Bloggers vs. Librarians?
or Why We Shouldn't Choose Sides & More...
With ALA Annual having ended just last week, in comes the drama. Yes, even in the world of books, there is loads of drama. Who starts this drama? Oh, I really don't know. I really have no idea. I was enjoying the talk of books on Twitter just a few nights ago, look away for a few minutes, come back, and my feed is full of drama. I groaned to myself as I scrolled through the mass of tweets, and was struck by a ton of terrible things that I couldn't believe were being said.
Things such as "Bloggers are taking books from librarians at ALA" or "Bloggers are grabbing everything in sight and librarians don't get a chance to get as many books." People acting like bloggers and librarians are enemies, that blogger and librarians are sides of some battle, like you need to choose a side, like librarians and bloggers aren't friends who want to discuss books with each other. What kind of community is this, if people are pitting bloggers and librarians against one another? What kind of book community are we if all we worry about are ARCs? It's definitely not the community I want to be a part of!
I started tweeting about the drama the night I saw it, and got over 50 tweets back at me. Bloggers, librarians, teachers, all bombarding me. A few librarians were being particularly dramatic. One of them told me that I said that I was entitled to books at ALA, that ARCs were my right to have and grab at ALA. I looked through my tweets, and not one time did I ever say I was entitled. It's so infuriating, that a few librarians are trying to make all bloggers look bad about one overgrabbing book blogger!
Don't nake steretypes about bloggers because you didn't get as many ARCs as a greedy one. Since when do ARCs mean the world? Last time I checked, people were whining that bloggers were being greedy about ARCs. Well, how come when librarians don't end up with their ARCs, they feel that they have a right to whine on Twitter about it, and twist people's words around about it? I find this hypocritical and so just...INFURIATING. I mean, don't preach about not caring about ARCs then want to start a ton of drama about how you're little tote bag wasn't filled with enough.
Note, I am talking about a few librarians, I am not in any way stereotyping all librarians!
Note, I am talking about a few librarians, I am not in any way stereotyping all librarians!
But this post isn't about librarians (only a few) being annoying about ARCs.
This post is to ask: Why the heck are we choosing sides?
This post is to ask ANYONE why were are suddenly choosing sides. Bloggers or librarians? That's becoming a question on Twitter. That's becoming a battle in tweets. I love librarians with all my heart. They keep kids reading, they put books in reluctant reader's hands. They are the reason that I love reading. And, from whom I have met, librarians love bloggers! At ALA, I met over thirty librarians, and all of them loved bloggers, all of them asked for my card, all of them were so sweet, all of them wanted to discuss the latest books, the latest news in the YA world. That is what I love about the book community, we are all willing to share our thoughts, our opinions, about all things YA, and in the end still be friends.
So why are some librarians and bloggers trying to make it so we can't do this anymore?
I think the beginning of the drama started when a certain ALA attendee (who HAPPENED to be a book blogger) posted a video of her ALA book haul. Her sister also went with her, and they each grabbed their own copies of all the books. And I agree with everyone out there, that is seriously ridiculous. Why would you not just SHARE one copy with the person that you are living with?
But then, librarians and teachers and different kinds of people on Twitter started doing that thing that makes EVERY blogger mad: stereotyping. Tweets were popping up saying "Bloggers are taking books from librarians," and "Bloggers are being greedy" because one or two book bloggers overgrabbed. And now, suddenly, the ENTIRE BOOK BLOGGING COMMUNITY overgrabbed and were greedy.
I was not greedy. I got a total of 60 books from ALA Annual. I plan to read every single book that I sent home. And I know that some bloggers grabbed over 150 books, and they do not plan on reading even half of them. I have seen a ton of book hauls that are even a modest thirty books! And yet bloggers like me are being put into the category of that one blogger who grabbed 200 books! And it is infuriating.
And now, I am going to deliver my biggest point.
Since when is all that bloggers and librarians care about are ARCs?
