This lecture looks at readers' advisory history and best practices

2. IN THIS LECTURE
•LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF
READERS’ ADVISORY
•LEARN BEST PRACTICES OF
THE READERS ADVISORY
INTERVIEW
•NOTES IMPORTANT RA TOOLS

3. A BRIEF HISTORY
• 1876-1920
• 1920-2940
• 1940-1984
• 1984-PRESENT
• SOME CONTROVERSIES

4. 1876-1920
•READERS ADVISORY WAS INVENTED, LIBRARIANS SAW LITERACY AS
SERVING THE GOOD OF THE NATION 1920-1940: ALA BEINGS RA
PROGRAMMING, RA PROFESSIONALIZED. RA SPECIFIC POSITIONS DIED
OUT WITH BUDGET CUTS AFTER THE WORLD WARS

5. 1940-1984
•READERS ADVISORY DISCOURAGES FICTION AND READING FOR PLEASURE,
LIBRARIANS BECOME GATEKEEPERS OR OVERSEERS OF CULTURE AND ENCOURAGE
THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO READ LITERATURE THAT REFINES THEIR CULTURE

6. 1984 TO PRESENT
• READERS ADVISORY IS REVIVED AND PRIVILEGES FICTION OVER NONFICTION. ALA BEGINS MAILING
LISTS AND MORE RA SERVICES.
-READERS’ ADVISORY GAINED MOMENTUM IN THE 1980S AND 1990S AS A LEGITIMATE SERVICE
WITHIN REFERENCE. THE INTERNET AND GOOGLE INITIATED PATRONS/USERS TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN
READERS’ ADVISORY. READERS’ ADVISORY SERVICES ARE NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER AS
PATRONS’ QUESTIONS BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT AND SPECIFIC , ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO
READ FOR PLEASURE. IN THIS NEW DIGITAL ERA, READERS’ ADVISORY HAS SHIFTED TO PRIORITIZE THE
NEED OF RA. (CASSELL AND HIREMATH, 2013)

7. READERS’ ADVISORY SERVICES
•RA IS DIFFERENT THAN GENERAL REFERENCE, IT SHOULD BE VIEWED AS
MORE OF A CONVERSATION THAN A REFERENCE INTERVIEW
•PEOPLE SKILLS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR RA, THEY HELP THE LIBRARIAN
DETERMINE THE PERSONAL PREFERENCES OF THE PATRON
•RA AS A LITERACY AND LEARNING TOOL : RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT
READERS OBTAIN COGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE AND AFFECTIVE PLEASURE
THROUGH THEIR READING INTERESTS. READING FOR PLEASURE ALSO
DECREASES STRESS LEVELS AND TEACHES THE READER ABOUT THE WORLD
AROUND THEM, HISTORY, AND SOCIETY (CASSELL AND HIREMATH, 2013)

8. THE READERS’ ADVISORY INTERVIEW
- Begin with:
- ”Tell me about a book you have enjoyed”
- Follow up with:
- ”Are you in the mood for a similar book, or something different?”
- Appeal factors- Try to get a sense of the Feels, what kind feel does the book
promote?
- What has the reader disliked? Withhold judgment: Vampire fiction and 50
Shades are the readers preference!
- Good form: Appear approachable, ask open ended questions, be an active
listener, share your method of discoverability with the patron

9. - Common mistakes:
- Librarian turns to the OPAX rather than initiates conversation
- Not using tools
- Suggesting one title rather than many
- Best practices:
- Prepare by reading widely
- Keep a reading log
- Look at new books
- Restock and renew book displays
- Talk with other staff about recent reads
- Record 5-6 popular titles available that day on the shelf

10. TOOLS
- THE RA librarian: well read, friendly and
ready for conversation
- RUSA’s Reader’s Advisory 101
- Genreflecting (2006)
- Booksinprint.com
- What should I read next?
- Books and Authors database (paid)
- NoveList (Ebsco)
- LibraryThing

11. REFERENCES
• BOPP, R. E., & SMITH, L. C. (2011). REFERENCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES: AN INTRODUCTION.
ENGLEWOOD, COLO: LIBRARIES UNLIMITED
• CASSELL, K. A., & HIREMATH, U. (2013). REFERENCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES: AN INTRODUCTION.
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION