Public Libraries Online: RA for genre readers seems as if it could be a minefield. How do I know if the reader who loves Zane Grey will like William Johnstone if I’ve never read a Western?

Becky Spratford: I am not going to lie, this is not an intuitive skill. I call this type of question RA 201. To help genre readers you need to take the time to learn about the conventions of each genre. How the writers write and what readers are looking for. I spend a lot of time training library workers both how to learn the basics and then “stay in genre shape,” so that you know the trends and changes to every genre. It’s not that hard once you make a work out plan to stay in shape. But these are things you would have had to have done before you got this question.

In this specific case, you would need to understand more about why the reader in front of you loves Zane Grey and in your mind, compare that to what you DO KNOW about the genre he writes in. Get them to talk about why they enjoy his books every time. You will probably hear something about the setting, the fast pace, and the sympathetic yet loner heroes. If you have done your work to know about Westerns and their tropes as a genre, you will be able to fill in some of blanks that the reader is not specifically mentioning.

To see if this reader would also like William Johnstone [or another Western author in your collection], you have to learn more about Johnstone. You already know enough about Grey. That is also an important point to make. You don’t need to look up much more about Grey because everything you need to know about Grey in relation to this reader was just told to you.

To learn more about Johnstone quickly I suggest looking on NoveList or in the 5 star and 1 star reviews on Goodreads [the lovers and the haters as I like to call them] for his books. This search will quickly reveal why people love or hate Johnstone. Do those love reasons match what your reader said about Grey? Or is it the 1 star people for Johnstone who sound more like your Grey fan?

You also will quickly learn that Johnstone has a lot more violence than Grey and while Grey’s depictions of The West are nostalgic and idealized, Johnstone’s are a lot more gritty and realistic. Those observations could make or break whether or not the reader in front of you would enjoy Johnstone. But don’t decide for the reader. Instead, I would let readers know this information and let them decide for themselves whether to give Johnstone a try. If they want to, great, if not, we have to try another author. And maybe you don’t want to only offer Western choices. But that is RA 301.

The point is that you are allowed to use resources to answer RA questions just like you would for a reference question. Let the patron know you are unfamiliar with the authors but that you are both committed to helping him find his next good read AND that you know where the two of you can look for more information…together. The RA conversation is a team sport. You need to work together. Don’t be afraid to admit that you haven’t read something, but be confident that you know how to help any reader.

PL: Librarians looking to improve at RA should definitely stop by your blog and take advantage of the meaty posts and the extensive tagging/archive. What other advice do you have for someone wanting to up his/her game?

BS: Just like anything the answer is—- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

I’ve already mentioned ways staff can practice book talking with each other at their service desks, but there are also easy ways to practice making suggestions without having a the pressure of a patron standing impatiently in front of you.

Here are two examples:

Book Riot’s free Get Booked podcast is your perfect RA practice tool. Get Booked is a weekly show of customized book recommendations. People write in, tell the hosts what kind of books they like and/or what they are looking to read next, and then the hosts suggest titles.

Listening to Get Booked is a great way to see the rage of reading tastes that are out there, and simply passively listening to the hosts come up with suggestions and hear their “why” statements is useful. But you can also use Get Booked as an active training tool.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Play the podcast and listen to the first query.
2. Write down what the reader is looking for.
3. Hit pause BEFORE the hosts give suggestions.
4. Use your favorite RA tools to identify some suggestions and include notes as to why you chose the titles you did,
5. Listen to what the hosts suggested.
6. Compare not only the titles, but the “whys.”
7. Repeat for the rest of the episode

In this active practice mode, you are not only providing RA in a simulated real time atmosphere, but you are also able to compare your ideas and suggestion with 2 other people, immediately.  Yes, this practice technique does not provide a way for you to speak to the “patron” after the fact to find out if your suggestions were okay, but it does simulate the “ask and answer” time frame that you would experience at the service desk and provides you with two other perspectives to compare your notes with.

