Book Expo America was held this past weekend in New York. For those of you unfamiliar with BEA, it’s basically a book blitz – an unveiling of titles due out this Fall from publishers. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet authors and ‘catch the buzz’ about forthcoming titles. Librarians make it their business to get to BEA and we’re all the better for it. They speak on panels, share their wealth of knowledge and offer great opportunities for authors to speak at library events. They also have an uncanny knack for finding books that might otherwise fly a little under the radar. They get behind those books with an inspiring force of energy and enthusiasm and spread the word to colleagues and patrons. I’ve said it before: A librarian is a book’s best friend.
One of the many programs dedicated to librarians at BEA was the “Shout and Share” hosted by the AAP. This was a panel moderated by Barbara Genco, Coordinator, Special Projects and Strategic Planning at Brooklyn Public Library. It featured seven prominent librarians who gave their ‘picks’ for hot books coming out this Fall. The entire list has been posted on www.earlyword.com - a fabulous website for collection development librarians.) Just go to Early Word and scroll down--on the right-hand tab is a list that says "BEA '09--Picks of the Lists."
And here’s an article Library Journal ran about the event. Happy reading!
-Virginia