Myth or reality: The absence of evangelical Christian fiction titles in the public libraries of the United States

With the emergence of evangelical Christian popular culture, debate persists about whether public libraries in the United States are purchasing evangelical Christian fiction. This study examines the presence or absence of best-selling evangelical Christian fiction titles from 1990 to 1999 in public libraries in comparison with the presence or absence of mainstream fiction bestsellers from the same period. Public libraries of some states purchase more evangelical fiction titles than others, and the proportion of evangelical fiction titles relative to total fiction titles also varies widely from state to state, and from census region to census region. Using data on the percentage of total religious adherents and evangelical adherents, variously defined, in states and census regions of the United States, a series of indexes was developed to rank states according to the proportion of their evangelical fiction titles in public libraries relative to the percentage of their evangelical population. In addition, there was a statistically significant relationship between the proportion of evangelical adherents in a state and the proportion of evangelical fiction titles held as a percentage of total fiction titles in public libraries, even when total expenditures for books and per capita expenditures were controlled for.     

Multiple Copies of Bestsellers in Public Libraries: How Much Is Enough?

How do public libraries develop their collections of high-demand materials for the “I want it now” generation? Ten public libraries’ holdings of fiction and nonfiction bestseller titles were observed over a four-week period. The number of copies rose fairly consistently, with the five fiction titles having roughly about twice the number of copies as the five nonfiction titles. The ratio of holds to copies averaged 2.7:1 and ranged from 0.8:1 to 6.5:1. Demand for e-books was consistently higher than the number of copies available, averaging more than 4:1 across all libraries.     

New Fiction,Adult Education,and the Library

Although sales of popular fiction are increasing steadily, the number of serious novelists able to support themselves by writing is decreasing. Because early library emphasis on raising popular taste has lessened and adult education efforts within libraries have diminished, libraries are often held responsible for the novelists' plight. In addition, adult education in general has moved from an emphasis on the liberal arts to a concentration on practical, "how-to" courses. The Great Book Discussion Program was the last major liberal arts adult education effort sponsored by a library. A program for discussion of subsidized quality new fiction is proposed. Novelists would be subsidized by library purchases. Such discussion groups would sometimes appear on a related public television show. The plan would provide fiction with a springboard other than publishers' promotions and literary establishment endorsements.     

Fiction in Nigerian Public Libraries

This article reports the results of a survey of the provision and use of fiction in Nigerian public libraries. Evidence shows that, despite carefully framed acquisitions policy statements regarding fiction, in actual fact the public libraries allocate only a small percentage of their meagre book funds to fiction. Consequently, the fiction collections of these libraries are very small, and library clients borrow much less fiction than nonfiction. Nevertheless, Nigerian public libraries have a special interest in acquiring and promoting the reading of indigenous fiction.     

Beyond the fringe: Administratively decentralized collections at the University of Michigan

Little is known about the materials that university departments purchase for their own use. This study examines materials purchased for other departments at the University of Michigan, whether these materials were also held in the University of Michigan Libraries' collections, and the subjects of the materials purchased. Titles purchased for departmental collections were searched in the libraries' online public catalog to determine whether they were held by the University Libraries, and if so, their subject. The majority of titles purchased for departmental libraries were held in the University Libraries collection. As a whole, the purchases were concentrated in science, technical, and medical fields; moreover, titles in these fields were more likely than others to be duplicated in the University Libraries. This study provides initial insight into the relation of independent departmental collections and raises many questions about the relation of such collections to central university libraries.     

美《图书馆杂志》2003年度公众购书调查与业务拓展对策

美国《图书馆杂志》2003年对公共图书馆购书情况进行了调查，结果表明，购书的品种、方式和经费预算都发生了变化，图书馆流通由纸质图书的借阅逐渐转向了E-book借阅，客户在家就能接受图书馆的远程在线服务。充分显示了数字化时代图书馆的优越性。     

Management of Popular Reading Collections

In an effort to satisfy the leisure reading demands of students, the Brigham Young University library provides a small collection of books for browsing. A study of circulation statistics led to a heavier emphasis on paperbacks, a change in emphasis to fiction purchases, and the replacement of the McNaughton Plan with local purchasing. Currency of the titles was not found to be related to popularity. Science fiction, fantasy, and romance were found to be the most popular subjects.     

