Back in December, I wrote about the 2026 State of Reading Report from Everland and Fable. One of the conclusions from this study was:
Human connection drives discovery: While readers’ comfort with and usage of AI rose, they still trust people most. Personal connections now lead recommendations and sharing, showing reading and discovery remain deeply social acts in today’s screen-filled world.
So I bet you are thinking-- GREAT NEWS-- this is what we do at the library. And while you would be correct to think this, there is one HUGE problem here-- patrons don't know we offer human book suggestions.
This is why I have this blog, this is why I go around and teach library workers all over the world on how and why they need to be more intentional with their RA Service.
Angela Hursh who worked for NoveList and also runs the blog, Super Library Marketing, recently posted one of her super helpful 5 minute videos and this one....well you all need to watch this.
It is entitled: Listening to Library Users: A Wake-Up Call for Library Marketing. In this video she talks about interviewing three regular library users-- all who use the library frequently, but in different ways and when she asked all three this question-- Have you ever talked to the librarian about book recommendations? All three of them said, I they never even thought that was a thing they could do.
Please watch the entire video here.
I am guessing a bunch of you are surprised by this. Unfortunately, I am not. This is related to the most common complaint I get from library staff which is-- Becky you teach us all to be better at RA Service but no one comes and asks us for reading suggestions.
Over the last 3 years, I have completely changed my training to address this question. You have seen this in the form of my posts about conversations starters. But the crux of this argument is we need to model the behavior we want to see. We need to stop thinking of RA as transaction (like reference) and more as a conversation. RA service requires we cultivate an atmosphere of conversation around books.
I have an entire program that uses this idea of cultivating conversations around books and reading as the basis for everything I share. You can see the slides here or again, just visit the tag for conversation starters.
Here's the hard truth, one I have been out there trying to get you all to see for years now-- We are the reason people do not know to come to as for reading recommendations. We have dropped the ball by just assuming they will know that we do this instead of actively working to show them.
We have trained the American public for 150 years now, to come to the library to ask about their information needs. We have done a great job at that. But even though all of our public libraries have something about reading or recreation or the like in their missions, even though leisure reading is at the core of what we do and why we are here, despite all of this, we do not make it clear that we can help with reading recommendations for adults.
Kids sure. People know to come to ask for help, but once they are grown, they forget. And we do not help them.
So please watch Hursh's video. And then explore the my Booktalking slides here or just visit the tag for conversation starters. Both will help you fix this program.
Make 2026 your year to stop waiting for them to come ask you and start cultivating a culture of book talking and recommendation sharing at your library. (The easiest way to start is with my conversation starts to display advice).
Because our patrons don't want to use AI. They want a human recommendation from someone they trust. THAT SHOULD BE US. And as Hursh shows us, it is clearly not us that they go to for this.
I have all the links and ideas to help you get started for free here on the blog. You have no excuse to allow AI to take over. Because don't think that they will not resort to AI if they need a recommendation. We are here. We are ready. And whether or not your library has paid for me to train your staff, this entire blog has everything you need to help you al get started....for FREE.
Back tomorrow with some info about how the HWA Libraries Committee can help you help your horror readers (also all of this is for free).
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