Why is it soooo hard to search for books by illustrator? Sure I can search Google but it’s a problem when databases and computer programs have no “illustrator” option for search.
The other day a customer came into my bookstore asking for books illustrated by C.F. Payne. There’s NO way to search our inventory by illustrator (there IS an author option, of course). How messed up is that? So I struggled to quickly find 1) The books C.F. Payne’s illustrated (quite a lot) and 2) which ones we had in store! I was talking to author/illustrator Sarah McIntyre about this problem and she said that in general, it’s hard to get data on illustrators and the industry is very behind…#PicturesMeanBusiness! They really do. >_< There’s no denying the necessity of a skilled illustrator to sell books so why are we so behind in crediting them/making it easier to find (and buy) their work?
When the average customer walks into a bookstore or library, they’re drawn to the illustrations of a book first. Most people don’t follow authors/illustrators; they just want a good book. But when people do find an illustrator they enjoy, it should be easier to serve them and get them the books they need.
Here’s an excellent post from Sarah MacIntyre’s blog on book metadata. Please check it out!
Read It Real Good 