Readers Advisory
Introduction to Readers Advisory Work in the Public Library
"To the habitual reader, reading is a drug of which he is the slave; deprive him of printed matter and he grows nervous, moody, and restless; then, like the alcoholic bereft of brandy who will drink shellac or methylated spirit, he will made do with the advertisements of a paper five years old; he will make do with a telephone directory." ~ W. Somerset Maugham
"The readers' advisory should guide patrons with the idea of helping them to increase their capacity for abundant living." ~ William Avery Barras
"Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." ~ Albert Einstein
"Readers advisory service is about establishing the library as a place of delight for members of its community." ~ Duncan Smith
"The covers of this book are too far apart." ~Alfred Hitchcock
There are several public library websites that promote reader's advisory work. Here is one created by a graduate of this course and SIS. Reader's Advisory at Calcasieu Parish Public Library.
Several WWW sites are devoted to reader guidance. Here are a few that have been useful in the past.
Morton Grove Public Library Reader's Services is the home of the Fiction_L discussion list for readers' advisors. The site also includes useful links and bibliographies and pathfinders. A pioneering site and absolutely essential. Note particularly the Fiction_L Book lists
Waterboro Public Library in Maine has created a clearing house fro recommended reading lists.
The Genreflecting WWW site at www.mancon.com/genre/toc.html contains reviews for new books in the genres included in the text. There is an author index.
Reader's Advisory on the Internet at www.webrary.org/rs/Ranetfull.html is a 1997 ALA program by Roberta S. Johnson. It remains a useful introduction with many useful links. A collection of links for book lovers found here is also helpful www.webrary.org/rs/rslinks.html. Note too that the Fiction_L List of Lists provides many excellent book lists on popular themes.
Bookwire, the Publishers Weekly WWW site at www.bookwire.com includes many features and indexes helpful to the reader adviser.
It's All About Books is a good source of current information about books and publishing. Not genre focused, but still relevant.
FictionDB.com is producing comprehensive, searchable title and author databases for several popular genres. Many titles have reviews linked although the authority of the reviewer is not always clear.
www.lib.lus.edu/lib/lis/pcref/readvis.html is a list of books useful for a reader guidance collection. Core titles are identified.
Developing Readers' Advisory Services: Concepts and Commitments by Kathleen McCook and Gary Rolstad is an alternative to the Saricks and Brown text. It is somewhat broader in scope.
The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction by Saricks is a thoughtful introduction with considerable emphasis on appeal elements for the various genres.
Characters in 20th-Century Literature covers more than 4000 characters by 400 major authors including some who wrote genre fiction.
To Be Continued: An Annotated Guide to Sequels covers genre and general fiction.
Fiction Catalog is the standard source for general fiction. Includes a good subject index. Some genre fiction will be found here. Good for standard works. Focus is retrospective rather than current.
Whether we call it "reader's advisory [hereafter RA]," "reader's guidance," or simply "reader's services," this public service initiative is based upon three assumptions:
The dramatic success of Oprah's Book Club is a good example of the fact that readers today want recommendations. How likely is it that the typical public library user needs help in finding something good to read? How likely is it guidance services will cause readers to change (includes expanding scope within a genre) or improve what they like to read? Should we attempt to change or improve taste?
Traditionally, RA services focused on face-to-face interaction between the library user and the librarian. However, the rapid growth of Internet availability has provided users with a wide and growing variety of resources on the WWW which can be used without mediation. On line or locally mounted "read alike" databases are also increasingly available. Thus, we can today discuss both the traditional "full service" RA service and the newer "self service" approach. However, even the traditional mediated approach relied upon reading lists, exhibits, staff picks, and the like which patrons may use by themselves. Patrons may prefer the self service approach and avoid opportunities to interact with library staff. What do you think? On the other hand, one of the claims made to justify the library in the future is that people want interaction and direction via face to face encounters.
