Book jackets RE: [Publib] checking out books to keep them from being weeded

[Sharon Foster]

I nearly cried the first time I was told that academic libraries throw
away book jackets.

Sharon M. Foster, 91.7% Librarian
Speaker-to-Computers
http://www.vsa-software.com/mlsportfolio/






On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 4:45 PM, Nann Blaine Hilyard
<nbhilyard at zblibrary.org> wrote:
> Do academic libraries still routinely remove book jackets?  I always wondered why. Someone once told me it was because the books took up too much space on the shelves, which I didn't buy (but it wasn't productive to argue the point).  There could be the argument that the extra processing takes too many resources (mylar jackets, attaching tape, staff time) but public libraries don't have an oversupply of help in processing and they manage.
>
> I figure that Rangnathan's Laws apply to all libraries.  Any library wants people to use its collections, and any way to make that easier would be a Good Thing, and having book jackets and the blurbs would help college students and professors know more about the contents.
>
> Nann
> @ZBPL
> ....remembering Elliott Inserts from Pittsburg, Kansas....
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Thomsen
> Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 3:35 PM
> To: publib at webjunction.org
> Subject: Re: [Publib] checking out books to keep them from being weeded
>
> Abigail Goben wrote [in part]:
>> I have used the phrase cover-magpies when describing the love and care
>> of a children's chapter book section. Kids are drawn to bright and
>> exciting covers.  Adults are also--otherwise we'd never put books face
>> out.  I've been doing an indepth weed of chapterbooks and the classics
>> take me the longest to replace because I'm trying to find a cover that
>> is engaging.
>
> I agree that kids, teens and adults are all drawn to bright and exciting
> covers.  Well-designed covers really do convey a sense of what the book
> is about.
>
> But in addition to the visual appeal, consider the importance of the
> book descriptions on the back cover or jacket flaps.  When I was in high
> school, I discovered literature at a bookstore that stocked the complete
> set of the beautifully-designed Signet Classics.  Every week I'd go
> browse through them all and choose one, and start reading it on the way
> home, totally enthralled.  And most weeks when I showed my new purchase
> to my mother, she would point out that we owned that book, and she'd
> pull down a plain hardcover copy from the shelves.  But those plain
> hardcovers were of no interest to me -- the books all looked the same,
> and I had no way of knowing what a book was about or why it might appeal
> to me.  I couldn't seem to force myself to read the first few pages of
> any book without some sense of what the book was about.
>
> Today people have lots of ways to find out more about books, on and
> offline.  Reviews and booklists can be helpful, personal recommendations
> even more so, and there's nothing like a knowledgeable librarian
> handselling a book.  But when a person is browsing around alone in the
> stacks, those book covers with well-designed artwork and text really do
> help people figure out which books they will like!
>
> --
> Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager
> NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange
> 26 Cherry Hill Drive
> Danvers MA 01923
> Blog: http://www.noblenet.org/ethomsen/
> E-mail: et at noblenet.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Publib mailing list
> Publib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/mailman/listinfo/publib
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Publib mailing list
> Publib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/mailman/listinfo/publib
>
>