Library Trends 75(2): Actively Professional Readers’ Advisory Training: Ethics, Representation, and Online Discussion

Library Trends 75(2), November 2026, "Rethinking Readers’ Advisory for Today’s Reading Reality." 

This post is part of the series where I have a post highlighting each article in the issue.

Everything is tagged "Library Trends", so you can use that link to pull up the features of each article and its authors in reverse chronological order here. Or you can use the page I have created for this entire issue to read any article at any time. All of it is open source and free through Project Muse.

Today it is the third article in the issue. But before I get to that, I also want to note that this article is also the third in Section I, “Laying the Groundwork for Twenty-First-Century Readers’ Advisory Service,” which features four articles that establish the foundation upon which we believe twenty-first-century readers’ advisory service should be built. The authors in this section look at service to readers from theoretical and educational perspectives.  

Actively Professional Readers’ Advisory Training: Ethics, Representation, and Online Discussion

Michael Adams, Catherine Bryant, Abby Dawson, Ellen Forsyth

pp. 289-308

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2026.a1005544

Abstract:

This article examines the development and delivery of a readers’ advisory training model for public library staff in New South Wales, Australia. Grounded in the Australian Library and Information Association Code of Ethics, the training emphasizes an actively representative approach to readers’ advisory work and the importance of diverse collections and perspectives. The training model is informed by Connectivist learning principles, using online discussion groups to support collaborative learning among geographically dispersed staff. The outcomes of the program, measured by both participant evaluation and observed amendments to readers’ advisory practices, demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in strengthening readers’ advisory services in public libraries. 

Michael Adams is a librarian in Public Library Services, State Library of New South Wales (NSW). He has extensive experience as a librarian, previously working as a local studies librarian in various NSW public libraries and as a reference librarian at the State Library of NSW. He provides training on a range of topics for NSW public library staff.

Catherine Bryant is a librarian in Public Library Services, State Library of New South Wales. She previously worked as a law librarian in a number of Australian and New South Wales government libraries as well as in a university music library. Bryant is an experienced trainer, providing training to library staff all over the state of New South Wales, specializing in the provision of legal information to the community.

Abby Dawson is a librarian in Public Library Services, State Library of New South Wales. She has more than twenty years’ experience working in public libraries in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Australia, particularly in collection development and management roles. Dawson provides training for New South Wales library staff on a range of topics and manages the indyreads statewide e-content platform. 

Ellen Forsyth is a librarian in Public Library Services, State Library of New South Wales. She provides advice to public libraries, reviewing their collections, services, and buildings, and is active with three public library working groups and in research. Her current collaborative research focuses on what questions are asked in New South Wales public libraries and on local studies collections and services. This latter research will lead to local studies content creation training for small libraries. 

This article is one of two written by non-American authors which in and of itself was a huge win, but even better, the work they did to create a new training model for all library staff in New South Wales Australia was inspired by the classes the authors had taken with Robin and me.

What I love about this article-- in terms of helping all of you-- it shows how a system can work to create their own training model, to jeep RA learning going even after the paid trainers leave. They not only shared how they created this program, but how it has been going. And the outcome is that RA service at all libraries has improved.

This article is one of the best examples of why this issue is so important for those of you doing the boots-on-the-ground work. Yes it is part of the academic literature for library science, sure, but it is also by us for us! 

I really hope their article helps you to advocate with your administration for more RA CE opportunities. I mean the whole issue is the argument, but this article lays it out with data and clear action steps.

Please click through to read Adams, Bryant, and Dawson, and Forsyth's article here through Project Muse for free (just verify you are a human) or check out my page for Library Trends 75(2).