Second, practice on a colleague. Ask interested staff to submit a list of their three favorite books (recent or all time) and a sentence or two as to why they love these titles. They should also include any books or genres that they definitely don’t like. Take all of the lists and mix them up, randomly assigning them to other staff members. Give the participants some time to work on their “reader” and come back to him or her with 3 suggestions. Everyone read one of the suggestions and get back to their suggester with comments on how it was.

This exercise not only gives the person providing RA a chance to practice finding suggestions, but also, ensures that the suggester will get feedback from the reader, something that does not always happen when we work with patrons. This exercise also allows all participants to experience both sides of the RA Service interaction. And everyone gets a personalized list of reading recommendations as their prize for participating!

PL: Traveling and presenting widely on RA must give you a broad perspective on how libraries provide this service. What trends do you see happening?

BS: Libraries are starting to realize that their staff is their best resource and are working hard to merchandize them for their expertise. This trend first began as libraries started to make Staff Recommendation displays but is now moving into services like Multnomah County [OR]’s My Librarian or Lawrence [KS] Public Library’s Book Squad. These campaigns put the staff member behind the picks in the forefront. It lets the patrons know the face and even a bit of the personality that is behind their services. This creates a closer connection between the staff and the patrons, battles the very real specter of library anxiety that some patrons feel, and allows all staff to feel more appreciated for their hard work.

A trend in reading is that with the ease and proliferation of e-books people are now reading more than they did 17 years ago when I first started doing this. More books and a mastery of another format to get their stories means patrons are less format specific. When readers ask for a book, many are willing to read it however you can get it to them fastest, be it e-book, print, or even audio. Audiobooks is actually the fastest growing segments of the “book” market right now. So buy popular titles in lots of formats, but also, don’t assume your e-book person only wants an e-book or your print person will only read print. Make sure you let them know all of the formats you have their story in.

A surprise trend of 2017 is the resurgence of interest in being in a library book club. About 10 years ago many libraries saw a decline in the number of patrons interested in being in library hosted book clubs. At the same time the home based book club was really taking off.  However, the trend has come full circle as at home book clubs are feeling like they are losing direction and are turning to their local libraries for help. I have gone from being asked to help library book clubs stay alive to being hired to help train even more book club leaders in just the last few years.

PL: It seems cruel to talk to an avid reader and not ask you to recommend a book or two, so what’s something you’ve read recently that you loved and what made it such a great read?

BS: Here are a few:

Travelers Rest by Keith Lee Morris: “A family– husband, wife, 10 year old son, and recovering alcoholic uncle are traveling East from Washington back to South Carolina over the Christmas break when a snow storm forces them to stop for the night in Good Night, Idaho at the historic “Travelers Rest” hotel, a seemingly small decision that forever changes all of their lives. With its slow burn pacing, readers are swept up into a time bending, haunted house story that is terrifying without any blood, but features a menace that is definitely not of this world. It is a story about familial love, memory, and identity that will make you think, but it is the creepy tone that will continue to haunt you after the final page. Think Twilight Zone meets The Shining and you know what your stay at Travelers Rest will entail.”

American Housewife: Stories by Helen Ellis: These are stories of modern women, from right now, not the 1950s, who are extremely flawed [even bordering on unreliable at times], have pent up rage, and are not afraid to extract revenge. They do not hold back, but they also get their revenge with a smile on their face– a pasted on, fake smile, but a smile nonetheless. And the result is hysterical. I listened to this one and the audio is especially good.

Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz was my second favorite horror read of 2016. Second only to Joe Hill’s The Fireman.  From the first line of the novel Will, a fifteen year old kid from rural Indiana, lets us know that he has a story to tell, a horrific story of the summer when he watched seventeen people die. Talk about anxiety. It is this intense tension that drives the narrative, but with the addition of a serial killer with a surprisingly connection to Will, a recently awoken ancient evil, fast paced, bloody action sequences, and a cast of well-developed characters you get an original story with a classic horror feel. This is a perfect read for patrons who miss old school Stephen King.

Each title has a much longer review available on RA for All. Just put the title into the search bar.

The post Secrets of Readers’ Advisory — Part Two first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Public Libraries Online: Whenever someone is known as an expert on something, I’m always curious about the path that led there. Would you share a quick recap of how you became an RA guru?

