A Prevalence of Lists

Making lists is an American thing - Americans make chronological, alphabetical, bestto-worst (and sometimes worst-to-best) lists, and then the public argues over inclusion and exclusion. Itʹs become a national pastime of sorts. For librarians, however, making lists and using them, or using other peopleʹs lists, has become a necessity in these times in which harried skeleton staffs are expected to keep track of the enormous output of books and evaluate them besides! But librarians should evaluate all such lists themselves and know when and how to use them appropriately and efficiently.