Abstract
This study is concerned with the relationship between book reviews and selection of potentially controversial books in public libraries. Two key questions are asked. Are potentially controversial books which are widely and favorably reviewed purchased by librarians in numbers comparable with the numbers of other books receiving similar reviews? Or, do potentially controversial books require a greater number of favorable reviews before they are purchased? The investigation is limited to adult nonfiction, potentially controversial for its sex content, to medium-sized public libraries in New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan, and to reviews in 6 journals. The most important finding is that, when one controls for number and direction (favorable, unfavorable, neutral) of reviews, there is no significant difference in the number of potentially controversial versus number of randomly selected books included in libraries. The study's findings and the data collected on the extent of use of reviews by librarians sugge...
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