I know that ARCs are an extremely big part of the publishing industry nowadays. I know this very well. But since when is blogging done to get ARCs? I know that I started blogging, and I didn't hear about the idea of ARCs for at least two months. Did I work harder on my blog when I found out I could get ARCs? Sure! I don't mean to sound like all egotistic, but I think I produce pretty thorough content on my blog. My reviews are pretty long, I do blog tours, giveaways, and I do discussions, and I spend a ton of time on these posts! Does any of this make me feel entitled to ARCs? HECK NO! ARCs are a mini reward for me! But not in any way a right.
What am I trying to say?
Just because one blogger over grabbed at ALA does not mean anyone has the right to stereotype the blogging community for a few bloggers actions.
Just because one librarian is saying that bloggers took books from them, this does not mean that we are on different sides. Because I love librarians, and I have met so many librarians that are interested in reading YA blogs to find out what books to put in their libraries.
There are no sides. We are all lovers of books, we are all friends who want to share our thoughts on books. And that is what I love about blogging and reading. But for some people to try and make it that way is beyond me.
Tell me in the comments!
Do you disagree with me?
What do you think of the people pitting librarians and bloggers against one another?
What do you think of the people pitting librarians and bloggers against one another?
What do you think of over-grabbers?
What do you think of bloggers in general? Do you think they deserve to be stereotyped?
What are your experiences with librarian-blogger interaction?
I don't think there should be a battle at all. Both librarians AND bloggers have a similar job, getting books out there, and sharing reviews, updates, etc. Obviously there are some bloggers more experienced as others, and this is the same for librarians. A few bloggers actions who over-grab books should not define the blogging community. I don't mean to sound rude, but both librarians and bloggers have the same right to grab books they're interested in reading AND sharing, because that's their job in the book community.
ReplyDeleteI think over-grabbing books is becoming an issue, and book bloggers are getting stereotyped over someone else's actions.
Good discussion, interested to hear other opinions on the matter.
As a librarian and a blogger, I have to say that there is a big difference between the "job" of librarians and the "job" of bloggers. For one thing, librarianship is considered a profession that requires specialized schooling. It's also typically a librarian's sole source of income. Blogging is typically a hobby, not actually a full-time job. Librarians are attending ALA for professional development and to develop working relationships (and by working I mean purchasing large quantities of books and materials) with vendors. It's not wrong for bloggers to attend ALA, but it's also not fair to minimize a librarian's job by comparing it to a hobby. ALA is a professional conference, not a book conference. Bloggers are welcome, but should be respectful of the fact that librarians are there for education and supplementation of their careers and professional relationships, not just to pick up books.
DeleteI am on the fence about this whole thing and very interested in the responses you will receive. I think book bloggers are still relatively new to the book world and the industry is still trying to figure out where we fit into this dynamic.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about ALA, but it is a professional association and trade event for librarians. It's not a trade show or expo like BEA or book festivals. I understand librarians pay a hefty membership fee and can understand why they are upset non-librarians get to come as well.
I think ALA needs to update the con and figure out how to include everyone in a fair way.
I just want to address the part of this blog post that is saying that "librarians need to suck it up and stop complaining about not getting their precious ARCs".
ReplyDeleteI want to take a step back and analyze this because librarians? Need ARCs way more than bloggers do. ARCs are what help them figure out what to order for their library, find out how to get these books into the hands of teens who come searching for something to read, and it is ridiculous to say that they shouldn't be upset because THEY didn't get the grab the books that are PUT OUT on the booths primarily for them.
I think you should take a moment to think about what librarians do while they're at ALA because they're working. They're going to committee gatherings, meetings, doing their JOB. Paying loads of money to be an ALA member and maybe, MAYBE, while they're there, they want to take some books back so they can see what's going on in the industry they actually work for.
So yes, ARCs are important to librarians. And this is coming not from a librarian, but from a blogger whose been doing this for more than two years.
Aside from that, I agree that no one should take sides on this argument. There are bad bloggers, there are bad librarians. But I don't think one blogger's actions will affect the community as a whole too bad. We've been through a lot, we have a bad rep sometimes, but we always pull through.
I know you probably don't like me that much after this post, but I really do like your comment. I knew not everyone would be happy with my post, and I wanted people to be honest, and I am so glad you were!