Becky Spratford: While I was in library school getting my master’s degree, on a whim, I took an elective class on Readers’ Advisory (RA). I thought it would be fun, but little did I know it would be one of the best decisions of my life. That class was the first time I had ever heard of being a professional leisure book suggester. Then, about a year later, while in my last semester, I applied for an opening to create an RA Department from scratch at the Berwyn [IL] Public Library.

I wasn’t even sure if RA was all I wanted to do when I went to Berwyn; I didn’t think it would be intellectually stimulating enough. But it was too good of an opportunity to turn down, and good thing too, because boy, was I wrong. My director gave me the room to make the RA Department what I wanted it to be.  She gave me a place to grow and learn to the point at which now I am writing the textbooks, leading the RA seminars, and writing an RA blog that is listed in textbooks. I went from not being sure, to being THE expert. And I have never been bored a day since.

I wrote more about those early years and the librarian who posted that opening as a memorial to her after her death here on my blog.

PL: Based on the presentations you’ve given on Readers’ Advisory, what’s one thing that tends to elicit an “aha” moment in the audience?

BS: People seem to think they can’t possibly do RA without having read the book they are suggesting to the person in front of them. To get them over this hump, I have people start with an all-time favorite book and have them describe why they love it to a colleague but the catch is they can only use adjectives and not describe the plot at all. This forces them to get comfortable with describing WHY a book is enjoyed without the crutch of plot, but the “aha moment” comes when it is their turn to listen to their colleague describe why he or she loves their book. By listening, the trainee begins to see how WHY we all like the books we do is the point of RA. When you remove the genre and plot specifics, you are left with the essence of the story and how it makes the reader feel. That is something every reader can understand and relate to. Even if the paired up colleagues have completely different reading tastes, they can hear and feel each other’s enthusiasm for the stories they love. It is that feeling we try to match as we work with readers, not a specific title.

Providing RA is as much about listening to others describe a book as it is about being able to book talk a perfect match. When people realize that, at its essence, RA begins as a conversation about books and reading, likes and dislikes, it all seems easier. That is something we all already do.  I show them that they already know a lot more than they think they do. After this breakthrough, they have confidence to try it with patrons. Then all it takes is practice to improve.

PL: Many of us probably think of Readers’ Advisory as being strictly a one-on-one conversation that takes place at a desk or in the stacks. Beyond book lists, are there other activities we should look at as ways to extend our RA reach?

BS: Talking with readers, making and posting book lists, putting up displays, and writing reviews are all great example of RA service, but there is much more you can do for sure. Basically anything you can do to remind your patrons that you are ready and willing to talk about what they are reading and watching in their free time is a way to extend your RA reach.  Here are three easy, fun, and outside of the box examples:

Create a library Goodreads shelf and have staff members post the books they are already reading with a sentence or two about what kind of reader would like it. The compound interest of multiple staff members contributing really adds up quickly. Plus patrons are already on Goodreads posting their books. They will be thrilled, and probably a bit surprised, to see you there too.

One of my favorite tricks is to really surprise patrons with unexpected RA service by putting read-alike suggestions at the end of the books they are reading.

Here is an example I made:

Did you enjoy reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker? You may also enjoy these other titles from our collection.

Forever by Pete Hamill also uses a mixture of fiction and fantasy to tell a moving immigrant story set in New York City. Forever spans centuries with an immortal protagonist, and The Golem and the Jinni is set in 1899, but both stories invoke the mythology of “the old country.”

For those who want another tale of magical realism with amazing world-building, fluid storytelling, and a tone which, while darker is infused with an overwhelming sense of hope, try Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus.

The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks is a good choice for readers who want another novel featuring Jews and Arabs working together to save something precious. Brooks’ tale alternates between the past and the present, but features a similar magical tone and a look into the customs, traditions, and ways of those who came before us.

