Enjoy the Conversation
Have you ever had a really great conversation with someone about books? She tells you that she just read a book she loved, you…
Red Hot RA: Demystifying the Romance Genre
It’s the genre readers (and non-readers) seem to love to hate: romance. Despite sales of more than $1B in 2013 (RWA), romance is often…
OPLA’s Readers’ Advisory Committee – A 10 Year Reflection
What could be simpler, connecting readers and books, right? The truth is, it isn’t easy, and library staff, while often readers themselves, can find…
Reading about Reading: Elevate Your Work from a Job to a Passion
In her 1979 book, Language of the Night, Ursula K. Le Guin observed that many people are anti-fiction: “We tend, as a people, to…
Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone
How many times have we heard from a patron that they will only read a specific genre? I myself am guilty of this statement.…
What Should I Read Next? : Staff Picks
Looking for a way to highlight materials you have enjoyed, increase circulation and start a conversation with customers about library items? Staff picks are…
Readers’ Advisory – There’s an App for That!
Readers' advisory is provided in an ever-widening range of places and spaces. From the in-person reference interview to virtual chat, from websites to electronic…
Building Your RA Knowledge Through Reading Journals
My cataloguing professor often referred to his “card catalogue mind”. I’m not quite sure what he meant by that phrase, but I like to…
Judging a Book by Its Cover
The old stern warning not to judge a book by its cover has been superseded by today’s advanced visual marketing techniques – we can rely on…
Do-It-Yourself Readers’ Advisory: Empowering the User
One of the greatest strength of libraries is the ability to provide “personal touch” assistance. Indeed, the capacity to personalize service is what distinguishes…
Transformative: Understanding the Reading Experience
How can understanding our own experience of reading help us improve our Readers' Advisory (RA) service to our library users? How can understanding more…
Adopting Readers’ Advisory Practices in the Academic Library
Over the course of the past century, public libraries have increasingly promoted reading for pleasure while academic libraries have moved away from doing so.…