DeleteI know that ALA is FOR librarians, but isn't ALA for librarians in the sense of them going to classes and enhancing their touch on the YA world and helping their students as a librarian? I know that they need ARCs for their budget, and I completely understand that.
I never said in my post that I didn't understand why librarian's were angry. I KNOW why they are. I am too because some bloggers acted so terribly about grabbing every book in sight. It's annoying and I know that librarians need those books!
Thanks for your comment!
Small clarification librarians don't pay personally the cost of ALA or any professional conference. Their library budget supplies the money AKA the state. Also like you said they are working so they get paid to attend there. Let's give a little credit to bloggers who spend a lot of money to go to conference for the love of reading. That says something good about a lot of them. At the end librarians and bloggers work for the same goal that is inspiring people to read and put good books out there. But each one of them have a different role in the process. It's time that both parts embrace the love of reading together and stop creating High School drama over ARCS because neither part looks good.
DeleteI am not NOT giving credit to bloggers considering I do go to conferences and pay money out of pocket for it (okay, to be fair, out of my parent's pocket but as a sixteen year old, same thing).
DeleteAlso considering that most librarians don't get enough state funding, they do pay out of pocket. Also: they have to pay for their own membership so yes, they pay more than the 25$ fee for anyone else who wants to come in.
We are all working towards the same goal but I don't think it's right to tell librarians to stop complaining because they're upset about not being able to reap all the benefits of a conference that is THEIRS in the first place.
And i'm sorry but I don't consider this "high school drama" because it's about their concern for their careers. ARCs are not only a marketing tool for them like it is for us, it is also something that determines which books end up in their library and what doesn't.
Anonymous: MOST librarians DO pay their own way to attend ALA. They are not living it up, their libraries do NOT pay for them to attend. You are gravely ill-informed about this.
DeleteThanks Kelly for the clarification! I was looking around for an answer because I didn't know if that was true! :)
DeleteAnother clarification that seems necessary - "the state" is not the major employer of librarians. Public libarians, yes. But ALA is made up of a large number of librarians including academic librarians, corporate librarians, etc. Those librarians, like me, get no state funding and have to pay for ALA conferences and memberships out of pocket (a major reason I can't attend).
DeleteIn addition, I think BEA has done a great job of including everyone and acknowledging bloggers existence. ALA knows a significant number of bloggers are attending and they need to learn how to work with them.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, goodness gracious! DRAMA. I didn't even see the drama happening, but thanks to this informative post, I'm well aware now. ^-^ And, just to put it out there, I totally agree with you, HD!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't see why there needs to be a line between bloggers and librarians. We both love books, so we should all just get along and be happy. :D A very simple and plain argument from my side, but I think that's what needs to be said.
I can totally see why some people would be upset about bloggers "stealing all the books". You telling me about the two siblings taking each a book for themselves is practically RIDICULOUS! There's a thing called sharing, and I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to do. x-x
Over-grabbers... Ah. Well, my opinion on grabbing books is pretty much something like this: Grab it if you plan on reading it, and if you don't want to read it, don't grab it. I grabbed something close to 40 books, which I too plan on reading all of them.
I understand the "urge" to want to grab the free book out there but what if you grab that book and don't read it while someone else who didn't get a copy could have read it? It's just a shame that people do that.
Bloggers, in general, are awesome people! I myself am a blogger and all the people I hung out with at ALA were also bloggers. I'm pretty sure we all had the same mentality (in which we get the books we REALLY want, not just because it's out there). I don't think we should be stereotyped as a whole because we are all different individuals who have different thinking.
Great post, HD! I ended up writing so much in this comment when I should have been writing a review. XD
I think it definitely sucks that bloggers are getting a bad rap due to someone's poor etiquette. Do I think taking doubles of EVERYTHING is okay? No, not at all. I do think that bloggers should be allowed to take the books they want though, since they paid to be there. Should we expect to get every book we want? No, not at all. And even ARCs will become real books someday! It's not like it's NEVER going to be published! I don't understand why people get so hung up on things like this.
