I know some of you probably have fiscal years that end in June, but at my library our budget year is up in December. As I find myself placing the last order of the year, I want to make sure I don't miss anything great. I won't be ordering again until January, so I really have to make sure I'm caught up!
What resources am I looking at to make sure I order as many buzzworthy titles as possible?
Cybils nominees! Sure they haven't been evaluated by Cybils judges yet, but someone thought they were good enough to warrant a nomination, so I'll take a look at them. This is especially helpful for areas in which I'm less familiar - like easy readers and graphic novels.
And if you buy for a teen/YA collection, check out the titles nominated for ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults.
Make sure you're keeping an eye on books featuring characters of color and written by authors of color. Doret at The Happy Nappy Bookseller does a regular feature of new releases of children's books by and about people of color.
Mock Newbery lists! Librarian Pirate has a great GoodReads compilation of many different Mock Newbery lists.
And why stop at Mock Newbery lists when you can look at Mock Caldecott, Mock Sibert, Mock Geisel, Mock Coretta Scott King, and Mock Printz lists from the Allen County Public Library?
Of course, you'll want to check out Shelftalker's The Stars So Far list of books with starred reviews from major review journals.
So, take these resources and develop those collections! And do share - what other resources are you using to make sure you buy the best books of 2010?