RA Links Roundup--Courtesy of The MIllions

From time to time I post a list of interesting and useful links that have saved but didn't get a chance to blog about on their own.  Today is that, but with a twist.

The Millions is one of my favorite places to read what others have to say about books and reading on the web.  Today they have finished crunching the 2011 numbers and have presented their list of the 20 most popular stories on their site which were published in 2011.  And they have another list of the top 10 stories which were published before 2011.  Finally, there is their list of the sites which drove the most traffic to them.  Click here for the full article of The Millions Meta-Data 2011.

This list in and of itself is a great RA tool to see what stories and issues captured the most attention last year.  It allows you to see trends and appeal over a large group during an entire year.  When you are working at the RA desk, it is easy to get caught up in the day to day minutiae of your job-- helping patrons find specific books, placing holds for James Patterson, making sure you have enough copies of the newest David Baldacci, getting the returned books back on the shelf until more shelvers are hired.

It is nice to step back and think about your work helping readers from this wider perspective.  I know I will take some time this weekend to read through these articles and use what I learn to energize me as I return back to my regular work schedule on Monday.