ReplyDeleteI think the main problem is that librarians don't feel like bloggers have a right to be at events like ALA, and they take it out on the bloggers who go rather than attempting to come to an agreement with ALA. I mean they could easily have a professional day for librarians and a public day for bloggers etc. I think there are definitely better ways to go about this, we're all in it for the same reasons and working together would help out our community better than becoming two groups who argue about who gets what.
I was part of the conversation on Twitter last night, and most of the comments I saw from librarians acknowledged that bloggers DO have a right to go; ALA sells exhibit passes exactly so that anyone can attend. Several specifically said that it was the lack of guidelines laid out by either ALA or the publishers in attendance that created this problem, not the bloggers themselves; the official ALA Annual twitter account picked up on the conversation and replied that they were compiling notes for internal discussion, which I think is exactly what should happen. This is clearly a problem that ALA itself needs to address.
DeleteI definitely agree with you. Since this was my first time at ALA, I *really* tried to hold back and got 48 books, which according to what you said, is actually not too bad. The thing is, I feel like once a stereotype is present people start to judge simply based on what they see, not what they hear. I had three full tote bags with me one day and it may have seemed like I grabbed a lot of books, but more than half of those books were books I brought from home and my friends to get signed by authors.
ReplyDeleteAnd the thing is, I volunteer at my local and school libraries and have part-time jobs there. So I'm a blogger AND a librarian, kind of. Which of course simply makes this issue so fatuous and absurd, that we have become so centered around ARCs that suddenly schisms split our community and make things so much more dramatic than they need to be.
Basically, my bottom-line is this: Librarians, most bloggers understand that ALA is a special event for you and try to honor that. But if you must abuse that honor and gratefulness by twisting others' words simply because one instance infuriated you, then perhaps you need to double back and realize the fact that you are being hypocritical in a much more destructive way.
Bloggers, if you don't already, try to respect that ALA is a special event for librarians. View this as a privilege, not a right. Grab books you know you are interested in and will read--and if you just can't make the time to read it, donate it to a library!
Basically... let us not weaken the already questionable sturdiness of this beautiful industry and instead rise in a resilient understanding that there may be mistakes, and everyone makes them, but there is forgiveness too, even if not everyone gifts that.
The publishers need to step up here a bit. I noticed some booths had signs on swag saying it was for members of certain organizations. I also saw several librarians showing ID and getting bags of arcs, which is a great idea. I was in line with several librarians at signings and I kept thinking why are they in line behind me ?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair I saw SEVERAL librarians grabbing up multiples of books. I appreciate the opportunity to go to ALA I hope they create a special pass for bloggers in the future
Yes! I saw that too! Librarians did get special advantages in some booths, and I LOVED that since they were not around for all the book drops or around to request ARCs!
DeleteAnd yes, I saw the same thing!
THanks for commenting!
As a blogger who hopes to become a Librarian one day I think it's silly that people are pitting us against each other. On top of that I know a lot of people that are both bloggers and librarians. Yes, there are SOME bloggers that are being too greedy over ARCs at ALA but they are in the minority. Bloggers and Librarians are both important to the book community and I think they both deserve ARC's but in moderation. I just think that both groups need to step back and realize that ARC's getting taken aren't the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself I know if I attend BEA or ALA in the future that I will only take ARC's that I actually plan on reading. :)
Thank you for this comment! I totally agree with you!
DeleteJust to clarify one point made in the comments, professional development and travel is one of the first budget cuts made in crunch times and a lot of librarians do pay their own membership fees and conference fees out of pocket.
ReplyDeleteI thought so! Thanks for your the clarification. :)
DeleteI honestly think a few bag bloggers gave all of us a bad name. It really is sad to say, but if I was a librarian and saw people tweeting about having over 100 books or posting 20 minute vlogs all about the books they got (because they grabbed 2 of everything in sight!), I'd be upset as well. The thing is, not ALL bloggers do this, but the handful that do ruin our reputation. The bloggers I know that attended ALA knew the event is for librarians and that it was their privilege to attend. They stood in lines to meet authors and barely grabbed anything.
