To Lurk or Not to Lurk, That is the Question

What exactly is this "lurking" thing I'm referring to?

Well, part of joining the online conversation is to converse - and in the online world that can mean commenting on people's blog posts. A comment can let a blogger know you enjoyed the review or it can continue a discussion in further detail. Maybe you disagree with the review? Maybe you saw a key plot point differently? Like any book discussion, this can lead people to a different opinion on a book and that is one of the most exciting things about discussing books - no matter where the conversation takes place.

When people read online content and do not comment, they are called lurkers. It sounds a bit creepy, but, honestly, it really isn't. A person may find that they have enough time to read a blog, but not enough to participate more actively. Or maybe you're shy and don't feel that you have anything to add to the conversation. In full disclosure, I tend to be a lurker myself. I follow a large number of blogs, but rarely comment. And both of the reasons I listed above apply to why I don't comment more.

What would I get out of commenting?

The obvious answer is the more you participate, the more conversations you can have. The more conversations you have, the more you are likely to get a deeper understanding of children's literature. Which is sort of the point. We want to develop the best book collections for our libraries that we possibly can. We want to have a wide variety of books covering a wide variety of subjects and appealing to a wide variety of patrons with a wide variety of interests. It makes sense that the more we immerse ourselves into the resources available, the better our knowledge will become and that increase of knowledge will be reflected in the collections we develop.

So how can you get started?

For the comment challenged among us, MotherReader hosts a yearly Comment Challenge. Once a year participants are encouraged to comment as much as they can during a 21 day period. Why 21 days? According to MotherReader it is said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. More about the Comment Challenge from MotherReader's Blog:

What if I told you that for the cost of a few extra minutes a day, you can boost your blog readership, foster a feeling of connection, and make someone’s day? I’m talking about commenting.

For those of you who want to get even more involved there is an annual KidLitosphere Conference as well as the annual Cybils: The Children's and Young Adult Blogger's Literary Award.