— From your local library

All you have to do is make a template for sizing and then have any and all staff contribute. Ask them to pick a book in the collection they have read and give you their read-alikes [the books this book reminded them of]. Each staff member can write as little or as much about the whys as they want. The key is to get these lists affixed into the back of as many books as possible. Patrons love finding them and as a result, finding their next good read.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of staff talking to each other at the service desk about books, movies, TV shows, graphic novels, etc. As long as it can be checked out at your library, staff should be encouraged to talk about why they like these items that they consumed in their own leisure time. It makes for good book sharing practice and it serves as an advertisement for your willingness and ability to offer leisure reading and viewing matches to your patrons. Many patrons are afraid to “bother” us with their leisure requests. If we are already sharing our own leisure reads with each other, our patrons will be more willing to come talk to us about their needs too. Yes, believe it or not, talking to each other at the desk is RA too.

Check back next month for more insight on Readers’ Advisory from Becky.

The post Readers’ Advisory Secrets — A Conversation with Becky Spratford first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Without a doubt, the 2016 presidential race for the White House has left many politically drained, and with the new administration, concerned. Since the election, sale of George Orwell’s book, 1984, has topped the Amazon bestseller list[1], and in response, Penguin is working on a larger-than-normal reprint due to demand[2]. The unsteady political climate and unsure footing of American foreign policy has led many readers to find solace in books that they feel they can relate to: dystopian novels. Dystopian novels usually center on an ultra-antagonist, like a government or similar entity that exerts complete control of those living in its jurisdiction. Standard tropes for the genre include mind control, severe punishments, poor living conditions, advanced science used for the wrong purpose, drugs, propaganda, rules, reliance on outdated forms of communication, problems with procuring food, and disease. Below, are book recommendations for post-1984 readers seeking more bleak descriptions of future humanity’s doom.

[Warning]: Spoilers ahead.

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The series focusses on Katniss Everdeen and her quest to bring down the Capitol’s totalitarian regime. In the series, we learn there was an uprising against the Capitol’s rule, and in response, members of the various Districts are forced to give up their children to compete in a game meant to demoralize the populace and keep them under control.  The Hunger Games Trilogy has blood, determination, and shows the ironies that can come with a rebellion to overthrow one ruler, to have another equally unjust ruler try to set-up shop.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

What if you woke up to discover that you knew nothing of your previous life, not even your name? What if you were then to discover that you might have had a part in doing horrible things for the government, all in the name of scientific research to find a cure for a terminal illness? Then you might be Thomas, a hapless teenager who slowly discovers that the world has succumbed to a deadly virus, and the only way to stop it is to participate in grueling trials of strength, agility, and mental acuity. Remember, W.I.C.K.E.D. is good.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

If a wasteland is your sort of thing, then Blood Red Road might be your cup of tea. After Saba and Emmi’s brother Lugh is kidnapped, Saba and Emmi begin the grueling journey to rescue him, battling the elements and the dangerous inhabitants of an apocalyptic world. Saba is forced to cage fight and kill her opponents after she and her sister are captured by a ruthless vagabond couple.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is dark, bleak, and barren. The story centers on a father and son who are wandering America’s roads after a terrible, unidentified event. Humanity dwindles, and America is left populated with lawless bands of thieves and murderers. The only protection that the father and son have against them is a gun. However, the true danger lies within, as the father realizes that he is dying of an illness.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Along with 1984, Brave New World is one of the most popular dystopian novels ever written. It is probably best known for recreational use of the fictitious drug soma, and for its existential musing of life and death.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Shusterman’s Unwind is an original story that asks the question, “Can I dismember my child legally by applying for a government sanctioned procedure called unwinding?” In Neal Shusterman’s novel, the answer is, “If your child is bad, and between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, then yes.” Unwind is a startling novel that focuses on a group of teens who are trying to avoid the fate that their parents and government have selected for them.

Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith

Ghosts, magic as currency, and human batteries take center stage in Radiant, a dystopian novel set in the far future in which a girl named Xhea comes to terms with her inability to do magic, thereby making her life difficult and miserable. Nevertheless, Xhea has a trait that makes her valuable: she can see ghosts. The rulers of Xhea’s world reside in towers, and she soon finds out that they desperately need her to harness the power of a specific ghost, one that generates power like a nuclear reactor.

