Salutations!

In my CLS 534 Adult Programming for Public Libraries class, we discussed readers’ advisory; since this post was originally written in Summer 2022 when I’d just started in my part-time public library position, strictly in the Children’s department, my interest and abilities in readers’ advisory has grown with my increased working with adults in the Reference department for the past 8 months.

Readers’ advisory is one of my absolute favorite aspects of librarianship. I always loved it when I had a few moments while teaching elementary or middle school library to help that one kiddo find his or her perfect-for-you book and see that little face light up in anticipation of borrowing and reading that book. Now that I’m in the children’s department of a public library I am finding I enjoy even more getting to conduct readers’ advisory sessions with the parents and caregivers of children. Just the other day, I sat on the floor with a mom of a 9-year-old girl discussing the intricacies of the American Girl book series, of which she was totally unfamiliar, while the daughter was off playing in the Discovery Zone. We had a blast, and she was really excited for her little girl to hopefully connect with the stories of a couple of the different historical characters. Last week, I delved into the nuances of World War II in non-fiction titles with a dad looking for books for his 11-year-old son, and yesterday, I introduced a grandmother to the possible merits of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series by Karen Lasky about owls, since her granddaughter loves the Warriors series by Erin Hunter about cats.

My advice for conducting readers’ advisory is to be well-versed in the section of literature about which you will be advising patrons and use library terminology as appropriate with aside explanations so patrons can begin to use the vocabulary of libraries. In order to best serve the patron asking for recommendations, one must have read a variety of books across genres or have at least a working knowledge of the content and availability of different titles and series. The proper usage of “library speak” will help patrons when working with other library staff and to be able to better understand and articulate their information needs. Especially when working with kids, I always start with an age-appropriate version of the question: “Would you like facts or stories?” to help them start the process of elimination as a filter for the vast array of books available. Reading with relish Saricks’ (2005) book on readers’ advisory for the Genre Pathfinder assignment, I resonated with the following passage:

Without either lowering our personal standards or denigrating a reader’s taste, we can talk about nonstop action, characters we recognize from the first page, or a suspenseful atmosphere, and we can provide readers with enough clues to decide whether or not they want to read the book…Appeal frees us from reliance on plot summaries and from giving mini booktalks by providing a framework on which we can attach all the information we know about an author or title—drawn from our personal reading of books, reviews, book jacket summaries—as well as what we have heard about a book or author from fans or colleagues… [allowing] us to characterize comfortably an author or a genre as well as a specific title and make suggestions for a wider range of books than we could ever read ourselves. (pp. 63-64)

I believe the heart behind readers’ advisory is tied to helping readers find books they will enjoy or benefit from reading without judgment or criticism. I was always saddened by my elementary students belittling each other over reading “baby books” that came from the picture book section with such sarcasm and always tried to nip such views in the bud with the reminder that books are for everyone, especially picture books. All books are, as Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop put it, windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors, which beautifully explains “how children [as well as adults can] see themselves in books and how they can also learn about the lives of others through literature” (as cited in Potter, 2019, para. 2). It is through high-quality readers’ advisory that librarians accomplish the mission of helping readers find their literary windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

References

Potter, C. (2019, January 25). Windows and mirrors and sliding glass doors: ensuring students see themselves and others in literature. Institute for Humane Education. https://humaneeducation.org

Saricks, J. G. (2005). Readers’ advisory service in the public library. (3rd ed.). American Library Association.