ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study Notes Now Available To Everyone

Long time readers of the blog know that throughout 2014 and 2015 I was the Coordinator of the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study.

Well, now that it is all done, I have updated the website and opened up all of the notes from our meetings.

That's right, now anyone who is interested in running their own crime fiction genre study, or those of you who just want to learn a bit more about helping Crime Fiction readers can access our assignments AND the notes for each meeting here on the genre study's website.

You can go to each assignment/topic page and pull up specific notes, as seen here on the page for our meeting on Espionage and Forensic Thrillers.

Or you can use this link to access the folder with all of the notes in one place.

At ARRT we take our mission to develop readers’ advisory skills and promote reading for pleasure through public libraries very seriously. And while only members of ARRT can join the actual genre study meetings as they happen, we want to help as many of you as possible in your work with leisure readers.

So, please feel free to go to website and use our agendas and notes to help craft your own genre study; just make sure you credit ARRT if you do.

As I put the finishing touches on the website today, I have to say I was a little sad.  Running the genre study was a lot of work, but it was also really fun. Thank you to all who helped coordinate and those who attended.

I hope to see many of you on February 4th as we introduce the brand new Speculative Fiction Genre Study.

Last ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study and News for All Readers of Blog

As I type this I am sitting in the program room at the Glenview Public Library getting ready to facilitate the final meeting of the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study.

It has been a long but also fun and rewarding 2 years leading this program.  I wanted to take a second to thank everyone who hung in there with us either by participating in person or following online.

[Speaking of following us online, here is the website.]

Today we are wrapping up with a free lunch and a whole bunch of book talking.  We are doing a bit more too; you can see the official agenda/assignment here.

We will also be announcing the upcoming genre study for 2016-17 to the participants here in the room today.  Then tomorrow, we will notify all members.

Sometime next week, I will be posting all of the scripts from the book talks that happen today for everyone who can read this. In that post, I will let all of the rest of you know the 2016-17 topic.

But back to that post of the book talks.  That is what I really wanted to share today.  Here is what I asked everyone to do:

Come prepared to provide the group with a 90 second (timer will be used and enforced!) of booktalking on an author or book(s) we have not covered over the course of our 2 years together. 

This is your chance to talk up authors/titles we didn't have the time to get to, as well as an opportunity to practice your booktalking skills. 

Books can be new, old, forthcoming-- whatever you want. Authors can be living or dead. The only rule is the 90 second limit. 

Come with your script (typed) so that we can include it in the notes. This way, you can all get a copy of every book and it's description. [Also this means you had to prepare at least a little bit.] 

Booktalks should focus on the following questions:

1. What makes this author/title so amazing?

1. Where does this author/title fit within Crime Fiction?

1. What are some readalikes. 

Becky prepared 3 examples for you to consult [with how long they are when delivered as a booktalk] here.

I am excited to tell you that I will be compiling the scripts of every book talk into one document that I will share here on the blog whether you are an ARRT member or not.

It is going to be a great resource of books that were not included in our genre study-- so slightly under the radar or not quite crime technically-- but that are also great to suggest to patrons.

Look for that next week. I’m really excited to offer this as a resource both for you to use AND to show off the hard work of our fabulous ARRT members.

Off to run the final meeting.
 

Final Crime Fiction Genre Study Assignment Now Available and It's Going to be GREAT for All of My Readers-- Near and Far!

Tomorrow is the penultimate meeting of the 2 year ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study.  Normally, I post the next assignment on the day of the meeting; however, since tomorrow is also October 1 and the first day of my horror blog-a-thon, I am moving this post up 1 day early.

I am so excited about the final assignment because our only rule in creating it was that it serve as a kind of "wrap-up" to the work we had done over the previous 11 meetings.  I was able to take the comments we received from the genre study survey and incorporate some of them into this assignment.

Also, one of my new self-assigned goals is to promote the power of booktalking.  I have an entire presentation on this topic, but each and every time I can manage it, I work in an opportunity for library workers to practice booktalking books. The more practice people get, the better they get at it, the more they do it, and the happier our patrons are.

In this case, I was able to "kill two birds with one stone" because some of the survey comments mentioned wishing we could have fit more authors in. So as you will see below, I am asking people to booktalk ANY crime book by an author we had not read and discussed already.

But here is where the assignment goes from good to GREAT.  We are asking people to bring their booktalking scripts written out so that we can compile all of them into the meeting notes. I will then post all of the scripts here on RA for All for general use by all comers, not just ARRT members.

Now you can see why I think it is a GREAT assignment. Whether or not I see you there tomorrow, please look for the HUGE list of booktalking scripts to be available on RA for All real soon. This will be a wonderful resources for all libraries everywhere and I am so happy to have the chance to facilitate its creation.

A few other things we will be doing in December:

• We are going to be discussing the best crime fiction resources, and in fact, we are considering working resources in throughout the process next time and not just saving them for the end.

