It’s hard to be a book. That is to say, it’s hard to be a book and get noticed because there are so many and, as National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) member Scott McLemee pointed out in his April 25th “Critical Mass” column, book review coverage in newspapers is making like the dodo and dying out.

To stop this insanity, the NBCC is launching an awareness campaign throughout the month of May that is calling for people to sign a petition to stop the nixing of The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s book review section. I’m going to echo McLemee and our own Wilda Williams (see her blog Save This Endangered Species: Book Reviews) and say that librarians can and should play their part in this initiative. Without books, many of you wouldn’t have a pay check, much less a rewarding profession. Without book dialogue, you wouldn’t have patrons to browse your stacks.

This is my ninth year in the book review world, and I can’t imagine fitting in anywhere else (except maybe the chocolate-tasting arena, if that even exists). My point: I want to give back, and the best way I can is to expand LJ’s coverage of our pulp friends. Doing so in print is not feasible owing to paper costs, etc. Doing so online via our weekly Xpress Reviews, however, is easy.

Almost two years into our online book review experiment, things are going better than I ever expected. Not only have we increased the number and quality of books covered (Ann Burns now contributes audio books), we’re finding an increasingly appreciative audience. I can’t supply any hard numbers, but I think it’s safe to say that even the die-hardest of print-demanding librarians are beginning to see the perks of online reviews—they’re free; they’re always there; they’re informed, impartial, and to the point (like LJ’s print sisters); and they’re going to multiply like rabbits if I have anything to say about it.

With this blog, I hereby invite the closeted book reviewers of the world to bust out of their moth-balled existences and join my online-only roster. Whatever your subject area, I need you to make this venture a success. Submit an application today, save book reviews, and maybe even save the world.