. For related post see: Butchered Book Titles

Libraries on Pinterest

The Berkeley Heights Public Library has a Pinterest account where we post pictures of books to read, local history images from our archives, summer reading selections and book art among other topics. Just posted: the two images above that were made from photographs taken around the library and then made into posters using free photo-editing software Picasa. We hope you enjoy a glimpse at the inside world of libraries. Check out our Pinterest boards at
http://www.pinterest.com/berkeleyheights/boards/

Pinterest boards created and contributed to by librarians around the world can be found here:
http://www.pinterest.com/ofallonlibrary/the-librarians-list/

http://www.pinterest.com/somerslibrary/what-are-you-reading/

To download Picasa to your own computer:    http://picasa.google.com/ Picasa is a great way to start editing your photographs without purchasing expensive software.

Related post about the library's summer reading program using Pinterest
 http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-reading-suggestions-on-pinterest.html