ReplyDeleteAlso, librarians also have to understand that not only did bloggers attend but so did the outside public. Just because someone there wasn't a librarian doesn't mean they were a blogger. And sometimes THOSE people give us a bad rep as well. Blah!
All in all, I do agree with you that there shouldn't be a battle between librarians and bloggers. All of us have the same goal in mind and that's spreading our love of books with the world. I think tweeting each other about how upset we are or whatever just causes more problems and really doesn't solve. Instead, maybe people should think about donating books to their local library or to their community in general. I have a giant stack of books (50+) I plan on donating to the library and a local shelter. I suggest people should just stop fighting each other and do the same. This will help people, whereas tweeting one another about how "evil/wrong/wicked/greedy/rude/etc" will not.
That's just my opinion though.
I love your comment! Everything is so true! It is sad and frustrating how a few bloggers give everyone a bad name. It really is! But you are so right that if I were a librarian and saw two or three bloggers over grabbing, I may make stereotypes about the community. But I surely hope I would not!
DeleteYep! All on the same side of spreading the word of books. Love that!
Thanks for your comment and I am so glad we met at ALA. :D
Hi H.D., love the discussion and it was great seeing you at ALA. My observation at ALA was that there were no credential controls, and perhaps there should be. In that context you are going to get a few people with the self control of a 3-year old when it comes to free stuff. It's like my old friend Mr. Skrillex once said, "there's nothing like a free buffet to make people act like it's their last meal." I really think any bad feelings between librarians and bloggers is limited to a few people. I was in numerous 30 minute to one hour lines at ALA to get autographed copies of ARCs and I spent most of this time talking to librarians and all of the ones I talked to were supportive of bloggers and acknowledged that bloggers and librarians help each other in the world of reading. Keep preachin' brother!
ReplyDeletei agree, rockinfreak. i think whenever there is free anything, people go a little crazy. i totally had librarian, bloggers and others stopping to ask me what i was waiting for while i was in line for a book signing. i know that many were just curious but i could also see that glint in the eye and i knew that some people really just wanted to know if they were missing out on something free.
Deletei, too, had numerous conversations with librarians, teachers and publishing employees while i was in line and none of them were hostile or disdainful of bloggers. but i was also super polite and respectful and didn't go into anything thinking that i deserved or was entitled to a book. if i got a book i really wanted, great. if not, i'll just buy it when it comes out.
i really hope this doesn't become a librarians vs bloggers thing. in my mind, we're all book lovers who want to encourage literacy and drum up enthusiasm for reading and we should work with each other, not against.
I concur, well said Fishgirl!
DeleteExcellent post. I grabbed ARC's at BEA, but I also got finished copies of books as well. No one is against one another. I think that we should be working together, not bloggers vs. librarians. I think there are always hard feelings after any conference. People get jealous of the hauls. These people paid to go to the con. Let them enjoy what they got. We are all in this together. Well constructed post.
ReplyDeleteGrace
Thank you for this awesome comment, Grace! I second all of this. And thanks, I put a lot of thought into this post!
DeleteI'm a librarian. I occasionally blog, enough so that I'm comfortable calling myself a blogger. This was my first time at ALA, and I had some obligations that meant I was away from the exhibit hall, but for the most part I could go there when I wanted to and pick up the ARCs I was looking for (and some I was not).
ReplyDeleteI came home with less than 10 books, which I believe is a reasonable number for anyone, blogger or librarian, over the course of the conference. Not 60, certainly not 200. Sixty books is not "holding back". From my perspective, 60 and 200 look equally ridiculous.
If you can't carry the ARCs you're picking up by yourself without assistance, you've taken too many and are limiting someone else's opportunities.
Hi there Helgagrace!
DeleteI know that for librarians it was hard to pick up as many books for most of them, and I totally feel for them! I can totally understand where the annoyance is coming from.
Sixty is not "holding back" persay, but it is NOT the same as 200 in any shape or form. But everyone has a different view on things, and that is quite alright ;D
I agree with you on if you can't carry them then you need to put some back.
