Monday, September 17, 2007

Could librarians talk more?

Walk into any library, and you'll see a display of books recommended by the librarians. Often, the recommendations are themed: "Like Knitting? You'll Puuurl Over These!" Other recommendations respond to trends: "Chick Lits to Read in the Carpool."

Occasionally, you'll see singular recommendations under the heading of "Staff Picks," but the books stacked there look lowly (Mr. Obie Joe's son's word for lonely). Under each book should be a review; something that would inspire you to take a risk and read an unfamiliar book.

Us book publicists hear a lot about the magical properties of word-of-mouth, usually attributed to bookclubs, independent bookstores and targeted media, and so forth. But what of the librarians? Why do so few of us consult them as readers, as publicists?

It's a lost opportunity. At Mr. Obie Joe's library, the librarians have known our kids by name for over 16 years, so you would think the librarians would be the premier source of book suggestions. But beyond polite niceties, when our kids talk with librarians, there's no engagement of our kids as to what they are reading, and what they would like to read.

Perhaps librarians are not permitted to start this conversation. Perhaps librarians, many of whom are guarded behind a bureaucracy, are difficult to reach by the book industry to be included in hearing what's new.

Worse of all, perhaps librarians have forgotten how close the connection between librarian and reader can be.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the librarians are hesitant to recommend a title since there are always the parents who could really complain if the book has something they find "objectionable".