The self-publishing phenomenon and libraries

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the concept of book self-publishing for fiction and nonfiction began to loom large in the North American publishing universe. As traditional mainstream publishers consolidated and were often loathe to take chances on unknown writers whose books might not turn immediate profits, some authors found that fewer and fewer publishing venues were open to them. As a result, new self-publishers—collectively called “author services” or print-on-demand (POD) publishers—appeared alongside subsidy (or vanity) publishers. Against the background of an increasing corporatization of mainstream publishing, book self-publishing can theoretically be situated as one of the last bastions of independent publishing. This article examines how academic and public libraries dealt with the book self-publishing phenomena during 1960–2004. To what extent did libraries collect fiction and nonfiction published by self-publishing houses? Can any patterns be discerned in their collecting choices? Did libraries choose to collect more titles from “author services” publishers than subsidy publishers?     

If a Mouse Clicks at Home,Will the Library Hear the Sound?

ABSTRACT

As the online public library becomes a creation of the Internet, will taxpayers continue to support an institution that is potentially “just another address”? And will the public library have to compete in the image and likeness of Barnes and Noble.com?     

Factors responsible for the acquisition of Canadian fiction by U.S. public and academic libraries

A survey of U.S. libraries owning fiction from Canadian publishers revealed important differences in how Canadian fiction is acquired by U.S. public and academic libraries. Public libraries demonstrated remarkable uniformity in how they acquire Canadian fiction, academic libraries great diversity. The importance of reviews—especially in public libraries and especially reviews in a small core of journals—was confirmed. Other factors contributing to the acquisition of Canadian fiction especially by U.S. academic libraries are described and their impact analyzed. The paper ends with a warning that one must not conclude from these findings that public libraries in general depend uniformly or primarily on reviews for the bulk of their fiction selection. A subsequent study of Ontario public libraries showed this not to be the case.     

OPACs,Users, and Readers’ Advisory: Exploring the Implications of User-Generated Content for Readers’ Advisory in Canadian Public Libraries

This article examines the contribution of social discovery platforms and user-generated content (UGC) on readers’ advisory (RA) services in Canadian public libraries. Grounded Theory was used to conduct a content analysis of library-assigned subject headings and UGC of 22 adult fiction titles in 43 Canadian public libraries that use BiblioCommons, SirsiDynix, and Encore social discovery platforms. Findings indicate that UGC complements the MARC bibliographic record as it provides insight into the subject of a work, its protagonists, and the effect the book has on readers. User-generated reviews provide a rich data set that clearly connects to known RA access points.     

A new approach to collection bias in academic libraries: The extent of corporate control in journal holdings

Questions of collection bias in library journal collections usually turn on a left-right political contrast. This article presents another approach that distinguishes between corporate and non-corporate controlled publications. Using this method, the catalog holdings of all Canadian academic libraries were searched to determine the penetration of socio-political titles of mainstream “corporate publishers” and those of “small publishers.” Canadian academic libraries privilege, by a wide margin, mainstream titles published by corporate entities, although some libraries have impressive “small publisher” collections. This article also analyzed the availability of mainstream and small publisher journals provided by ten popular electronic vendors. These vendors provide very low access to non-corporate “small publisher” titles while covering 100% of surveyed mainstream titles. The implications of such provision rates are examined from the perspective of the scholarly browsing process and the role of the university.     

Making the Common Uncommon?

Abstract

Many libraries have entered into cooperative or consor-tial agreements to reap the cost benefits of electronic purchases, to share a library system vendor, or to divide collection-building responsibilities. However, among such cooperating libraries the formal coordination of approval plan profiles has seldom been attempted. Many questions need to be answered before a group of libraries could enter into a cooperative approval plan. Would the political and administrative costs of designing and maintaining a cooperative profile be sufficiently offset by a broadened overall collection among cooperating libraries? To what degree do libraries acting independently achieve the same approval plan results that a formal coordination of profiles would generate?

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is comprised of four geographically-close institutions that have been building cooperative collections for more than 50 years. Some of their agreements have been quite formal and others have been quite informal.

This study looks at the degree of approval plan overlap among TRLN libraries; at circulation data for these overlapping titles; and at lists of titles not acquired within the consortium. The results may inform the question of whether separate, uncoordinated approval plans already meet the need of the TRLN consortium, or if consortial approval plan cooperation might benefit the group.

