What the Demise of Kirkus Reviews Portends for Libraries

December 18, 2009

It's my understanding that Kirkus Reviews had fewer than 2,000 subscribers when it folded this month, but the venerable publication was still influential and a credible source of information about the quality of writing being peddled by the book industry in America. Publishers still used Kirkus blurbs on their dust jackets and some librarians still used the reviews as a selection tool. But let's face it, many of us were more than a little amused by literary agent Ira Silverberg's remark when the news broke: "Hearing about their closing reminded me that they were still publishing." In her syndicated column, Meghan Daum describes the demise of Kirkus as a huge hit to the book world. Because Kirkus reviewers "had some cred," she quips, they stand in sharp contrast to the "customer reviewer," who is "so enthusiastic about his own opinion that he not only reviews diffusely and emphatically (showing no fear of the Caps Lock key), he reviews just about every person or thing he comes in contact with." I agree wholeheartedly with Daum's observation that the new model of popular judgment splattered across the web is making it difficult for readers to separate trash from treasure, but libraries are in the business of lifelong learning, and while we may feel a pang at losing a tool that helped us point people in the direction of more and better reading, we should also recognize the opportunity to advance the library's role as community builder and social network. Motoko Rich got it right in a December 11 New York Times article titled "End of Kirkus Reviews Brings Anguish and Relief." Wrote Rich, "In some ways it seemed that the passing of Kirkus was mourned much like the local deli that finally closes after a long battle with a landlord—missed as much in theory as because of its practical effect on the market." “While I hate to see the closing of another major book review outlet, truth be told, it’s been a long time since a review there actually moved the needle in any meaningful way,” wrote Tim Duggan, executive editor at Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, in an e-mail message to the Times. “It has less to do with Kirkus than with the way the rest of the media marketplace has evolved.” Today's readers want to be involved in evaluating what they read and to share their views with others. This is not bad news for libraries; it is an opportunity for smart libraries, such as Wilmette Public Library in Illinois, one of many that feature patron book reviews prominently on their website.

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