The two best known resources for self-service reader guidance are Gale's What Do I Read Next? and EBSCO's NoveList. What Do I Read Next is currently available via the Tennessee Electronic Library. It allows searching by author, title, genre (mystery, romance, SF, fantasy, horror, western, historical and inspirational), award winners and top picks. You can also search by character, topic, setting, and time period.
NoveList offers similar features, but EBSCO is expanding it by adding complementary products. "RA-101" is a basic course in readers' advisory service. It includes a textbook, Talking with Readers, overheads and handouts, and a video tape. These are available to NoveList customers without additional charge. NoveList Notes is a monthly email service providing activities and tips to be used in strengthening reader's advisory work.
In the last two years, a small but important periodical literature has developed on the differences and similarities between the national chain super book store and the public library. Although there is some doubt about their continuing profitability, these stores have certainly been successful in attracting many new customers. Some argue that these stores are much more attractive destinations than the public library with their large stock and substantial hours.How might reader's services give the public library an advantage over the bookstore?
Originally, the emphasis was on providing individualized reading courses for adults interested in self-education and improvement. Although it may seem grandiose, some public librarians felt that the library, combining professionally developed collections of the best materials and reading guidance, could serve as the "people's university." Any adult with patience and determination could become more educated by thoughtful reading of items carefully selected by librarians. The reader's adviser created a course of study by selecting which books to read and in what order. Sometimes, study notes were also included with the reading lists. Non-fiction and standard works of literature received attention. In the beginning, the emphasis was on quality so genre fiction was not included.
At the beginning, we have a classification problem because there are various lists of genres and they do not agree. Often, the genres are limited to romance, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and westerns. Christian fiction and historical fiction are sometimes added to this list. The Internet Public Library has a much longer list including:
For some, "political fiction," "techno-thriller," "legal thriller," and "espionage," for example, are genres and not sub genres. Some genre readers restrict their reading to a sub-genre so it is important for librarians to realize that SF readers, for example, have quite varied interests. Twigging, then, is a problem here as well as in the academic disciplines and professions.
Today, RA work is almost exclusively associated with fiction reading, especially genre fiction {often a negative}. Genre fiction collections, especially in mass market paper editions, are relatively inexpensive to develop and have high circulation rates. In some public libraries, fiction accounts for about half of all the books circulated. Even hard cover genre fiction works are usually less expensive than equivalent non-fiction works. Since mass market editions often receive minimal processing (may not be cataloged), technical service costs may be minimal. What could be better than a popular collection that is relatively inexpensive to develop? How important is intellectual and physical access for genre fiction collections?
But there are problems. Not all librarians and certainly not all of those who fund libraries are convinced that escape reading [quite a negative phrase] is worthy of funding. In fact, many in librarianship and in the community have long been critical of "entertainment reading" and would prefer that the library focus on information provision. The assumption is that "serious" readers don't read genre fiction and also that information is more important than fiction. How important is escape reading? What rationales can you provide to justify its importance?. In some libraries, non-fiction works are deemed to be much more important and more likely to result in quality of life improvement in the community.
Escape reading allows the reader to escape from "mundane responsibilities, relax, feel good, and feel themselves in another's situation." As Krentz said of the romance genre, the theme is really about "female empowerment." ..."The woman always wins. With courage, ...intelligence, and gentleness she brings the most dangerous creature on earth, the human male, to his knees." Other genres also give the reader a sense of empowerment as she or he identifies with the success of the leading characters.
Escape readers also learn factual information about a wide variety of topics from how the police department works to medieval history and the scientific/technical aspects of space flight. While not all of the information found in genre fiction is accurate, much of it is and provides readers with educational and personal growth opportunities.
Genre fiction is also often associated with mass market paper editions. Historically, these editions were either reprints [better for libraries to get the cloth originals] or if original were works of little quality [bust and lust fiction]. Too, the mass market book did not hold up under normal library use [few circulations]. Although mass market paper editions can be rebound or purchased in strengthened editions, they still do not circulate well. Happily for reader's advisors, more genre fiction is now published in trade paper or hard cover editions likely to last longer.
