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From: scorbett1_at_aol.com
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:59 -0500
This has been a wonderful, occasionally infuriating, robust discussion. La st week was the Miami Book Fair so I knew I would not have time to weigh in. I'm grateful the moderators have kindly looked away from their calend ars at least for today so I can add my two cents.
I have been the children's book reviewer at the Miami Herald since 1996. In that time, the frequency of my column has diminished from once a week to once in a while. Space, always tight, has been cut to the bone like ev ery other aspect of our operation. I would give up this job if not for the certainty that when I do, it will probably be the end of children's book reviews in the Miami Herald.
I have always written those reviews with an eye toward the parent buyer, which means I rarely have to review a book I don't like. I can only remem ber twice writing negative reviews -- I complained about the pace and leng th and overburdened plot of Harry P. and the Goblet of Fire; I dared to sa y that girls could do better than Twilight (and was pilloried on the fan boards -- people suggesting I be tied to a tree and have the werewolves sicced on me.)
I also review for People. Again, space is so precious I would not waste it talking about a book I did not wholeheartedly recommend.
Finally, I write for PW. I certainly can't speak for the magazine itself but my understanding about the anonymity of our reviews has to do with br anding. A starred review from "PW" means a lot more than a starred review from so-and-so, which happened to appear in PW. When the magazine gives its thumbs-up to a book, there is some heft to that. That said, I don't love the idea of unsigned reviews. I do think it allows, as someone else said, reviewers to be mean-spirited in their cleverness. Or just plain me an-spirited.
One issue I haven't seen raised is what role people think "buzz" plays in books getting reviewed and getting starred reviews. I have (too frequentl y) had the experience of reading a book that I wasn't assigned to review that has been mentioned here, there, and everywhere, garnered multiple st ars, and been left with a "huh?" feeling. Most often, these are books from established authors or books that are getting the designated outsized pro motional push from their publishers. This frustrates me as it makes me que stion how much I can trust reviews! :)
Thanks to all for this healthy discussion. I am an author, too, but that is a sideline. I love my job and have great fun telling kids that going to work for me means stretching out on the couch with a new book.
Sue Corbett www.suecorbett.com
Message-----
From: Maggi
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 12:07 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject:
Reviews for the school librarian
I'm spellbound by this discussion on reviews and reviewing! Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses.
I used to be a public librarian, but now I'm in the schools. It's a whole different world. We have no budget for periodicals other than what we allocate from our general book budget. This year we have 20 elementary school librarians in my district, each of whom have chosen to buy one periodical, and we share them amongst one another. I can't tell you how many months have gone by since I've actually had time to sit down and read a professional periodical. Too many times, I receive them in the mail and they get shelved in my office. It galls me, but I scarcely have time to read the books I buy for my students; given the choice between books I could buy and books I have right now, I usually pick the latter.
Even if I had time to read all the wonderful review periodicals, I have hardly any money to buy the books they review. We get about $10.50 per year per student for books and AV materials, far below the mean reported in the SLJ 2007 Spending Survey (http://www.schoollibraryjou rnal.com/article/CA6403260.html ). With frugal practices and added funds from Parent Council, I can buy about two new books per pupil each year.
The result is that I often find myself reading free, digital review sources. Anything I can RSS feed to my email box is far more likely to get looked at. Blogs, group reviews, online journals and awards lists make up the majority of my advance review media. I use Titlewave and our public library's catalog to access reviews of materials already published to make collection development decisions, and, yes, I mostly look for books with more than 3 reviews. Blogging has helped me delve into the world of ARCs. I hope to review for journals someday.
I imagine our small school collection budgets don't make much of a drop in the bucket compared to public institutions, but I do appreciate consideration from professional review periodicals for the difficult circumstances of teacher librarians.
