Your Name and Title: Kim Black Assistant Professor

Library, School, or Organization Name:  School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present:   Knoxville, TN USA

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s):  everyone!

Short Session Description (one line): This session will present a discussion about the growing importance of end-user book reviewing and ratings and ways that book social media sites are changing book reviewing practice.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Book reviews have historically had the purpose of both evaluating and popularizing books to readers.  Book reviews written by experts have traditionally been regarded as authoritative and heavily used by both librarians and readers.  The advent of social media communications and commerce has impacted book reviewing practice as readers (and all consumers) increasingly look to their peers for opinions and advice.  Book ratings have taken on increasing importance and now appear with reviews.  Web 2.0 has created the democratization and evolution of book reviewing practice as authors and readers together create dialogue and narrative meaning through social media.  Changes in the book reviewing landscape include the following trends:

- Rise of social commerce and growing importance of consumer reviews

- Increasingly complicated relationship between readers, the market, consumers and commercial venues (booksellers, publishers, etc.) who often provide the platform for reviews

-  Democratization of expertise and the growing importance of collective intelligence

- Influence of dialogue between reader and author and the co-creation of narratives (including transmedia narrative and fan sites as vehicle for alternate endings)

- increased internationalization of reviewing practice

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/

http://www.shelfari.com/

http://www.librarything.com/

http://www.anobii.com/

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

http://alikewise.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

http://youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com/

http://www.spinebreakers.co.uk/

http://www.revish.com/

http://www.bookjetty.com/

http://reader2.com/

http://www.bookrabbit.com