Although we often associate reference work with difficult, specific questions, reference librarians in public libraries may also help people with reading guidance for non-fiction topics, including how-to-do-it, and self-improvement materials. Consumer health might be a good example of a difficult subject area where locating the "right item for the right person at the right time" can be a challenge. If reference librarians typically help patrons select good non-fiction books, why shouldn't they help patrons to find good fiction works? What are some similarities and differences between finding a good fiction and a good non-fiction book? In some cases, school assignments may drive the query: "I have to read a novel by Jack London for a book report due on Monday." If RA work returned to its roots, it would involve both fiction and non-fiction [perhaps] more emphasis on the latter].
In the beginning, RA work focused almost exclusively on the book with some attention given to periodical articles. As RA work shifted to fiction and genre fiction, the primary focus was on the novel. Today, many libraries have both standard print books and large print editions. They also have audio book collections on tape, but with growing interest in CD-ROM audio books. DVD audio and video books are not far behind. Those who have enjoyed a book may wish to view the film or video version of the same title. Those who have enjoyed the film may wish to read the book or a similar work. It seems increasingly likely that reader's advisory work should consider the "right format for the right reader at the right time." This would also include works that are abridged as well as those that are not.Should we limit ourselves to reading or should we expand to "viewing and listening" as well? For example, is suggesting a best recording of Beethoven's Pastoral reader's advisory work?
Many years ago, Larry Clarke Powell said that library service involved "love of books, love of people, and a desire to bring the two together." In a similar vein, collection development has frequently been summarized as providing "the right book for the right person at the right time and at the right price." Without doubt, the reader adviser must love people and love books and want to bring the two together. Unlike the historical reader's adviser with her emphasis on reading the best, the contemporary reader's advisors is not judgmental. Rather, she wants to provide that "right book for the right person at the right time."
If we love books and reading, surely we will want to promote reading. One of the reasons that people do not read more and do not use the library is that it is often difficult to find the right book. Whether via mediation or self-service aids, RA services promote reading by making it easier to find the right book. Selecting the right item is often difficult for many library users, especially those who are less experienced. Satisfactory experiences develop repeat business. When you find that right book and have a wonderful reading experience, you want to read more and visit the library more often. Perhaps you will tell friends about the importance and utility of the library.
Reader's advisory work also strengthens collection development and management activities. Mediation, in particular, provides useful current information about reader interests, strengths and gaps in the collection, and difficulties encountered in finding and retrieving items.
In considering RA service, several variables should be considered:
If we provide the "right book for the right person," the nature of the community makes quite a difference. Communities may be heterogeneous or homogeneous. They may be affluent or poor. They may be well or poorly educated. They may include substantial numbers of recent immigrants for whom English is a second language. The kinds of readers in the community will also have considerable impact. The stereotypical view is that fiction readers are middle-aged, older women who do not work outside the home and read to escape boredom. Communities will differ in socio-economic-educational characteristics. There may be more interest in fiction in some communities than in others. Regional or local preferences may come into play. Since collections and services should match the communities, it is reasonable that they may differ from place to place and time to time. Still, best seller lists of various kinds are often national in scope so a balance is called for.
Library size usually reflects the size and nature of the community. Although not always true, large libraries usually have more staff, resources, and larger collections. There should be more opportunities for RA work in a larger library system.
Almost always, a remarkable RA program is the result of the enthusiasm, patience, and determination of at least one librarian. Staff interest may be the most important of all these variables. Without it, no RA program is likely to succeed. With it, all sorts of obstacles and problems can be surmounted. Ideally, one of those enthusiastic about RA work would be the library director. The time and staff allocated to RA services is a clear indication of agency priorities. Given qualified professional and agency leadership, enthusiasm should soon result in staff competencies and effective service.
Mission, goals, and objectives are not always an important part of how the public library is run. Still, these should be in place and should make a difference in determining agency priorities. Public libraries may adopt a variety of missions. For our purpose, the most important one is for the library to be a POPULAR READING CENTER. This mission would make RA services essential. More than 70 percent of U.S. public libraries have identified Popular Materials Center as one of their major roles.