Thank you for your comment!
I have to disagree with you about one point Helgagrace. As a blogger- I read and review up to 30 books a month. If the books they are giving out are ARCs for this fall (and assuming the publishers only want bloggers to write reviews in the month leading up to the book release)- that would mean if you picked up 60 books at ALA that would only be 10-15 books a month you would need to read a month to follow the publisher's guidelines.
DeleteI do agree that this is an ALA problem and one they need address, but I also think there is a very BIG difference between taking 60 books and taking 200 books. I know that HD is a reviewer who will READ all 60 of those books and review them- isn't that the real point? USING the books that you take, not just taking them for the sake of taking them.
True enough. I think from the publishers' perspective, they want people out there taking their ARCs who are actually going to use them, and if you have the time and energy to read and review all 60, I am duly impressed.
DeleteDisclaimer: I am a librarian; I came away with about 15 books, several of which I purchased on the final day, because I am not there for ARCs and I do not purchase books for a library. I personally think, if you are not picking up ARCs for the specific purpose of using them to evaluate and add to your library collection, then taking more than you can reasonably read/review in the six months until the next ALA conference is excessive. That number will differ for different people.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some good points in this post, in that there should not be sides, but I also think you mischaracterize the twitter discussion somewhat. I'm not doubting you got some rude replies on twitter, because it often seems to bring out the worst in otherwise perfectly decent people. However, I was part of the discussion from the start, and *for the most part* it seemed the focus was on the need for ALA itself, and the publishers, to establish guidelines. I didn't see anyone -- particularly not the librarian who originally brought up the problem and the specific video -- saying bloggers shouldn't be allowed, or that ARCs shouldn't be distributed. And I think the video you are referencing was intended to illustrate the problem, not to say those people specifically are horrible people; they are certainly not the only ones who came away with excessive "book hauls."
If limits are not established, there will always be people who overreact and grab everything they can, and that is the unfortunate truth whenever there is free *anything* on offer.
I completely agree with you. I don't feel that these two types of people should be fighting. We are book lovers for a reason. We want to SHARE our love of books, not steal it away. I'm going to my first bookish event in November and honestly I only want the ARCs for books that I want to read, MAYBE one or two that I know are popular to give away if I don't want to read them. ARCs are great, but they're not why (most) of us blog. We blog because we love books, we want to talk about them, and open the idea up to other people. Great post! Don't let people's opinions and negative thoughts bother you. You could be the nicest person in the world and someone will still always have something to say. I think you're awesome and so do your followers. To hell with the ones who have nothing better to do than gripe and complain!
ReplyDeleteI went to bed just as this discussion started and I really appreciate your post. I'm a librarian who has a small blog and who has yet to make it to any conferences. The thing I had the hardest time reading was the sense of entitlement and anger. Thanks to a generous professor, I've been able to read ARCs of YA books that I later bought.
ReplyDeleteI hope when I have finally have a job as a youth librarian to attend conferences and use ARCs effectively. I appreciate the reading that bloggers do since they see different angles on publishing than I do. Thank you for a great discussion of this issue.
Every time this drama happens, it makes me sad. And this drama has happened after basically every single ALA. And it's seriously saddening. Librarians are one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. They are so kind and nice, and they're always talking to me, asking about the latest bookish trends and things like that. So it's horrible that they're throwing accusations around [only some!]. Basically, anyone can go to ALA. It's not just librarians. But as bloggers, we need to respect the fact that librarians are there for their job purposes, and are trying to get ARCs for their libraries. But that being said, it doesn't mean that we book bloggers can't get books either. As long as we read and review all the ARCs we get, what's the problem? I also know that many book bloggers share their ARCs with friends. So bloggers and librarians pretty much have the same goal: get people to read.
ReplyDeleteSo why can't we all just live in a big happy book-filled world?
And honestly, it's not even about ARCs. Or rather, it shouldn't be about ARCs. I started blogging to show that teens have a voice in YA. I wanted to show that we teens have our opinions and can be professional. NOT to get ARCs. And I think that's where the problem lies. People just want ARCs. But that's not right. The people causing all this drama are only looking at those bloggers who are blogging for ARCs. But that's not most of us. It's only a few.
