Average Book Prices '01: Dead Trees and Wooden Nickles

Julie Cummins Editor-in-Chief -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2001

Every year, in the March issue, SLJ calculates the average prices for books. These statistics are among the most important pieces of information we provide. As someone who has sat on the other side of the editorial page and relied on those figures to help me plan and make a case for budget needs, I know their value and importance to our readers.

The numbers this year reinforce the need for sharp-eyed perspicacity. A significant influence contributing to the increasing cost of children's books is the proliferation of nonfiction series priced at more than $20 per title. School media specialists and public youth librarians are up a tree when it comes to the buying power of their budget dollars. The $1.01 increase from last year in the average cost of a children's book becomes even more significant when configured into a percentage--5.7 percent. In terms of collection development, that's no wooden nickel.

As government pooh-bahs increasingly dictate how much, when, and how libraries can spend their funds, it's crucial for librarians to spend their dollars wisely. Like taxes, it is certain that the costs of paper, printing, and publishing will only rise, making it all the more critical for librarians to be frugal and prudent as they tackle the knotty challenge of book buying. J. Patrick Lewis sums it up in his poem "Great, Good, Bad":

A great book is a homing device / For navigating paradise.
A good book somehow makes you care / About the comfort of a chair.
A bad book owes to many trees / A forest of apologies.

Julie Cummins
Editor-in-Chief
jcummins@cahners.com