The size and nature of the collection is a crucial independent variable. Although RA work can certainly direct users to other collections, its primary purpose is to increase use of the local collections while better meeting the needs/wants of local users. Small, inadequate collections will make RA services difficult or incomplete.
The Learned Report, funded by the Carnegie Corporation in 1924 focused on the potential of the public library as the prime agency for adult education. With an increase in leisure time, especially by those belonging to labor unions, there was concern that this time would be used in a way to benefit society.
The aim of the Learned Report was to encourage many more people to read, and to read the right kind of books. Reading should be guided by a "consecutive, systematic, and purposeful approach." The public library should:
It was also hoped publishers would be influenced by these needs and provide the sort of books that librarians needed. These would be:
Columbia University established a reading laboratory and ALA begin publishing a series called "Reading with a Purpose." These books introduced topics and their importance and followed with a highly selective annotated bibliography. Some librarians felt that the public library was the logical primary agency for informal, non-course adult education.
Reader's advisory work focused on the general reader seeking self-paced, inexpensive personal development. These readers typically had few other alternatives. They were often not qualified for formal educational opportunities or could not afford them [time or money].
The large number of immigrants before and after World War I created a substantial demand for adult education to "Americanize these immigrants. Public library collections on civics and U.S. history could play an important role in this process.
The rapid industrialization and urbanization of the U.S. also created a substantial demand for more skilled and educated workers. General educational materials in the library collections could help workers to add to their skills. Corporations with increased technology needed labor with more and different skills and understandings. We see the same phenomenon today in the collections on how to do well on tests to secure a better position or educational opportunity.
In the 1920s, the dramatic success of the new Book of the Month Club which provided experts who selected the "best" new books was evidence of the demand and the need for experts to select and recommend good books for readers who found it difficult to know which book to read.
Since reading was to be individualized, a personal interview gathered considerable information about the user:
Based upon the interview, an individualized reading course was created. This was a combination study guide and annotated bibliography. The bibliography established a strategy to reading with a prescribed order for the reading to illustrate linkages between readings.
From adult education, reader's advisors developed five types of reading:
While "liberal" reading fits best with the current version of RA service, "escape" reading often falls into the "relational" category too. Ideally, reader's advisors would be involved in each of the five types.If you were limited to one or two types for your RA program, which would you adopt? Why?
In the beginning, the public library focused on individuals because other community agencies and organizations served groups. Only the library served individuals. Unhappily, working with individuals one on one is expensive and staff intensive. This is one of the reasons that public libraries decided not to continue with the educational RA service. Working with groups is much more cost-effective and is likely to generate more pleasing metrics. Typically, book talks and reader discussion groups are the activities most likely to serve groups today. What are the assets and liabilities of focusing on groups of readers rather than individuals? Which group activities most appeal to you?
By 1928, most public libraries had decided that reader's advisory work, especially the individualized systematic adult education version, was too costly. Too, the number of users and uses were not great enough to indicate substantial community interest. There was no evidence that RA work increased user satisfaction and increased library use.
During the depression, resources available to the public library were reduced and it was difficult to provide traditional services. An extra like reader guidance was difficult to justify.
Over time, reader's advisory work became less focused on education and personal growth and gradually came to include almost any guidance related to any kind of reading. Is there a role for the traditional adult education model of reader's guidance in the public library today?
In the 1940s, the University of Chicago developed the Great Books Discussion Program. The University provided a list of the "great" books and made standard texts available. The purpose of the program was to have individuals read the great books and discuss them WITHOUT the use of any secondary sources. Given the nature of the books, this was a worthy challenge. Great Books related well to the adult education model and some ALA leaders were enthusiastic about it. Critics argued that the program had little impact on library use and users.
By the 1950s, most reader's advisory departments were gone and their staff had been moved to other responsibilities. Increased library emphasis on self-service and diminished interest in adult education left little room for the traditional approach to RA. At the same time, more librarians became convinced that the public library should serve the "serious reader" and that did not include the reader of genre fiction.
