Who am I and why should you care?
This page will attempt to answer that.
Click here to see the most recent 6 months of my presentations, although I am more than willing to create brand new training sessions that fit your needs.
Click here to see my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service page which is the place where I begin every program.
Click here for my Actively Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers page, done in conjunction with Robin Bradford.
Click here for my EDI Mission Statement:
RA for All’s programs are crafted and delivered with the understanding that increasing the collection, discovery, and circulation of titles written by marginalized voices in all public libraries is not a trend. It is a requirement. By contracting with RA for All, library organizations must take the position that libraries are not neutral, and understand that the goal is to become an anti-racist library, an organization that does the work to begin actively breaking down the walls of the systemic oppression of marginalized view points, walls which have been built over centuries but cannot be allowed to stand any longer. This work is not easy and will be uncomfortable at times, but getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is part of this process. RA for All is committed to helping you craft an actionable plan to begin this important journey.
Click here for my Goodreads Profile to see the books I have written and what I am reading.
Click here for my Twitter to see what I am talking about right now.
Contact Info [embedded in a picture for security]:
Current Bio:
Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal. Becky is a 22 year locally elected Library Trustee [still serving], a former Board member for the Reaching Across Illinois Library System, and currently on the Executive Board of the Illinois Library Association. Known for her work with horror readers, Becky is the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition [ALA Editions, 2021]. She is on the Shirley Jackson Award Advisory Board and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and currently serves as the Association’s Secretary and organizer of their annual Librarians’ Day. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll.
From my very first post in 2007:
Welcome to RA for All
RA for All is a showcase of the wonderful world of Readers' Advisory (RA). But what is RA? Readers' Advisory is a patron oriented, nonjudgmental public library service that strives to help fiction and nonfiction readers find books to read for enjoyment. Anyone interested in a more detailed description of RA Service should head to their local public library and look up Joyce Saricks' Readers' Advisory in the Public Library, 3rd edition (ALA, 2005).
So you like to read...there are many ways the local public library can help you find your next good read. This blog will highlight how the library can best help its patrons. I will post interesting links, lists, and news in the RA world. I will also highlight some of my student's work from the RA class at Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science (IL)...Yes, there is an entire class on this stuff.
There are many great book review blogs, and while I will post quick reviews of my recent reads, this blog will try to provide a wider commentary on the world of leisure reading and public libraries.
