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Mastering Readers Advisory: A Comprehensive Guide

This guide explains the art of readers advisory, including staff qualifications, reference interview techniques, transaction characteristics, obstacles, indirect services, and essential resources for fiction recommendations. Learn how to evaluate RA resources effectively to enhance your reader suggestions.

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Mastering Readers Advisory: A Comprehensive Guide

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  1. Fiction Referenceaka Readers Advisory Tuesday, October 18, 2005

  2. What Is Readers Advisory? • Looking up a book in a catalog • Determining the next book in a series • Making suggestions • Tracking down a title based on minor book details • Not exclusive to fiction • Not exclusive to print materials

  3. RA Staff Qualifications • Competence • Be a reader • Know your weaknesses • Professional development • Current awareness • Demeanor

  4. The Reference Interview • Being approachable • Question negotiation • Providing the answer • Inclusion of bibliographic instruction • Asking follow-up questions

  5. The RA Transaction • Being approachable • Question negotiation • Focus on appeal elements (what does the reader enjoy in a good story and why) • Providing suggestions • Inclusion of bibliographic instruction (RA resources both print and online) • Encouraging further discussion

  6. Characteristics of the RA Transaction • Can involve more than 2 people • Shouldn’t involve suggestion of personal favorites • Suggest, don’t recommend • Try to avoid the phrase “well-written” • Don’t fake it – You can say, “I don’t know” • Practice talking about books • Use open-ended questions • Avoid being negative or judgmental

  7. Obstacles to the RA Transaction • Staff limitations • Doing it at the reference desk • Contradicting RA guidelines • Failing to listen • Failing to ask follow-up questions • Dismissing genres or authors as trite, etc. • Put simply: you’re stumped • Patrons who won’t approach the desk

  8. Indirect RA Services • Displays • Bookmarks or booklists • Access to RA resources • Webpages and catalogs • Reader’s Alert • Homebound patrons • Book Clubs • Access to librarian’s book logs

  9. RA Resources • Journals with genre overviews • Genre-specific journals • Staff • Patrons • Fiction_L • Hearsay • Bookmarks • Lists • Displays

  10. Why Are RA Resources Important? • They legitimate the service • They help to jog one’s memory • They bolster one’s “mental database” • They’re excellent resources for R.A. newcomers

  11. The Two Major Resources • Fiction Catalog • Issued every five years • Two sections • Main entry • Index of titles and subjects • Genreflecting • Best resource for genre fiction • Two sections • Themes and types • Topics • Lots of subgenre books in the Genreflecting series

  12. How to Evaluate RA Resources • Any index is better than no index • Access points • Presence of plot summaries, description of appeal elements, or reviews • Comparisons of similar authors • Attitude of the author

  13. Other RA Resources • Print • Electronic • Fiction_L • Internet

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