Serious question, the librarian's one line about recommendation lists stuck with me all weekend
I was at the public library in Boise last Saturday returning a stack of books, and the librarian said something I keep turning over. She mentioned that our little community board by the checkout desk gets more use than the printed staff picks, because people trust a neighbor's name next to a book more than a laminated card. That hit me because I help run a small rec list for our neighborhood newsletter, about 40 households, and I had been thinking of shutting it down since only a handful reply. She said the quiet ones still read it, they just don't write back. So I counted the clicks on our last issue and got 31 opens out of 40, which I never would have guessed. Now I'm wondering if I should ask for one line from each person who reads it, like a mini review to pass along. If you run a small rec list like this, do you ask readers for input or just keep posting and hope?