Importance of Hand-Selling Books

Mediabistro included this comment in a post today: "In the Age of Amazon.com and Internet shopping, the hand-sell seems like an antiquated skill." The post is about a contest and not really so much about how hand-selling is antiquated, but I wanted to post about how significant I've come to realize hand-selling is in my library. There are certainly some books that circulate well in my library without me doing a thing to promote them (ie. Twilight). However, besides these ridiculously popular series, you know what circulates well and what I buy multiple copies of? The books I've read and liked. Because those are the ones I recommend and booktalk. There are some books on the shelves with lots of circs and multiple copies. I bet the previous librarian loved those books and recommended them all the time. But now I haven't read them and I never direct anyone to them. They're never read. The books I have to buy more copies of are the ones I like. They're my go-to recommendations. (You like romance? Try Sarah Dessen.) And I am not good at booktalking. I don't think you have to be too great at hand-selling, though. I've found that most people will read books I recommend to them specifically (my avid readers) or point them to for specific tastes or interests. It just takes a, "I really love this book," or "Everyone who's read this has liked it."