Week Five Prompt Response

E-book Only Reviews and Collection Development

The lack of e-book only reviews in professional publications absolutely affects collection development. The lack of professional reviews for e-book only publications may discourage one from adding that title to the library's collection. It may be more difficult to find unbiased reviews. Finding reviews through places like Amazon and Goodreads is great when making decisions for your personal library but can be a bit more difficult when it comes to library collection development. It can be difficult to sort through the reviews that adequately supply an overview of the book's plot and writing style. With that being said, these types of reviews can provide insight into the popularity of a book which can be a good indicator it would be well received by library users. 

The Billionaire's First Christmas Reviews

After reading the two reviews for The Billionaire's First Christmas, I would not buy this book for the library's collection. My biggest concern is that both reviews fail to address the writing style as well as the actual relationship between the main characters. Both reviews are very surface-level and focus more on the reviewers' feelings than an objective view of the book. It is difficult to tell through these reviews if the book is palatable to a general audience.

Angela's Ashes Reviews

The reviews for Angela's Ashes provide relevant insight into the novel and its author. I would feel comfortable adding this title to the library's collection after reading these reviews. Unlike the reviews for The Billionaire's First Christmas, the reviews for Angela's Ashes provide more concrete evidence of why someone should read this book. They discuss the emotions brought on by the novel as well as what the reader can expect when they read this book. 

Library's Collection and Negative Reviews

I definitely think it is unfair that other types of books get less coverage than others. Unfortunately, not everyone takes e-book only novels seriously and people are more likely to review and pay attention to reviews of popular, widespread books. The library's collection is going to reflect what is popular and well-liked but this could cause the library to miss out on shelving lesser-known books that could be well-liked by users. This is where user recommendations come into play. This can help expand the library's collection of what is popular and well-reviewed. 

I think that not including negative reviews is doing a disservice to readers. It is important to include a well-rounded review of a book so one is getting a clear picture of the novel. Sometimes, a negative review will actually provide helpful insight to a reader. They may decide that what one person considers "bad" is something they do not mind. Reading is subjective and the reviews should reflect that. 

Reviews for Personal Use 

I do not work for a library so I have not had the opportunity to make the purchasing decisions. I can speak about how I use reviews for my own personal use. When I am interested in reading a book, I like looking at the negative and positive reviews. This provides insight into what people like and dislike about the novel and I can make an informed decision from there. I like using Amazon for reviews because I can easily filter reviews by their star ratings. I use Storygraph to document my reading stats, but it is not the best source for reviews. Unfortunately, the reviews on Storygraph are scarce compared to websites like Goodreads. I will use Goodreads for that very reason. The reviews are usually more in-depth and easier to filter through.