The First Lesson of Buying Fiction

ALWAYS. BUY. THE. PATTERSON.

Seriously. I admit I have never read James Patterson before and have vague memories of seeing his books in the airport, but dang is he popular. Maybe it's his ad-man background (note to self: Don Draper becomes thriller writer) or maybe it's the fact he straight up admits that he doesn't even write his books anymore and so has more time to promote, but he's all over the place. We have a standing order with a vendor to get four copies of anything with his name on it and even then there's a waiting list weeks long for a book that apparently will take an hour and a half to read.

Still, circulation numbers are important and a popular book that turns over quickly? Pure gold.

i have no throat yet i must opinion

I’m currently afflicted by a throat infection I seem to pick up every three to five years or so. The first time I got it, I was in college and the shrugging, probably underpaid, college clinic doctor was of little help. Fast forward almost two decades and the professional, attentive doctor at my HMO too was of little help, but at least he smiled and did not make me answer too many questions. Honey, salt water, silence – that’s about it.

So in the quiet space (well, quiet if you discount my coughing followed by a low moan of pain), I find myself in need of a work related project. I have been meaning to start a library blog at some point, so here we go. I do not imagine that I have anything unique, let alone interesting, to say, but eh, a quick google shows that has not stopped anyone from blogging at any time before.

I am currently the Head of Circulation for the Peabody Institute of Danvers. This means I run the circulation desk (insomuch that any circ desk is actually run) and a bunch of behind the scenes library activities. Access Services is not the most thrilling wing of library science, so I probably won’t touch on that much (This is a lie). I’ve been running service desks like this one for more than a decade now, although this is my first public library experience – I’ve been a hoity academic type previously. I’m still working on a tight five for my ‘public libraries be all like this and academic libraries be all like that’ routine, so I’ll spare you the details of the switch for the moment.

One new thing, however, is that I’m now in a library that not only carries fiction, but I seem to be the one in charge of buying it. My previous collection development experience can be pretty much summed up with “Is this book required for a class taught at this University? Yes? Two copies, please.” so I’m finding the role of taste maker rather daunting. That is, I think, what this blog will be about.