An examination of monographs in four selected Library of Congress classes supplied to the TRLN libraries by Yankee Book Peddler over a six month period in 1997 provided data to examine issues surrounding a consortial approval plan. The degree of overlap among the four institutions was defined, and circulation statistics showed whether books acquired by multiple libraries had a high level of use. A list of YBP titles not acquired by any of the libraries during the same timeperiod wasalso analyzed, to examine whether formal cooperation might have usefully broadenedtheoverallcollection.     

A Special Relationship? A Comparison of Consumer Book Buying Habits and Trends in the United States and Great Britain

BML monitors consumer book purchases in Britain via its Books & Consumers survey. RR Bowker tracks US consumer book purchases via its PubTrack Consumer survey. This report compares the results of the two surveys. In 2008, the US consumer market was around ten times the size of its UK equivalent, but a higher proportion of British than US consumers bought books. Book buyers in each country were similar in terms of gender and age, but slightly more ‘up market’ in the US than Britain. Adult fiction and hardbacks accounted for a higher proportion of book purchases in the US than in Britain, but with variations in the mix of genres bought. Chain bookshops remained the largest channel for book purchases in Britain, despite losing share in recent years. The internet overtook the chains in the US in 2008, with Britain around 3 years behind in terms of internet share.     

The Eight Percent Problem: Authors of Colour in the British Young Adult Market (2006–2016)

The conversations surrounding ‘diversity’ in the Anglo-American book publishing industry have increased in recent years, and often centre around the lack of representation of publishing professionals, authors, and characters of colour. This paper contextualises these discussions within British YA, a market that has grown in popularity since 2006. Through an analysis of the corpus of all Young Adult fiction titles published, in the UK, during the 2006–2016 period, this paper will investigate what percentage of the titles were created by authors of colour; to determine whether this number has risen over the years, and to pinpoint any patterns and anomalies that emerge over the time period.     

Which worked better for Mississippi State: standing orders or an approval plan?

When Mississippi State University Libraries established a university press approval plan, the Collection Development Department was asked to decide whether to cancel existing standing orders with seven university presses or block these presses from the approval plan. Books were received through both avenues for eight months so that cost, timeliness of delivery, and receipt of titles most appropriate for the Libraries’ needs could be compared. Findings showed a 4.72% cost savings with the approval plan, but 82% of the titles were received earlier through the standing orders. Of books received through the standing orders, 29% were not received through the approval plan, with more than half not matching departmental profiles. Return privileges with the approval plan meant unsuitable titles could be returned, a significant advantage not possible with the standing orders. As a result of the study, the libraries chose to cancel the standing orders and receive books selectively through a university press approval plan.     

Issues in Collecting Post‐Soviet Crime Fiction in Academic Libraries

This article draws attention to a segment of the Russian literary market that is underrepresented in American research library collections, namely light popular fiction and particularly the titles that belong to the detektiv genre. The results of an informal survey of scholars and bibliographers are presented and collection patterns are briefly discussed. Following an exposition of the available collection development tools for Russian light fiction, the article concludes with a call for greater emphasis on collecting these materials in North American research libraries.     

Building a Virtual Reference Shelf

While many libraries have access to an extensive amount of quality virtual reference titles through platforms such as Gale Virtual Reference, individual titles are often invisible to users. At the University of Montevallo, building a Virtual Reference Shelf (VRS) allowed us to make e-reference titles more accessible for patrons. We constructed our VRS using LibGuides and our existing collections of virtual reference books. This article will discuss various aspects of creating and using the VRS, including designing, marketing, information literacy instruction, assessment, and future directions. The information is based on a presentation at the Mississippi State University eResources & Emerging Technologies Summit on August 2, 2013.     

Books in review

PRACTICAL PUBLIC SPEAKING: A Guide to Effective Communication, by Eugene E. White, Associate Professor of Speech and C. R. Henderlider, Associate Professor and Head of Speech Department, Cleveland College, Western Reserve University . . . 385 pages, 5½ × 8½, $3.50 (college edition) . . . The Macmillan Company.

SPEECH: A Handbook of Voice Training, Diction and Public Speaking, by Dorothy Mulgrave, with chapters by Wilbur Gilman and Wilbert Pronovost . . . 270 pages, $1.50 . . . Barnes & Noble, Inc.