At LJ’s Day of Dialog, RA and Audio Progress Unveiled

Nearly 250 attendees gathered at Los Angeles Public Library’s (LAPL) Central Library on May 29 for LJ’s Day of Dialog, a pre–BookExpo confab bringing librarians together with publishers, vendors, and authors. The 11th annual event mixed panels on new directions in historical fiction and hot titles for fall with nonbook topics like digital audio formats and technology-based tools for readers’ advisory (RA).

The RA panel gave attendees their first chance to see four electronic RA databases side by side: Books & Authors (Gale), Fiction Connection (Bowker), NoveList (EBSCO), and Reader’s Advisor Online (Libraries Unlimited). LAPL’s Sheryn Morris noted that, for library users, “the computer represents the [online catalog], the Internet, library databases,” so it’s natural for them to look for advice on what to read next. Libraries (and librarians) can still answer that question, noted Duncan Smith, cofounder of NoveList, the first such electronic RA tool.

All the tools share some features: they link to the library OPAC; they are based on subject headings; they can be searched by genre and some combination of character, location, setting, and topic; and they generate lists based on the preceding terms. Books & Authors even has “Who, What, When, Where” Venn diagrams.

All of these tools, however, struggle with providing appeal terms, or what Phoenix PL’s Kathleen Sullivan called “the feel”: make me laugh, terrify me. Though it’s tough to come up with parameters for “the feel,” as Smith pointed out, reviews often reflect a book’s emotional content, so searchable reviews can help.

On the historical fiction panel, novelists Lisa See (Peony in Love, Random), Broos Campbell (the Matty Graves series, McBooks), and Michelle Moran (The Heretic Queen, Crown, Sept.) all agreed that what makes an era “historical” is that the characters face a different set of challenges. Historicals were once thought of as “either romance,” said Campbell, “or sweating men sticking things into each other.” Its resurgence may be attributed to a broader definition, post-9/11, when people “wanted to go back to a simpler time,” suggested Touchstone (S. & S.) VP Trish Todd.

Morrow editor Laurie Chittenden believes that reading groups have contributed to the genre’s revival, as members seek meaty stories that prompt discussion. See pointed to the push from reality shows, which “show how people deal with real situations,” as historical fiction does, too. Campbell described historical fiction as “history without having to stick to the facts,” and Moran, who worked on an archaeological dig in Israel, concluded that it’s “more fun digging through history with a pen than a pickaxe.” (See list of titles discussed at DOD here. For the conventionwide buzz, see “Hot Tickets.")

The last time Day of Dialog met in L.A., in 2003, CDs were the prevalent audiobook format, with MP3s on the library horizon. Now panelists like Ana Maria Allessi (HarperMedia), Amanda D’Acierno (Random House Audio), Brian Downing (Recorded Books), Steve Potash (OverDrive), and Blake Squires (Playaway) debated the future of CDs and—if the music industry is any indication—the demise of digital rights management software for audiobooks.

Nevertheless, Potash indicated that OverDrive is doing everything possible, with clickthrough copyright agreements for libraries, to “demonstrate to publishers that…titles that go out come back.” Other topics included the lifespan of the CD (a decade?), pricing of unabridged CDs and downloadable books, and the potential for the cell phone to be the “ubiquitous” e-audio and e-reading device. While Squires reported his company is looking into new subjects, like health care, to deliver via the preloaded Playaway device, Allessi talked about expanding the market for audiobooks generally, “from a niche to a mass market.” She noted, however, that “you can’t have a mass market at a high price,” referring to the high cost of producing unabridged CDs.

During a lively Q&A, librarians said audio suppliers and traditional library vendors must be on the same page. They also asked for MARC records (OverDrive: We can give you bib records) and textbooks on audio, “so students who have jobs on campus can listen while they work,” said Occidental College library director Emily Bergman. (Squires stated that publishers like Pearson are already doing this, noting that Playaway has developed a new player for “nonlinear” material, e.g., Chapter 4, Section 8.)

Sponsors for the day included Baker & Taylor, BWI, HarperCollins, NoveList, Macmillan, OverDrive, Playaway, Perseus Book Group, and Sterling.