Personally, I like reading reviews but I don't necessarily think they belong on the library catalogue. By the time I get to the catalogue to order a book I have already read multiple reviews from various sites E.G. Good reads, Amazon and Book Depository so I am assuming most readers have done the same.
My local library does not have the option to place a review on their catalogue.
I am not currently working in a library but prior to moving to Sydney (a year ago) I worked in a small country town library and the catalogue did not have the review option either but I checked the web site just in case it has changed and it has, there is now an option to add a review/rating. I clicked on the option and it goes to the Facebook page.
I don't really mind the review option on the catalogue. I think it depends on how you use the catalogue. If you already have a book in mind, then yes, you probably don't need or want a review of the book because you probably already have some sort of idea what it is about. However, if you're doing research on a topic, then these reviews may be helpful in assisting users to find a good book on their topic.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I don't really like are the tags that some catalogues allow users to add. I think they're not really necessary because there's the subject heading already given in the record. Plus they're very subjective.
I agree with you on the fact that reading reviews are good and that they don’t necessarily belong in the library catalogue. I find reviews very helpful, especially if no person has recommended a particular book to me, and I’m just browsing. If you have a book already in mind, reviews appear tedious and useless, really, however if you want something new I think they’re very helpful. While my library does not have reviews in their catalogue, most books in the catalogue are accompanied by a link to their amazon page, the author in Wikipedia, Google Books and Library Thing, where reviews can obviously be found. Here is an example, http://webopac.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/libero/WebOpac.cls?VERSION=2&ACTION=DISPLAY&RSN=288992&DATA=CON&TOKEN=T7bQKqK5i73750&Z=1&SET=1
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that more and more reviews are emerging on pages such as Amazon and library catalogues, with advancing technology making it easier for reviews to be posted.