RA FOR ALL...THE ROAD SHOW!

I can come to your library, book club meeting, or conference to talk about how to help your readers find their next good read. Click here for more information including RA for All's EDI Statement.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Why Don't Books Have a Credits Page? via Book Riot

I was going to have a different post today, but my colleague and Summer Scares committee member, Kelly Jensen had a fascinating essay on Book Riot today entitled "Why Don't Books Have a Credits Page?"

Like me, Jensen has done Readers' Advisory and Collection Development as a librarian and she has written a few books. She has a 360 degree view on the book world, which I always appreciate in her writing and as I work with her on Summer Scares.

From the essay:

"Before falling into the world of books, first as a librarian, then as a writer and editor, I didn’t think too much about the pieces of a book or how it came together. I mostly perused acknowledgments to see if there were any familiar names or, when I began to understand what it was I loved in a book, to discover if books I really enjoyed were edited or agented by the same people. There’s a lot of reader service in finding common themes an editor likes in their books, for example, or seeing the types of books an agent represents. 

But then, I published a book and I realized the true value in all of these elements of a book, both as a writer and as a reader."

Click here to read more.

Jensen brings up a variety of ways a credits page would help you as you help readers. One of her points deals with something I have written about too-- using the same editor as a readalike.

But she has so much more to say about why books should have a "Credits" page [like a movie] and how it is helpful to readers and library workers.

I am a huge proponent of thinking outside the box as we help readers. Not only does it help us to identify new resources as we employ a slightly different perspective to our day-to-day work, but it is also extremely energizing. And don't we all need that these days. 

I mean, I got so excited I cancelled the pre-scheduled post for today. That is saying a lot coming from me.

Totally worth a read here

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