For more Collection Development, click here

Review

Westlake, Donald E. Somebody Owes Me Money

Hard Case Crime. Jun. 2008. 253p. ISBN 978-0-8439-5962-8. pap. $6.99. MYS

First released in 1969, this charming mystery hasn’t seen daylight in more than 35 years. Rescued from oblivion by the wonderful Hard Case Crime series, this reprint comes complete with a gorgeous noir cover. Leaning more toward breezy humor than a hardboiled whodunit, Westlake serves up Chet Conway, a down-on-his-luck New York cabbie who gets a hot racing tip from a fare. » » »
—Mike Rogers, LJ/LJX

Xpress Reviews

Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books
Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper’s The Transgender Child, Alison Wright’s Learning To Breathe, and Pat Willard’s America Eats!: On the Road with the WPA in print, plus Kirk Douglas’s Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning, and Jay Winik’s The Great Upheaval on audio CD. » » »

Highlights

The New LJ Index
The time is ripe for an improved ranking system, one that makes the most of the data available while advocating for better data over time. That is the aim of the LJ Index debuting later this year following the release of the 2006 federal Public Library Statistics Cooperative (PLSC) data. The proposed new system scrutinizes only such statistics that describe library service outputs—visits, circulation, public Internet computer usage, and program attendance. The Index is made possible through a partnership between LJ and Baker & Taylor’s Bibliostat Connect. » » »

Redefining RA: The RA Tool Kit
Asserting that “tracking book buzz must be strategic and focused,” Neal Wyatt offers a plethora of resources that aid the RA process and advises using many online tools like book blogs and publisher’s websites, as well as alternative review tools like Entertainment Weekly and Essence plus monitoring prize winners from the National Book Awards through the Edgars to keep on top of worthy titles you otherwise might have missed. » » »

Nextgen: Field Trip
MLIS student Christopher Baker finds his first trip to the annual Charleston Conference a dazzling experience. Rather than being treated like “a lowly student and serials clerk,” it was a true confidence booster as veteran attendees welcomed him as a colleague while opening myriad networking opportunities from common social situations. His experience may help newbies at the ALA Summer Annual in Anaheim. » » »