Okay, by now I'm sure you're asking if I plan on doing all my titles that way. Answer is "no." Only the first week's will be like that. I'll try to mix things up. As we librarians all know, there are few things worse than a boring title.
Golden rules of the readers' advisory. I had a rather negative reaction to this right off the bat. This is because I feel like there are too many! 12 rules is a lot to remember. Goodness, there are many self-professed Christians who have trouble naming all 10 commandments! If even 10 simple strictures are that hard to remember, how does anyone expect a person to remember 12 rules with explanations after them?!? Fewer rules, maybe 3, would have been better.
But doing that is an issue as well. There is a lot of content in those 12 rules and trying to condense them would prove to be a challenge without losing some information. This is a common problem encountered by people like NASA who try to send gigantic amounts of data over long distances. Let us look at these golden rules and see if it can't be trimmed a little.
1. Read read read: fairly straight forward. Of course, the only way to recommend a book that someone might like if they like another books is to have read at least one of them. And reading everything is good because if someone asks you about a genre you may not enjoy, you still want to give them a good suggestion so they leave happy.
2. Write write write: an interesting idea. Keeping a reading log or even a -gasp- blog! It is a great way to keep track of what you've read, what you liked, what you didn't and maybe even get feedback from some of your fellows. They may even be able to suggest a book in the genre that you do like.
3. Prepare prepare prepare: if you're not comfortable with public interaction, then you may want to reconsider being on a public desk. That is my first thought. But it is important to be comfortable not only suggesting book titles, but being willing to take people to them. I think, this rule could be cut out entirely.
4. Attitude and atmosphere are everything: people come the librarians because they need help. They should feel welcome to approach you. You don't want to behave coldly toward them. Again, I feel like this is a fair basic quality for a librarian to have. I think we can cut it out too.
5. Don't pigeonhole the readers: while a reader may come looking for a specific book similar to one they've already read, a librarian shouldn't be afraid to try and branch out. Suggest to them something you liked and made you think of the genre they're looking at. That will be a very nice transition to a new genre. This one, we keep.
6. Don't pigeonhole the book: this is obviously closely related to the previous rule. I think they could very easily be combined to say something like "Don't pigeonhole." It may be a bit broad, but it does remind us that, as the saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover.
7. It's not about you: basic customer service, again. As a librarian, it is not about what you've read and liked. The customer may hate every thing you love. But they are the ones you are trying to serve. You want to cater to them. I would probably get rid of this rule.
8. There is no perfect answer: this is a very true statement. Even if someone is a die hard fan of hard science fiction, they may still not like the latest Kevin J. Anderson book. No one book is perfect. I think this goes along very well with #6, so maybe we should try to modify it to be an add-on.
9. Invite the reader back: Ms. Orr is correct here in saying that reader's advisory is an on-going conversation. Goodness knows I've had more than one experience of a customer coming back directly to me because they loved I book I recommended and was hoping I could recommend another. Part of it is your attitude and atmosphere as well as being prepared and not pigeonholing books or customers. I like this rule, but I think it could probably be modified somewhat.
10. Keep current: this is vital. You have stay on top of the latest things coming out. We at BCPL have an advantage of have the wonderful collection blog that collection development puts out, but there are plenty of other resources too, such the New York Times best sellers or Amazon.com's best sellers. This rule is a keeper.
11. Enjoy yourself: if you don't like a book you read, it will like show in reader's advisory. But! You might be able to use that to your advantage. A customer asks for a specific book that you have read but didn't like. However, you've read more books in that genre. You could tell them: "Well I read it, but didn't much enjoy it. I liked this book better and it's similar because of such and such but better because of so and so. You might like it too." If they are instant on the first book, tell them that they could always check out both. This is a good rule.
12. Pass it on: also a great rule. As librarians, we should be able to pass on the skills we know, especially when it comes to core principles like reader's advisory. Helping a new staff member to get good at it requires time and patience, but is worth it in the end when they're great at recommending books to others. This is a good rule.
Okay. So we've gone through all the rules. Let's do a quick recap of if we're keeping them or not.
1: Yes
2: Maybe
3: No
4: No
5: Yes
6: Maybe
7: No
8: Maybe
9: Maybe
10: Yes
11: Maybe
12: Maybe
3 keeps, 3 cuts, 6 modifies. Overall, these are good rules, there are just too many.
Here's what we're keeping:
1: Read, read, read
5: Don't pigeonhole readers
10: Keep current
These all sound fantastic and are very easy to remember. Now to see about working in some of the maybes.
1. Read a lot, enjoy yourself, write it all down, and have actual conversations about books. (1, 2, 9, 11)
2. Don't pigeonhole readers or books as there is not perfect book for each reader. (5, 6, 8)
3. Keep current with the new stuff and be sure to share your skills and thoughts with those around you. (10, 12)
There. 3 rules that are easier to remember while still expressing much of the content of the original 12.
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