By the 1970s, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. public libraries had a professional reader's adviser. RA work had become synonymous with suggesting something good to read when asked, but was informal and not systematic. Some assumed that the reference department could handle RA work since it is a "reference" like activity. What is the difference between helping a patron find a good book on the Spanish Civil War to helping that same patron find novels about female lawyers? A contrary view is that reference and guidance are essentially different. Reference normally involves finding specific answers to specific questions (How large is the national debt?) and does not deal with goodness (I want a good book on interior decorating?) where there may not be a correct answer. [Bill would argue that there are not "correct" answers for many reference questions.] Reference is seen as important while reader guidance is often seen as trivial. Does it seem reasonable to have the reference department handle reader guidance activities? Why?
Recent surveys have found readers' advisory work to be poorly done if done at all. Few library schools provide course work in this area. Most public libraries exhibit the same liabilities:
It may seem curious that youth services librarians, both in public libraries and in schools, do a considerable amount of reader's advisory work and reader's guidance issues and concerns appear frequently in their literature. In fact, reader guidance is seen as a central concern. For some reason, it is assumed that children and teens need help in selecting the right book, but that adults do not. Is this a reasonable assumption?
Reader guidance has long been inhibited by intellectual access problems. Most catalogs provide inadequate access to fiction. Subject headings that describe setting, time, genre and sub-genre, primary occupation of main character and the like are a problem, especially for genre fiction which is sometimes not taken seriously by value oriented librarians. Appeal elements so valued in RA work rarely appear in the catalog or any of the "read-alike" data bases. The catalog usually does a good job of finding work by the same author IF the author writes under the same name and always write the same type of story. Unhappily, many genre fiction authors write under a variety of pseudonyms or write in different genres or sub-genres. They may use one when writing SF and another when writing romances. Finding similar authors is often difficult. While the Library of Congress is making considerable progress with more subject added entries for fiction, finding novels with particular attributes remains a substantial problem. As a reader and as a reader adviser, which added entries would you find most useful? Worthwhile to have them added to the local catalog?
The primary concern here is that the genre reader be able to find works in the genre of interest. If all works of fiction are arranged in a single alphabetical sequence, physical access is improved via spine labels such as the rocket ship for SF and the heart for the romance novel. It is sometimes difficult to know how many genres or sub-genres warrant recognition via labeling. How many categories would you use? Which ones?.
Another approach is to segregate genre fiction is separate sections by genre. Thus, all the romance novels are in one place and all the mysteries are in another. Obviously, classification is a continuing problem and some genre fiction may be placed in the wrong class, e.g. a time travel novel by a romance writer. Other works that should be in a genre class will be placed in the more general fiction category. If genre readers limit themselves to "their" shelves, they are likely to miss important new works. It is also important to guard against the temptation to place "literary" or quality genre fiction in the fiction section. Another problem with segregation is that readers who like a particular author will find her work scattered in several different locations if she writes in different genres.
Libraries, and their collections, can be complex, intimidating, impersonal, and difficult to use. Even finding a known item can be challenging. Many adults are not comfortable with the library. It does provide opportunities for loss of face and the sense that selecting the right book is just too difficult. Consider how often you have checked out a book from the public library or purchased a book to find that you really didn't enjoy it--that it was not at all what you had expected. Selecting the wrong work and having a poor reading experience may discourage future library use or even reading itself.
The user must be assertive enough to ask for help (although in an ideal world we would walk the floor and ask people if they are finding what they seek) and libraries can make that easier or more difficult. However, most users will be reluctant to ask for help. What can we do to make it easier to ask for help?
Ideally, the public library has a continuing publicity program to insure that the community is familiar with its collections and services. In particular, news about new books and book programs regularly appears in local media.
When one enters the library, signage should clearly direct the patron to the fiction or the genre fiction collections. Users must know that the service exists. Use signs that say FICTION DESK, FICTION SERVICES, or LOOKING FOR A GOOD BOOK TO READ or something similar. Signs also indicate where RA resources such as reading lists and read alike data bases are found. The reader guidance post should be clearly visible and easily found. If reader guidance is found in the reference department, that is clearly indicated. Perhaps we should use "User services" or some such instead of reference.
