2007: A Look at the Data
February 2008
While many things have changed since Choice was founded in 1964, our mission has not. Today as in 1964, Choice’s basic mission is to help libraries identify new books and other materials that are appropriate for an undergraduate collection. How well are we doing?
In truth, it’s not always easy to tell. It would be easier if we received instantaneous, reliable evaluations of everything we publish. One can only imagine the in-house dialogue when that day arrives. “Ah, here’s a 98.7. Nice work, folks. Whoops, we’ve got a problem with the bibliographic essays. OK, everyone, please review the bib essay rating data before the next editorial meeting.”
Until then, we must make do with other tools. User surveys such as the recent Choice Reviews Online survey (discussed here last month) are one example. In addition, we regularly analyze other available data, including the content we publish. What does a quick look at last year’s output tell us, for example?
One thing it tells us is that 2007 was productive. Between January 1 and December 31 of last year Choice published 7,099 reviews. Of these, 6,668 (or 93.9 percent) were book reviews; the remaining 431 (or 6.1 percent) were reviews of nonbook materials, primarily Internet resources. From a quantitative standpoint, 2007 was clearly a good year.
By digging a bit deeper, we can learn a bit more. For example, all Choice reviews include one or more of seven possible readership level ratings. These range from “general readers” to “professionals/practitioners.” If Choice editors are selecting materials appropriate for the undergraduate curriculum, one would expect a majority of Choice reviews to carry one or more of the following readership levels:
- General readers
- Lower-division undergraduates
- Upper-division undergraduates
- Two-year technical program students.
And that, I am happy to report, is precisely what one finds. Of the 7,099 reviews published by Choice in 2007, some 5,967, or 84 percent, were assigned at least one of the above readership levels. Furthermore, nearly half (3,455, or 48.7 percent) were appropriate for lower-division undergraduates, two-year technical program students, or both.
The recommendation level included in the “Summing Up” section at the end of each Choice review is another useful tool. There are five possible recommendations ranging from “essential” to “not recommended.” If Choice editors are selecting appropriate titles for review from among the 25,000-plus titles submitted annually, one would expect to see a substantial number of “essential” and “highly recommended” ratings. Conversely, one would expect to see a relatively small number of “not recommended” titles. Choice’s mission, after all, is to help libraries identify valuable titles. Accomplishing this goal presumes a high degree of selectivity that, if successful, will be reflected in the recommendation levels of the titles reviewed.
And happily, this is once again exactly what one finds. Out of 7,099 titles reviewed in 2007, some 2,948 (or 41.5 percent) were rated as either “essential” or “highly recommended.” Only 159 (or 2.2 percent) were “not recommended.”
One could go on, but perhaps the point is made. Here at Choice we take our mission seriously. So far as we can tell, we’re doing OK, dear reader. We hope you agree.—IER
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