Keep your eyes open

Children's librarians struggle to keep a broad range of books and other materials on the shelves for children. Both school and public librarians do most of their purchasing from large wholesalers, but very often less high-demand items are purchased from small suppliers. If a recent move in New York City spreads very far, this source of targeted materials may dry up. According to a recent story in the NY Times, the large wholesalers have offered city schools a 30 percent discount on all materials and thus insured for themselves a monopoly on school purchases. While this arrangement is not for library materials but for classroom supplements, it may cause ripples across the system. Small suppliers often handle foreign-language materials or those aimed at special education students. If they go out of business because of this decision, as some are saying is likely to happen, that source will dry up for libraries as well as classrooms. Decisions made in remote administrative offices often affect the day-to-day activities of children's librarians. It's important to watch what is happening and to raise the alarm through professional associations so that our children will not be shortchanged because of being overlooked by those at the top.

What kind of review?

Most librarians want reviews to tell us the good and the not-so-good about each book, but some parents and other adults are primarily interested in hearing about the "troublesome bits" that they think might harm their children. Publishers Weekly reports that a recent move by Barnes & Noble to include reviews from Common Sense on their website, presumably to help parents identify books they might not approve of, has raised issues in the blogosphere. Some bloggers contend that the Common Sense reviews concentrate on sex, violence and bad language rather than trying to give a balanced review of YA titles. Of course, librarians have grown wary of reviews from sophisticates on both coasts who give good reviews to books that lead to complaints from parents in some parts of the country. Many librarians prefer to know about any possibility of trouble, and some librarians undoubtedly refuse to purchase any book that might cause trouble. This is not the attitude approved by ALA and other professional organizations, which want books and other materials to be chosen on the basis of their overall value rather than the possible touchy parts. Will the Common Sense reviews lead to a drop in sales for some titles--or perhaps an increase in sales? The only thing to do is to check out the reviews, form your own opinion, and then see what happens. You might also contact Barnes & Noble to tell them what you think about their move.