From pilot to perfect: Improving RA skills by investing in training
Practice makes perfect—or at least staff can benefit from targeted readers’ advisory training, particularly when they have time to practice and reflect on their…
Listeners’ advisory: When audiobook title recommendations are not enough
Imagine this . . . you’re getting ready for a long road trip, you have just downloaded an audiobook from the library and are…
Read more and prosper
Science fiction. It’s a genre that is loved by many, but largely misunderstood. The question “Can you recommend a good science fiction book?” has…
Interview skills: Avoid the RA nightmare
Has anyone else had this recurring dream? A patron comes up to you and asks for something good to read and your only response…
My five-month mission: To boldly go where …
I have not gone before. Mission background: To make a “Best Bets” list of titles for this year’s RA in a Day, an annual…
Remembering What You Read: Reading Journals & Collection Knowledge
Has your mind ever drawn a blank when a customer asks your opinion about a book? You know you read it but can’t remember…
Investing in RA: Skill-Building Strategies
It’s one of the skills all library staff should know, but few are truly comfortable with: readers’ advisory. What do you do when a…
“So Many Books, So Little Time”: Creating Your Own Genre Plan
The results from Library Journal’s survey of readers’ advisors, “The State of Readers’ Advisory", suggest that “the biggest cause of RA angst is keeping up…
Bookmarks!
I have always held a fascination with bookmarks. It probably all started with the return of a dog-eared library book and the librarian of…
Reluctant Readers’ Advisors: Help Your Staff Help Readers
While most staff, even those without professional training, are comfortable with performing reference tasks as part of their job, many become quite hesitant when…
Loan Stars – A New RA Tool for Library Staff
Have you heard about Loan Stars? Wondering what all the fuss is about? Loan Stars is a new readers’ advisory service that allows library…
Promoting Shameless, Unapologetic Reading
These days the funding bodies of public libraries expect that they are run like businesses. The finer points of this comparison can be argued,…
Romance Novels: More Than Just Trashy Books
I had the great honour of speaking to the Ontario Library Association’s conference about romance novels. While these books are incredibly popular — this…