Even though we have had this discussion in previous years, let's start a new list of dependable sources to help with selection. Chances are what we listed a few years ago may no longer be available. AND new sources are worth our consideration.
You need to be a member of Church Librarians Network to add comments!
Replies
I often listen to radio author interviews on Focus on the Family and Family Life Today, especially for marriage and family oriented books as well as discussions of Christians and our role in today's culture. The books are always made available for purchase from these ministries, but can usually also be found on Amazon or Thriftbook.com and other web stores.
See also: Westminster Bookstore website which hosts the Afterword podcast holding discussions on worthwhile books and the authors behind them. An example is 'What makes or breaks a kids book' discussion with Carl Laferton. Check it out.
I follow the blog of a pastor who regularly reviews books & makes suggestions as to where we might find good deals. Tim Challies blogs at challies dot com. Additionally, there is the better book clubs blog, Dave Astor has a blog on wordpress, the Evangelical Church Libary Assoc. reviews books on their blog, the Christian Scholars Review blog has many interesting articles in which books are discussed......then there are the many links on all of these sites which lead to other book lovers who comment, suggest and share insights.
My use of sources is somewhat haphazard, but one thing I ALWAYS do is to read the one-star and two-star reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads. I often find this to be the most helpful way to determine if a book will be a good choice for our library or not. Reading WHY someone disliked a book helps us far more than what they liked about it! I do this for my own personal reading as well, for the same reason.
In addition to using the finalists & winners of The Christy Award, I heavily rely on a Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, for suggestions on what to add to our Adult collection because it's impossible to preview/read everything beforehand. There are a few other groups that I've joined but I have yet to find myself utilizing them like I am the ARoCF group. The Children/Juvenile/Youth sections of our collection also contain "Good Reads" so I use the books nominated for the Triple Crown Awards as a trusted resource. As I've posted previously, I'm happy to share my award spreadsheets with anyone in need. Just email me, Library@Southcrest.org and I'll be glad to share.
Jeana Voss