Maggi Idzikowski Media Specialist Allen Elementary School, Ann Arbor, MI librarymaggi_at_gmail.com Blogging with my 3-year-old at http://mamalibrarian.blogspot.com/
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:59 -0500
This has been a wonderful, occasionally infuriating, robust discussion. La st week was the Miami Book Fair so I knew I would not have time to weigh in. I'm grateful the moderators have kindly looked away from their calend ars at least for today so I can add my two cents.
I have been the children's book reviewer at the Miami Herald since 1996. In that time, the frequency of my column has diminished from once a week to once in a while. Space, always tight, has been cut to the bone like ev ery other aspect of our operation. I would give up this job if not for the certainty that when I do, it will probably be the end of children's book reviews in the Miami Herald.
I have always written those reviews with an eye toward the parent buyer, which means I rarely have to review a book I don't like. I can only remem ber twice writing negative reviews -- I complained about the pace and leng th and overburdened plot of Harry P. and the Goblet of Fire; I dared to sa y that girls could do better than Twilight (and was pilloried on the fan boards -- people suggesting I be tied to a tree and have the werewolves sicced on me.)
I also review for People. Again, space is so precious I would not waste it talking about a book I did not wholeheartedly recommend.
Finally, I write for PW. I certainly can't speak for the magazine itself but my understanding about the anonymity of our reviews has to do with br anding. A starred review from "PW" means a lot more than a starred review from so-and-so, which happened to appear in PW. When the magazine gives its thumbs-up to a book, there is some heft to that. That said, I don't love the idea of unsigned reviews. I do think it allows, as someone else said, reviewers to be mean-spirited in their cleverness. Or just plain me an-spirited.
One issue I haven't seen raised is what role people think "buzz" plays in books getting reviewed and getting starred reviews. I have (too frequentl y) had the experience of reading a book that I wasn't assigned to review that has been mentioned here, there, and everywhere, garnered multiple st ars, and been left with a "huh?" feeling. Most often, these are books from established authors or books that are getting the designated outsized pro motional push from their publishers. This frustrates me as it makes me que stion how much I can trust reviews! :)
Thanks to all for this healthy discussion. I am an author, too, but that is a sideline. I love my job and have great fun telling kids that going to work for me means stretching out on the couch with a new book.
Sue Corbett www.suecorbett.com
Message-----
From: Maggi
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 12:07 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject:
Reviews for the school librarian
I'm spellbound by this discussion on reviews and reviewing! Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses.
I used to be a public librarian, but now I'm in the schools. It's a whole different world. We have no budget for periodicals other than what we allocate from our general book budget. This year we have 20 elementary school librarians in my district, each of whom have chosen to buy one periodical, and we share them amongst one another. I can't tell you how many months have gone by since I've actually had time to sit down and read a professional periodical. Too many times, I receive them in the mail and they get shelved in my office. It galls me, but I scarcely have time to read the books I buy for my students; given the choice between books I could buy and books I have right now, I usually pick the latter.
Even if I had time to read all the wonderful review periodicals, I have hardly any money to buy the books they review. We get about $10.50 per year per student for books and AV materials, far below the mean reported in the SLJ 2007 Spending Survey (http://www.schoollibraryjou rnal.com/article/CA6403260.html ). With frugal practices and added funds from Parent Council, I can buy about two new books per pupil each year.
The result is that I often find myself reading free, digital review sources. Anything I can RSS feed to my email box is far more likely to get looked at. Blogs, group reviews, online journals and awards lists make up the majority of my advance review media. I use Titlewave and our public library's catalog to access reviews of materials already published to make collection development decisions, and, yes, I mostly look for books with more than 3 reviews. Blogging has helped me delve into the world of ARCs. I hope to review for journals someday.
I imagine our small school collection budgets don't make much of a drop in the bucket compared to public institutions, but I do appreciate consideration from professional review periodicals for the difficult circumstances of teacher librarians.
Maggi Idzikowski Media Specialist Allen Elementary School, Ann Arbor, MI librarymaggi_at_gmail.com Blogging with my 3-year-old at http://mamalibrarian.blogspot.com/
---Received on Mon 16 Nov 2009 01:20:59 PM CST
