Special Topics Paper Summary - Readers' Advisory Forms Developing Readers and Library Staff

My personal experience with Readers’ Advisory (RA) began when I started working the frontlines in April 2016 as a Library Technician whose job was to assist with technology questions, but I primarily worked the desk doing both reference and circulation duties. At that point I was not much of a reader, and I had minimum training with NoveList. I completed a year-long RA course required by all frontline staff in 2016, and even then I was not confident in my RA skills. In June 2017 I was asked by a member of the Readers Advisory Committee to help assist with online RA requests through our Next Great Read service. Through this service patrons can fill out a form online describing their interests, recent reads, and favorite book appeals. The form is sent to the committee, which is then distributed among the committee members and additional staff like me. I am the only person in this group who does not have their MLS or highly significant RA experience, but they trust my experience enough for me to assist. I trust myself enough to do a great job, and I enjoy doing the forms. You do not have to be a professional with a degree to offer quality RA service. As Mary K. Chelton, Associate Professor at Queens College, says in the article “Readers’ Advisory 101,” “One of the biggest myths is that a librarian must have read a book to suggest it, without resorting to any reference sources” (Chelton). However, I will argue that the type of RA service, combined with the library setting and how busy it is at any given moment, could have an effect on the quality of service provided. I believe all libraries should offer an online or physical RA form to be available for patrons that would like their library to find their next great read, because this process allows librarians to think through their RA process and to build experience, as well as for readers to think about their own reading interests more deeply.

Traditional, in-person, RA services can be hectic depending on how busy a library is at any given moment, combined with the experience of the library staff. Some staff do not have the ability to walk around and read inside covers of books to familiarize themselves with titles. Even if a staff member can do this, it can become busy at any moment, or a patron may become impatient. Neil Hollands writes in Reference & User Services Quarterly, "When RA is rushed, results become haphazard” (Hollands 206). Having physical RA forms, or bookmarks with the online form information, would be a great promotion for RA services. Staff at service desks can hand patrons these items, as well as trying to find a book for them while they are there. 

Readers’ Advisory services through library chat is almost the same situation as in-person RA services, at least in my experience. I worked in the department at my library that was in charge of the Call Center where we received all the phone calls, patron chats, library branch chats, and emails. On more than one occasion I had to answer chat questions regarding new reads. Chat RA services offer a few benefits that in-person RA services does not such as additional time to find resources due to wait time from typing, the ability to link an online RA form to the chat, as well as linking reading recommendations straight to the chat. Linking an RA form ensures comprehensive, quality service because the patron has a chance to fill it out. 

Besides benefiting library staff, I believe all libraries should have an RA form because it also develops both current and future readers. When I first participated with my library’s Next Great Read service, it was the first time I actually thought about what I truly liked in a book, as well as what I was in the mood for at that point in time. I believe most who work in the library profession agree that we want to help inspire readers and the community to become readers, and offering an RA form gives patrons a chance to sit down and think about what they truly like to read and what they want to read at the moment. Children can benefit as well with an RA form. An RA form for children would begin with a simple questions like “What kind of book are you looking for?” Two columns can separate nonfiction and fiction. The first available choices would be “Information” and “Story” because many do not know what nonfiction and fiction mean. The form can then break down the various subjects within nonfiction, and the genres within fiction. Children could fill out this physical form and return it on their next visit, and the librarian could help show them where the books are that they want. Overall, this form could help children to begin thinking about books and knowing that librarians are there for help. Teens can have a similar form to adults that ask basic questions like what they are in the mood for, what books they have liked and disliked, and what elements of books appeal to them. 

Works Cited

Chelton, Mary K. “Readers’ Advisory 101.” Library Journal. (2013). Accessed 2 March 2018. https://lj.libraryjournal.com/2003/11/ljarchives/readers-advisory-101/#_

Hollands, Neil. "Improving the Model for Interactive Readers' Advisory Service." Reference & User Services Quarterly 45.3 (2006): 205-12. ProQuest. Accessed. 1 Mar. 2018.