Collection Development--Unexpected Consequences

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this little post about reading and added a reading log page to my blog. My intention was to keep better track of what I want to read, and not have 15 things checked out at once. Not that I mind having 15 things checked out at once, but with my extra-long check out period (6 weeks) and crazy busy life, I was definitely keeping things for waaaaay longer than I should. I don't want to abuse my librarian privileges, and as long as the books are sitting on my shelf not being read no one else can read them either and we lose circulation statistics. So I created that reading list in an effort to be a more responsible librarian and adult.

Well, everyone suggested very strongly that I join GoodReads, so I took the advice of my library colleagues and took the plunge.

It's been great, and I really like it. But one of the interesting things that's come of it is that it helps me be more responsible with collection development.

I have a pretty small budget. I get a lot of recommendations from blogs and articles that I read, but the main source I use for collection development is School Library Journal. My budget basically allows my to purchase 15 YA books a month. By the time I've gone through SLJ for the best of the best and added those to the blog recommended titles, I've got more than I can buy and face some tough decisions.

I'm very careful to make sure that each month I choose a good variety--considering diversity, reading levels, appeal, and genres. But I wouldn't be human if my reading interests didn't influence my decisions at times. Now that I'm using GoodReads, it's easier for me to differentiate between books I want to read and books that are good for my library. If it's something I want to read, I can just add it to my 'to read' list and forget about it. Then I can go on to make the best decision for my library.

So thank you to everyone who recommended GoodReads!  I really love that barcode scanner.