Building a culture-rich environment in the organization and selection of books: An analysis of GoodReads reader reviews on multicultural books for children

It is essential that all children see themselves reflected in collections, services and programs developed by librarians. Multicultural literature serves as a powerful tool in enabling children to gain a better understanding of both their own culture and the cultures of others. Through this deeper knowledge, relationships can be strengthened, bridging the gap between children from diverse cultural backgrounds. In order to make informed decisions, librarians have used book reviews and award lists from authoritative sources to guide book selection decisions. As GoodReads, a social website for “readers and book recommendations,” has become more popular, the online reader ratings and reviews have received a great deal of attention in the business domain due to their perceived influence on customer purchasing decisions. Few studies have been done that look at the potential of online book reviews such as those shared by readers on GoodReads for library book selection and organization. Given the potential commercial, library, and academic interest in GoodReads, this research seeks to identify insights into reader ratings and reviews that analysis could provide. To ascertain the significance of the customer ratings and reviews on Goodreads we will investigate subjectivity and polarity of online reviews with neutral, positive, or negative sentiment with a list of books selected for American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Honors and Awards for multicultural literature (Pura Belpré, Coretta Scott King, Schneider, and Stonewall). The study contributes to increasing awareness of the potential and challenges associated with using online reader reviews for library book selection