Reviewing Media

Definition

 

Reviewing media provide reviews of books for the purpose of evaluation. The ALA Glossary defines reviewing media as “evaluations of literary works, concerts, plays, etc, published in a periodical or newspaper.” Similarly, Harrods defines reviewing media as evaluations of work published in a periodical or newspaper.”

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

 

Reviewing media can be very helpful for collection development. The reviews provide a discriminating perspective for the collection development librarian and make them aware of books and other media that they otherwise might have missed. As Rosemary Lewis of Oxford county Library points, whether a review is good or bad is of lesser significance than the fact that the book has been reviewed at all. Review of a particular book in a major newspaper or on a popular TV show signals that a public library should possess the book. The patrons will be asking for it whether they agree with the review or not. Master keys to these reviews such as Book Review Index provide access to reviews of literally thousands of books, periodicals, and other media. Representing a range of popular, academic and professional interests, these index reviews guide readers and researcher to reviews appearing in publications from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. In terms of strengths, these indexes include citations for reviews of any type of book, periodical, or reference work that has been or is about to be published. Because the definition of "review" is broad, reviewing media provide a critical comment, a description of the book's contents, or a recommendation regarding the type of library collection for which a book is suited. As for weaknesses, the citational trail for these review indexes take a long while to look up. If an unqualified reviewer reviews a book poorly, the book may not be purchased because of this negative bias. To find most of these reviews on a particular subject, one also requires an index.