Fabulous post, HD. I really agree with everything.
-Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life
I love this post! I want to print it out and hug it! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many books I got but it was probably around 50 to 60 books. But what I don't get is, pretty much all of the books I got, anyone that attended ALA would have just as much access to getting as I! It was just that one book that I stood in line (with you) at the butt crack of dawn, to guarantee that I got my hands on that copy. But anyone (including librarians or other bloggers) could have done the same.
If anything, I thought that librarians had the upper hand than book bloggers. Whenever I talked with a publisher (even about buying a specific book) they would look at my name badge and as soon as they saw the title "blogger" I was treated differently.
There are bloggers that can be greedy but there are also authors that can be greedy as well.
So the librarians that are whining...let them keep whining. Someone will always have something to say.
And if you attended ALA, then you would know that rarely were there books out for grabs. A lot of the books I got, were books that I was interested in so I asked the publisher about them and if they had any copies available. Something that any blogger and/or librarian could have done as well.
DeleteALA is not a public event. It's a private conference for members of a profession, of which most bloggers are not a part. The ARCs at ALA are there for paying ALA members, professional librarians and library staff. That's it. They are not there for bloggers. Bloggers, like other members of the public, are invited to pay a modest exhibit fee and allowed to take some books. They are guests of the convention and they should behave like guests. ALA needs to change their exhibit policies, maybe only allow the public in one day, or limit the number of ARCs they are allowed, or something. ALA does not exist for book bloggers' benefit. Yes bloggers help spread the word about books but give me a break if you think they have anything like the impact libraries have. You want people to respect you and your role in the industry, you need to show some respect for others. Librarians are not "whining" and this is not "drama"- "drama" is for high school. Librarians who missed out on books they need to read for professional purposes are justified in their anger against book bloggers who are there supporting a hobby.
ReplyDeleteI think the key in what you said is that ALA needs to change their exhibit policies. If bloggers are expected to take fewer books, who is managing that? I would guess most bloggers in attendance don't even know they're expected to take fewer books than a libriaran. How would they know unless it was impilcitly stated and enforced? Maybe they need a ticket system where bloggers receive x number of tickets with their entry fee to obtain ARCs. A black market will emerge but those are issues ALA should sort through.
DeleteI agree for the most part with Marie. If ALA should only be for library staff, then bloggers should only have limited access.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! I'm a librarian, and I think that we have a lot in common with bloggers (book and otherwise) - we're both groups of people who are passionately committed to freely flowing information and ideas and who frequently get little to no respect outside of our respective spheres. We're natural allies, which is why the idea of librarians versus bloggers has really been bumming me out.
ReplyDeleteOvergrabbing is an etiquette breach, but it's fairly understandable given the grab-if-you-can vibe in the exhibit hall. Rather than limiting blogger access to the exhibits, I'm more in favor of written exhibit guidelines. This will not prevent every instance of bad behavior, but it might help a fledgling book blogger avoid being on the receiving end of the library Twitterverse's rage (which apparently is meted out in commentless YouTube dislikes - we're actually a pretty gentle bunch in comparison to the rest of the internet).
Book bloggers, there are more than a few of you who have had a much bigger impact on my collection decisions than the ARCs I picked up this week will. Just try not to go overboard, and if you're posting about an ARC from the conference, show some library love. Fellow librarians, blogging isn't just a hobby for some of these people (think how infuriating it is when patrons ask if we're volunteers or if it's nice to be able to read all day!), and we're not doing our profession any favors by alienating them.
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DeleteAnytime something free is offered -- whether it's birthday cake at the office party, a sub sandwich at Jimmy Johns, or books at a conference, people will come out of the woodwork to get their share. And then the hoarding starts. "I'm taking this for sister/cousin/friend/boyfriend." and then limits have to be made, and people get mad and angry. It sucks when one bad apple spoils the bunch. It's definitely not just limited to ARCs at ALA, it's anytime you attach the magic word, "free."
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