When I talk about RA Service I stress that listening to our patrons is juts as important as suggesting books to them. Why, because one of the main tenants of RA Service is that "everyone reads a different version of the same book."
Reading is personal. You and I may both like the same book, but it could be for completely different reasons, and those reasons could even be diametrically opposed. This is something I talk about in detail and for which I give real life examples when I present, but the point here is that we need to understand WHY the person in front of us likes the books they like before we start trying to match them with a specific book.
However, I also know from experience that getting patrons to talk about the books they like and why is hard. We need to have ice breakers to start the RA conversation AND get them to reveal their reading preferences beyond specific authors and titles-- to get at what is appealing to them about the books they love.
So, here is a great conversation starter to use with patrons-- ask them to tell you what resources they have used in the past to find books to read for themselves. Their answer tells you more than you think about their reading preferences.
First, there is the obvious reason to do this, you can go straight to that resource and look for more titles. For example, if they say "NPR," you can go to the NPR books site and start talking with them about the books that have recently appeared there. You don't need to have read these titles because the info is all there. Also, the brand new titles are on the front pages, but they do an excellent job of providing many backlist options, especially through the Best Book Concierge. [Here is a post I have written just about that resource].
But you can do this with any resources. Go to their favorite first and talk about why they like it and how they use it. Together you can find more titles, but at the very least, you are setting the example that RA Service is about talking about books in a effort to find a good read. It is both the conversation and the transaction.
Second, you can learn a lot about the type of book someone wants by their answer to the resource question. For example, the person who answers "best seller lists" or "recs from friends," that patrons is interested in the communal aspect of reading. They are looking for titles that other people are reading, enjoying, and talking about. You need to keep that in mind as you help them find other books to read.
People who answer with a very specific genre based resource, well for those people you have found out that they love a specific genre. You will start the conversation with that genre.
You get the point. The key take away here is that these examples focus on getting the conversation started. You might not find them a viable suggestion immediately this way, but you can get the patron talking about the books they like more easily. Asking people to articulate why they like the books they like without them ever having thought about this before will stump most people. Heck, it stumps many of you when I ask you to do it in my training sessions. Also, I have found that they aren't as open about their true preferences if this question makes them nervous. They start spouting things they have heard others say about books and reading trends.
On the other hand, when we take the focus off a specific book and instead ask them how they have identified those good reads, we can start talking about the discovery process. It is in that process where we hear the WHYs. It is that process where we excel. It is that discovery process which we can facilitate for them.
We can even introduce them to a few fun resources in the process too. I really love Gnooks Literature Map as a way to spark conversation without pressure. Here is the entry for Gillian Flynn. When patrons see all of the authors those who liked Flynn also like, they will understand that everyone likes books for different reasons because the list is so varied. For example, I never thought of Kevin Kwan as a readalike for Flynn until I went here. Seeing that someone else likes both made me think about it and now I totally see it [engaging characters, high drama are shared. Tone, not so much.]
Seeing this connection that no other resource would make, together you will both will feel less pressure and talk about more authors and titles they have loved and why-- even those that don't seem like they make sense. Plus you can click around and end up somewhere no other resource will take you.
So ask your patrons to tell you about their favorite book discovery resources and see where the conversation takes you.
For more ideas, here is a link to the other posts I have tagged "Conversation Starter."
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