Readers Advisory and the Web

1
Readers Advisory and the Web

• An Infopeople Workshop
• Francisca Goldsmith
• Spring 2004
• goldson_at_pacbell.net

2
Agenda

• Introductions
• The librarian as readers advisor
• Commercial assistance
• Librarians advice
• Professional help
• Forecasting and localizing

3
Why Do Readers Advisory?

• Reading isnt a passing fadin either society or
  the individuals life.
  
• Readers advisory provides information literacy
  training to patrons.
  
• Advisory skills need to be used if they arent
  going to get stale or lost.
  

4
Why theReaders Advisory Question Gets Asked

• Whats wanted is a book, not the book.
• Feelings, as well as facts, are important.
• Personal guidance is valued by the reader.

5
Readers Advisory Questions Demand Skilled
Responses

• Reference interview
• Multicultural literacy
• Multimedia literacy

6
Find Out What Just Like Means

• Plot nuances?
• Stylistic features?
• Characterizations?
• Vocabulary?
• Viewpoint?
• Other?

7
Reference Interview Essentials

• Discover what the reader already knows
• desire for a genre?
• a mood?
• a read-alike?
• Clarify whats important to this reader
• stay with the known?
• meet the unknown?

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Reference Interview, continued

• Tune your suggestions to the patron rather than
  to your personal biases
  
• mutual understanding of whats wanted?
• Give direction to next place to go
• shelf?
• lists?
• Web sites?
• book groups?
• alternate library?

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Multicultural Literacy

• Old books, new books
• Authors of many backgrounds
• Format functionality
• Defining a good read
• Literary merit is subjective.
• Whos giving which prizes?
• Everyone I should know likes it.

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Become a Valued Medium

• Read about books so you can converse with those
  who value your advice.

11
Multimedia Literacy

• Best seller lists
• Movies
• Surfers hangouts
• Book groups
• Celebrity selections
• Prizes and obituaries

12
Commercial Tools

• Free vs. fee
• Scope and depth
• Timeliness and timelessness
• Ease of use
• Adequate vs. exemplary

13
Seek Professional Advice for Yourself as an
Advisor

• Electronic discussion groups
• online archives
• Other libraries websites
• Online book reviews
• Online book group assistance

14
Librarian Built Tools Still Require Evaluation

• Knowledge base?
• Breadth of subject choices?
• Imagined users?
• Timeliness and availability of sources?
• Annotations?
• Upkeep?

15
Forecast Interests

• Whats happening around you?
• current events as interest drivers
• Are you tracking local stimulants?
• whos coming to town?
• Seen any good movies lately?
• look ahead at production news
• Who won? Who died?
• fame and mortality as popularity generators

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It Can Be a Rat Race, but

• Readers advisory questions are as valid as other
  reference inquiries.
  
• When youre rushed, your reader still needs to
  get useful guidance.
  
• incorporate easy tools online
• shelve sub-collections prominently
• keep lists handyand up to date

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Use Slower Times to Educate

• Yourself
• explore resources
• perform deeper interviews
• Other staff
• share knowledge of readers advisory tools
• Patrons
• demonstrate use of resources matched to their
  reading interests

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The Skilled Readers Advisor

• Works to understand what this particular reader
  wants
  
• Draws on knowledge of many tools
• Offers alternatives
• Suggests the next step

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Keep the Advisory Tools Sharp

• Make your own
• local advice for local readers
• Put yours online
• if you want to know, so do others
• Invite participation
• recognize your readers as advisors
• Keep in touch
• another job thats never finished

20
Readers Advisor Action Plan

• Attend to the world around you it inspires
  readers advisory questions.
  
• Listen to this request for reading help keep
  interviewing until the parameters are clear.
  
• Offer alternatives but never promise the
  perfect book.
  
• Let the patron know you wont be offended if your
  suggestions are found wanting.
  
• Invite or initiate a check-in, just as you should
  with any reference question.