Books, books and more books!!!

This is what I got my Masters for – to buy books. I love this part of my job. I mean who would not like to peruse books all day? However, it is much more complex to order for a library than to order for yourself. Many times I actually would never touch some of the books I order with a ten foot poll – usually because I have no interest in them. As a librarian you have to include other opinions in your book selection. To the outsider it may seem pretty random how books get chosen for the library. I decided to give ya’ll a peek in a librarian’s mind to see what goes on when ordering books.




I order for the following subject areas: Technology, Generalities, Phliosophy, Ethics, Self Help, Psychology, Religion, Astronomy, Chemistry, Photography, History, Geography, Travel, Texas, Genealogy, All Spanish materials, Biographies and Professional materials. I get 1400 a month to spend on all these areas. It is my job to represent all of them to the best of my abilities with the most current items while also considering demand and readability, as well as Prominent Reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Trade magazines and online review sources such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I need to understand my user population and know that books on horse farming are not going to be read by my patrons but for some strange reason chicken coup building materials are flying off the shelf.



So here is a smattering of what I ordered for the month of November 2009.


Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital

• A gap in our collection.

The Monthly Sky Guide

• My one and only astronomy purchase this month just because there is so stinking little written on this subject.

Campaign Financing

• A gap in our collection

The Glory Guys: The Story of the U.S. Army Rangers

• I usually shy away from books that detail the battle of Normandy for the 537 time etc. but this book is about the Army Rangers in general and military subjects are always popular.

Living in the Eighties

• A gap in our collection. We have books on the 60’s, 70’s and 90’s

Cow Chips Aren't for Dippin: A Guide to Life in the New Wild West

• Texas

Don't Squat With Your Spurs On: A Cowboy's Guide to Life

• Texas

Every Woman's Guide to Managing Your Anger

• A gap in our collection. More is written on Anger management and men.

How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living

• Ethics books are usually a snooze fest but this one sounded better than most.

Switching to Microsoft Windows 7: The Painless Way to Upgrade from Windows Xp or Vista

• We will get so many questions about this that I went ahead and bought two copies.

Wordpress: Visual Quickstart Guide

• A blogging platform that bloggers would appreciate information on.

Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, and Societies

• A book on weirdness. Probably will get stolen within a year. I have to keep buying these books since the others get stolen so fast.

Texas Almanac 2010-2011: The Source for All Things Texan Since 1857\

• Library requirement

Publishing a Blog With Blogger: Visual Quickproject Guide

• Again bloggers love this stuff.

Life After Death: The Evidence

• We had two people suggest this book in a week so I had to get a copy

Exploring Dallas With Children: A Guide for Family Activities

• Locally relevant

Going Rogue: An American Life

• Sarah Palin’s new book. I HAD to buy this book since it is almost guaranteed to be requested about a bazillion times. 3 copies.

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm

• Hot spot in the news. We need current info

CultureShock! Singapore: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

• Gap in most libraries collections

Kazakhstan

• Definitly a gap. Just wait until someone has a paper due tomorrow and they need books on Kazakhstan.

Camera Boy: An Army Journalist's War in Iraq

• Different perspective. Will be interesting to patrons.

The Vikings: A History

• Not much in our collection on the vikings

Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life

• Obligatory famous person book

Literary Hoaxes: An Eye-Opening History of Famous Frauds

• Interesting AND fills a gap in our collection in the 090’s. Yippee!!

50 Ways to Cope With the Loss of Your Child: A Guide for Grieving Parents

• Important topic and would be a helpful addition

Top 10 of Everything 2010

• Library requirement

World Heritage Sites: A Complete Guide to 878 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• Obligatory homework assignment material

Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington

• Request from patron about books dealing with Cuba after Fidel and including Raul.