The Stand by Stephen King

If Leo Tolstoy wrote dystopian horror, he may have written something like this. The Stand touches on every aspect of human life, and attempts to reveal the fragile nature of our health and to explore a near-extinction event for humanity. The novel begins with a virus being released by mistake from a testing facility. Most of the world’s population dies, leaving only a handful of people alive. A protagonist and an antagonist appears, challenging each other for the hearts and minds of the survivors. Ironically, a nuclear bomb, a reason for many apocalyptic scenarios, saves the day.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 takes its namesake from one of the laws put into place after a war devastates the United States. The article states that women cannot have children outside marriage. Those who are found guilty of violating Article 5, or any of the other Moral Statues, face imprisonment or death. Ember, the story’s protagonist, is captured with her mother for this crime. Ember escapes her confinement with the goal of setting her mother free, but later finds out that her mother died at the hands of her captors.

References

[1] Publisher Printing More Copies of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ After Spike in Demand, http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/25/media/george-orwell-1984-best-seller/

[2] Ibid.

The post Braving the New World: Dystopian RA first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

So with some input from my coworkers, I have compiled a list for you to recommend to that guy who might just try a nonfiction book if you bug him enough. These are titles that won’t disappoint. You’re probably already familiar with some of them, but maybe you’ll find a new gem to recommend (My husband wants you to know that Under and Alone is the only book he ever got out of bed to read to find out what happened next).

Adventure

• Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
• Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire  by Nicholas Howe
• Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks by Andrea Lankford
• A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
• A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

History

• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
• The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
• The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman
• The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Humor

• Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
• Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
• Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman
• Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
• The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A. J. Jacobs

Adapted on TV

• Captain Phil Harris: The Legendary Crab Fisherman, Our Hero, Our Dad by Josh Harris and Jake Harris
• Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger
• Measure Twice, Cut Once: Lessons from a Master Carpenter by Norm Abram
• On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World’s Deadliest Roads by Hugh Rowland
• Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America’s Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang by William Queen

And More…

• The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know IsWrong by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
• What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
• Why is the Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux’s Swimming Pool?: How Winners Celebrate With the World’s Most Famous Cup by Kevin Allen

Leave a comment about your favorite titles to recommend!

The post 25 Nonfiction Titles for Guys Who Aren’t Big Readers first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

“The BookMatch program launched quietly about two weeks ago. [This quote is from August 2014 – Ed.] It’s completely free: just fill out the online form telling the nice librarians what you like to read, and they’ll come back to you in about a week with a list of five or six recommendations. You can even specify what type of format you prefer (book, ebook, audiobook, or large print)” (Merlan, Village Voice 2014). In addition to filling the requests, the lists are also anonymously posted on the library’s website, allowing other patrons to browse at their own convenience. Among the topics that already exist are:

• Drama/Suspense
• Historical romance
• Great Gatsby read-alikes
• Father and sons
• All kinds of books/no mushy stuff
• SciFi-Fantasy with strong females and diversity

Since the beginning of this program, the 35 librarians who maintain the website have been inundated with patron requests. This has been a successful launch of a new program, and it may actually prove to be too much for just the 35 librarians to complete each list in under a week if it keeps growing in popularity. This watershed moment of customer service shall work as a tableau for public libraries at large.

I began to think of how this may grow while researching this topic. Many public libraries have more items than books. I’m thinking about music, movies, and even periodicals. This program could increase its scope and therefore its ability to accommodate more patrons. It’s an amazing idea that truly comes from the basics of librarianship and adapting to the current times. Haven’t all librarians at one time or another given recommendations based on one book or movie? This is just taking that customer service to a new and more convenient level for patrons who may be living a hectic lifestyle and don’t have the time to browse the stacks.

This is definitely a program that can work in public libraries all over the world. Thanks, New York; you managed to inspire us once again with your indefatigable efforts at cultural programming!

Works Cited

Merlan, Anna. “A Brooklyn Librarian Will Now Make You a Personalized Reading List, and You Don’t Even Have to Put on Pants.” Village Voice. August 26, 2014.  (accessed September 20, 2014)

The post I’ll Tell You What to Read: Online BookMatch Program Connects Readers to New Books first appeared on Public Libraries Online.