Shelf-employed: About Me

I am "shelf-employed," that is, you can find me amidst the shelves of the library. I have a decade of experience as a youth services librarian, and I am currently employed in an academic library. You can find me on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/shelfemployed/].

Blogging is the best way for me to remember the many books that I read and review in pursuit of my favorite job, reader’s advisory.

I focus primarily on new releases. I review a wide variety of books – picture books, juvenile novels, nonfiction for children, young adult novels, audiobooks, and occasionally, books for adults. I am a member of ALA and ALSC, and have served on numerous ALSC committees.

I review children's books for School Library Journal and YA and children's titles for AudioFile Magazine. I also do some mostly book-related freelance writing and consulting.

My favorite genres are nonfiction, historical fiction, and anything related to baseball. In picture books, I prefer anything that will crack up a room full of three-year-olds.

Books that I read, but haven't reviewed are starred, tagged, and added to my LibraryThing account. I choose most of my books from the public library, but when I receive Advance Reader Copies or galley proofs, it is noted. When I'm done reading a book that I receive from a publisher, I usually put it into the hands of an eager young reader.

I rarely make any commentary other than reviews; although I occasionally may rant about things that peeve me, such as minimum page requirements and the lack of uniformity in the classification of easy readers.

My reviews and comments reflect personal opinion and are for the purpose of promoting books. They are not reflective of the opinions of any library or organization.

I apologize in advance for the fact that I do not always have the time to respond to unsolicited requests to review books. (I appreciate that you've thought of me, but I'm swamped in books!)

That's it!