RA staff are visible via name tags. They staff a visible service point and walk the floor when they are able. Staff are friendly, cheerful, out-going, and competent. They are familiar with RA resources, they are thoughtful readers, and they are aware of new books and authors as well as the established ones.
Chain super book stores have done very well with comfortable chairs to encourage browsing. Libraries should do the same. Comfortable chairs for browsing and reading need to be available in or very near the stacks. Quiet and good lighting is essential.
The guidance -- prescribing or recommending is not recommended, but suggesting is -- the right work for the right person at the right time--is the key. This may involve:
Like reference work, mediation is build upon an interview. Here, however, there is somewhat less emphasis on distinguishing between wants and needs. We need to ask questions that will help us to identify the attributes associated with a good reading experience for the user. Most often, the patron wants help with what to read next. Some times, she will want to know what to read first as when exploring a new author, genre, or series.
Beginning with what the reader enjoyed in the past is often successful. We might ask:
Appeal elements may be limited to books or might include other media too. We might want to consider:
Readability is often mentioned as the most important variable in selecting something to read, view, or listen to, but it is most difficult to define and the definition varies from reader to reader. It can be most difficult to take a vague want, "science fiction without too much violence and sex," and transform it into two or three particular titles.
No one should have to justify their taste and the reader adviser has the difficult job of helping the reader to find the right book without allowing her own likes and dislikes to influence recommendations. While elevating the reader's taste has been a traditional public library goal, it is not nearly as important as insuring that the reader has an enjoyable read. We must be approachable and non-judgmental in manner and style. It is also important to safeguard reader's privacy. What one reads or wants to read is a private matter.
Ideally, reader's advisory work should involve a continuing relationship and provide an opportunity for feedback. Our suggestions can become more focused and accurate as we learn more about which previous items were enjoyed and which were not. Feedback from readers is probably our best way to learn more about the books in the collection. Guiding readers must go far beyond what we have read and enjoyed. Instead of being based on our own reading experience, we will use the full range of reference sources available to us. Without feedback from the user who has tried the suggested work, we are not likely to know if the RA work was successful and how to do better next time. Do recall that poor or vague metrics were responsible for the near-death of RA services earlier.
Ideally, RA work would be directly related to circulation and to reader satisfaction. In fact, these linkages are difficult to measure and few libraries even attempt to do so. At the least, we could gather anecdotal praise and comment from users.
Some unobtrusive research suggests that in a typical PL:
Many public libraries discourage reader's guidance questions. Staff seem unapproachable or too busy. Staff seem disinterested in reader guidance. Staff are not familiar with the collection, fiction in particular, and are not currently aware. What might be done to insure that this does not happen in the library where you work?
How would you measure success in reader guidance?Personality, enthusiasm, style and manner are most important. Since mediation involves face to face interaction, the librarian must be a good listener, genuinely interested in clients and sympathetic with their wants and problems. For many users, a caring, interested manner is more important than the result. The reader adviser must be comfortable with the variety of material that people want to read and be non-judgmental in her actions. No reader should need to apologize for what she reads. No librarian should act as if circulating a home repair book is much more valuable than circulating a romance novel.
The literature suggests that the ideal reader's adviser is enthusiastic, perhaps even inspirational, in motivating interest in books. She is an effective communicator, especially in public speaking. Most successful reader advisors are well-educated, with a strong liberal arts education. They are also enthusiastic and active readers, often taking notes on what was read. Please note that readers advisory work is not based upon the reading experience and interests of the librarian. Still, we often feel most comfortable with the genres we read. One survey found that:
Here, as mentioned above, one model is the national chain super book store where readers often find what they want with minimal guidance. Reader interest classification [books on a related topic grouped together] often works well. Some items are arranged face out to attract reader interest. Logical layout and clear signage makes it easy to find particular sections. Displays highlight works related to special events or notable items. Staff picks identify items of local interest. Reading clubs meet periodically to discuss a book of interest.
