Back List Content Worth a Re-Post: Ask Your Patrons How They Find Book Suggestions

 When I give me basic RA training I use my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service as the outline. You can find all 10 rules [and more] here, but I want to highlight part of rule 7:

7. Use resources
    --Think of your job as “leisure reading reference."
    -- Ask your patrons how they find book suggestions.

           -- Using awards lists as a RA Tool

I made that middle link larger and highlighted it for a reason. Asking our patrons how they find book suggestions is a wonderful, overlooked resource and it does 4 positive things for your service to readers [at least]:

1. It alerts us to what resources specific patrons are using already so we can incorporate these resources into our practice as we help all readers.
2. It helps us to do better collection development because if we know the resources they are consulting, we can also use them to anticipate demand either by purchasing books we might have missed or preparing for demand on titles that we were not aware would be so popular.
3. It is a great conversation starter. Patrons sometimes get flummoxed when asked about a favorite book, but if you ask them more open ended questions like, "Where do you get your ideas on what to read next, besides from the library?" those they will have something to say about. It will start a conversation that will inevitably lead back to books they have enjoyed, helping you to help them find more. Be ready to share some of your own that are not obvious. For example, I share the NPR Books site with patrons. Many of them don't know there are written reviews there above and beyond the on-air content.
4. Gathering the answers to this question makes an awesome online list; one that shows our patrons that we listen to them and want to have conversations about their needs. You can title it: "Our patrons' favorite book resources."  

On that page with my 10 Rules, I list my top 5 resources. This supports Rule 7 as well. It is my advice on where you can get started. One of those resources is Book Riot. And here is why. They write their articles directly to the reader.

Look, Book Riot cares about clicks. Some library people look down on that, but I do not. I love it. Their content is written to engage readers to dig deeper into their favorite types of books so that they can make money from advertisers. The are addressing the most up to date trends and issues with book related content. They have a staff whose job it is to be onto of it all and are paid to attract people to click. 

While we have a different mission, it is tangential to our work. We cannot be this nimble, but we can use their work to help our readers. Again, Rule 7: Use Resources. Resources come from everywhere. We 100% are not expected to generate them ourselves.

Okay now to connect the two threads of his post. I want to draw your attention to a Book Riot post from 2019 entitled "14 Great Readers' Advisory Tools You May Not Know."

From the introduction to that annotated list of resources:

"One of my favorite tasks as a librarian is readers’ advisory. I enjoy doing it so much that I applied to write for Book Riot so I could have another outlet for my love of readers’ advisory. Although I tend to read relatively broadly, I’m unfortunately no Liberty Hardy, who regularly reads several hundred books a year. So, in doing readers’ advisory, I sometimes have to refer to readers’ advisory tools to ensure I’m pinpointing the best possible options for a reader looking for a good book. Readers’ advisory is more of an art than a science and no two readers’ advisors will come up with the same list of books for a reader, but these readers’ advisory tools can offer guidance when you’re out of your genre or depth. If you’re not a person who performs readers’ advisory, keep reading! You may find some great resources for figuring out what to read next yourself."

What Book Riot is doing here is the inverse of me telling you to ask your patrons where they find their next read. In this case, a library worker is sharing their secrets to the resources that readers might not know about to the readers directly. She is starting the conversation for you!

So today, I have 2 requests from you, my readers.

1. Check out these 14 sites. You may not know about all of them and/or their RA potential. Give them a whirl for yourself or use a few with a patron.
2. Post this article on your website, social media, etc... Places where you interact with your readers online. But pair it with a question to make it interactive. Ask them to add their own favorites in the comments. Then build you local library's version of "Great Tools for Readers." 

Have a great weekend. I will be back on Monday with Booklist reviews and Tuesday with the July 2021 LibraryReads list and exciting LibraryReads news beyond the list!