RA FOR ALL...THE ROAD SHOW!

I can come to your library, book club meeting, or conference to talk about how to help your readers find their next good read. Click here for more information including RA for All's EDI Statement.

Monday, October 8, 2018

RA for All Roadshow Visits Bucks County [PA] Free Library

I am a little more excited than usual for my appearance today. Why? Well, I am returning to my personal homeland for this one.

I grew up across the river from Bucks County and this system is my Aunt and Uncle's home library. While in town for this in service day I will see many family and friends, stay in homes, not hotels, and eat home cooked meals. 

I am also excited because Bucks County does an in service program that I am starting to see more and more often. They model their staff training day on a conference experience. This means the group is together for 1 large keynote but otherwise, staff can choose what sessions they attend throughout the day. This allows the system to offer more personalized training to their employees. It also allows people from the same departments to be in two [or three or more] places at once if they need to since they can send different people to different sessions.


Today is also the start of a VERY BUSY week. I will return from Bucks County and head straight to Peoria for the Illinois Library Association Annual Conference Tuesday-Thursday. Figure no post tomorrow [Tuesday] and then Wednesday will be the info for my 2 presentations that day with Thursday and Friday's posts being a recap of what else I did and learned at the entire conference. Of course, the horror blog will be going every day too.

But that is the rest of the week. Today is today. Let's do this, Bucks County [with slide access for all].

Today's Schedule:


9-10:15 am: RA for All: Readers Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget. The implementation of this vital service is the responsibility of every staff member-- from pages to directors, from those behind the scenes to the ones on the front lines. This program will remove the mystery behind providing great RA service. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service” as a guide, Becky Spratford will use your own love of your favorite books to show you how to help any patron find their next great read. It's not as hard as you think. But more importantly, you will learn why a staff that can harness the power of sharing a great read will become a stronger team and improve service to all patrons.

10:30-11:45 am: Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town: Booktalking is at the heart of what we do with patrons each and every day at the public library. Whether we are sharing books informally at the services desk, presenting a prepared list of books, or posting information online, talking about books is something we do each and every day. It is a core service, but it is also hard to teach. Booktalking is more of an art than a skill, but with the right guidance and some practice, it can go a long way toward engaging your patrons and re-energizing your staff. Join experienced Readers’ Advisory Becky Spratford as she shares the secret behind delivering great book talks, giving you tips and tricks you can begin using right away to hone your own skills. Rediscover the power and joy that comes from sharing books with patrons.

1:30-2:45 pm Demystifying Genre: Nothing is scarier than trying to help a fan of a genre you yourself don’t enjoy. You want to help that, for example, Romance reader find the perfect book, but you are having trouble knowing where to begin because...eek!... you don’t read Romance. You are afraid they will find out you are a fraud. How can YOU possibly help THEM?!? Never fear, in this program, Readers’ Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, will teach you the basic appeals of the major genres, give you the inside track on what a fan of that genre is most drawn to, and provide you with talking points to get your genres readers to tell you what they want. You will leave this session with the confidence and skill to help fans of every genre, regardless of whether or not you have ever read a book in that genre yourself. And that will leave a trail of happy patrons in your wake.

3-4:15 pm: Ask Becky Anything: Now is your chance to ask RA expert Becky Spratford anything about how to work with leisure readers. What are your fears, frustrations, and obstacles. This session will be recorded for all employees to access later. Click here for an example of how one of these sessions went previously.

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