The library can add visible, easy to use reading guides (might be on the WWW page too), reader guidance books and periodicals, reader guidance data bases, links to WWW sites useful for answering what to read next questions, and exhibits.
Via publicity, news releases, and signage, continually advertise the library's willingness to provide guidance via a marked service point that is visible and easy to use.
Post notices of new or interesting titles in highly visible locations (always list alternatives). Batch similar works in displays or reading lists. For example, mystery novels involving librarians or romance novels involving gardening. Focus on older works as well as the newer ones.
Place reader's advisory reference works near the area where the materials are shelved (self-service reader's advisory work). For example, guidance material on SF should be shelved at the beginning of the SF shelves. Proper signs are essential.
Create and share best book lists limited to particular topics, genres, settings, etc. These might be issued as pamphlets, broadsides, WWW pages, or in other formats. Use staff and reader picks and change these regularly.
Schedule book club discussions with interested users, e.g. a S.F. Book club. Sponsor great book discussions and create your own list of great books. Present book talks in the library and, on demand, to community organizations.
Create local databases with best book, next book, and similar book information or subscribe to fee web-based products that do this NoveList is an EBSCO product. It includes all fiction reviewed in Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Genreflecting. There are reviews and descriptions for fewer than half of the books. Gale issues What Do I Read Next which is also available in print. It is limited to genre fiction--fantasy, western, romance, horror, mystery, and science fiction. This more selective title includes more than 1200 books each year. Indexes include series, time period, place, genre, character name and description, author and title. Each entry includes at least one read-alike. It is essential for these databases to be updated on a regular basis since readers often want to read new books and new authors. Not all of the commercial data bases are effective and useful. Work with them to be certain that they work well BEFORE you suggest them to users.
Improve catalog access via added entries for genre categories, settings, occupations, and themes (access mystery books about college professors or teen fantasy with a dynamic female heroine).
Exhibit collections of similar works in a manner that hooks library users and attracts their attention. Displaying items face out and taking advantage of cover art makes a big difference. Many book store purchases are impulsive, driven by the cover art on a book. The same would happen in the library with better display. Plan ahead and avoid stock outs with displayed or listed items.
Reader's advisory work is difficult if the popular, recommended works are always checked out. While we normally suggest alternates to tide the reader over until a certain high demand title becomes available, duplicate copies of popular items are essential. Many libraries handle this through a lease or rental plan. How many copies of a high demand title would you buy? How do you know when to stop?
Another approach is to use flexible circulation periods so that high demand titles circulate for a limited number of weeks with no renewals. There needs to be a visible, easy, and inexpensive way for patrons to hold or reserve an item that they want to read.
Read, read, read................ There is no substitute for thoughtful reading. Keep a notebook of what you have read. Share with your colleagues and others who might be interested. Some experts on readers' advisory suggest the value of the "five book challenge" which is to read five books in a new genre every year to develop and extend understanding of genre appeal.
Look for periodicals, print and digital, that review new books. Comparative reviews are especially useful such as the read alike columns now and then found in Booklist. Read reviews in specialty periodicals such as (The Armchair Detective, Locus: the Newspaper of the Science Fiction Field, Romantic Times Magazine are examples). There are many excellent reviews found on enthusiast WWW sites. With time, you will discover which work well and which do not.
Track trends and fads in Publishers Weekly Survey articles devoted to major genres are published once or twice each year.
Browse regularly and thoughtfully in Best Books bibliographies (Popular YA Reading: A Collection of Booklist Columns, Genreflecting: A guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction, What Do I Read Next are examples). Look at new editions of standard bibliographies such as (Fiction Catalog) when they are issued.
Subscribe to appropriate discussion lists and Usenet news groups. There are many, including some devoted to particular authors. Each of the major fiction genres and most self-improvement and how-to-do-it areas are well-represented. The Fiction_L list is essential to reader's advisory work with fiction.
Appropriate tags may summarize quality:
and popularity:
Last major revision: August 2004.