• Speaking of next time, we will be announcing the genres for the next go round of the genre study tomorrow.  And yes, I said genres. You will have to be there or wait for the official word, but I will tell you that although I will not be the overall leader this time, I am involved in at least 1 of the genres because there is no one else more qualified to do it...

Full assignment details are below.

______________________________________________

12/3/15: Assignment/Agenda-- 3 Parts

Part 1: Booktalk

Come prepared to provide the group with a 90 second (timer will be used and enforced!) of booktalking on an author or book(s) we have not covered over the course of our 2 years together.

This is your chance to talk up authors/titles we didn't have the time to get to, as well as an opportunity to practice your booktalking skills.

Books can be new, old, forthcoming-- whatever you want. Authors can be living or dead. The only rule is the 90 second limit.

Come with your script (typed) so that we can include it in the notes. This way, you can all get a copy of every book and it's description. [Also this means you had to prepare at least a little bit.]

Booktalks should focus on the following questions:

1. What makes this author/title so amazing?
2. Where does this author/title fit within Crime Fiction?
3. What are some readalikes?

Becky prepared 3 examples for you to consult [with how long they are when delivered as a booktalk] here.

Part 2: Resources

We will go over some of the best resources for crime. Click here for a list of suggested resources, but also be ready to bring your personal favorites to discuss.

Part 3: Final Thoughts and Announcement of 2016-17 Genre Study

Now is your chance to bring up any other issues or concerns about either the genres we covered or how the genre study itself was run. In order to make sure we have enough time, if you shared your thoughts in the survey, please do not repeat yourself here. All comments were read and discussed by the Steering Committee last month.

Becky will also provide concluding comments about Crime Fiction.

ARRT Genre Study News: True Crime Notes and a 2016 Teaser

I just posted the notes from August’s meeting on True Crime.  As always, the notes are password protected for members [as of right now, but see below for news on that maybe changing], but anyone can use our assignments to run their own genre study. Just go to the Crime Fiction Genre Study website for details; all we ask is that you credit ARRT.

Our next meeting is October 1st at the Berwyn Public Library and the topic is Crime Special Interests and Formats: Audio, Graphic Novels, Multicultural and YA. Details and assignments here.

However, please stay tuned no matter where you live because there are big changes coming to the ARRT Genre Study. Not only will we be starting on a new set of genres in 2016, but we are also planning to change the way we structure the meetings as a result of your feedback.

We are also actively considering providing the notes password free to everyone through our new website beginning in 2016. In other words, you may not need to be a member to get access to the notes. You would still need to be a member to attend the genre studies in person though-- but membership is only $10 people.

So if you are someone out there who has been following along with us, facilitating your own genre studies based on our model but are not members, get in touch with me or leave a comment here to let me know if this would be of interest to you.

Overall we are hopeful that beginning with the 2016 Genre Study, much more information will be available online. Our hope is that we can help more libraries as they try to assist their leisure readers. We want to provide our members with a great in person experience but also are committed to leveraging our position as leaders in RA training to reach as many of you as possible.

And finally, although I cannot yet announce which genres we will be covering in 2016-17, I will provide a huge hint-- I will not be leading it this time, but I will be a major contributor at times.

Crime Fiction Genre Study: 1 Month Reminder and a Thank You

We have our every-other-month Steering Committee Meeting tomorrow so this is also your 1 month (and 1 day) reminder about the next [and penultimate] Crime Fiction Genre Study meeting.

Click here for all the info and the assignment on the topic of Special Interests and Formats in Crime Fiction including multicultural  graphic novels, audio, and YA. And get reading....

As always, if you cannot join us, you can follow along with the assignment on the website, or use it to run your own genre study. All we ask is that you credit ARRT.

Speaking of it being close to the end of our 2 year journey, I spent some time earlier this week combing through the responses to our Genre Study Survey too.  First of all thank you to everyone who took the genre study.  We had a very healthy number of responses.  I especially appreciated the people who took the time to leave specific comments. I read every single one and I have a lot of great insight to share with the entire Steering Committee tomorrow.

Second, I want to also thank all of your for your effort and commitment to this 2 year process. We were trying something new by doing a category and not just a single genre.  We were not perfect in our execution, but I think over all the Genre Study Team did a good job; thankfully you all agree.  And you all hung in there with us, read the books and participated. Not only is that appreciated, it made the experience better for all of us.

Third, to the person who wants us to increase our meetings to monthly....sorry, not gonna happen, but not because we don’t want to. It is because those of us on the Steering Committee already meet on the alternate first Thursdays of the month when there is no genre study.

Seriously though, everything [besides that comment] that people left is on the table to be considered. If you are a member of ARRT (and since it is only $10 to join and the genre study comes with it for free- so why aren’t you?), you will be hearing very soon about what we chose [based on your input] for the next genre study set to begin in February of 2016. The only thing I know for sure is that someone else will be the main leader, but I plan to participate for sure [and maybe help depending on the genre(s) chosen for study].

True Crime Thursday

Click here for details.

The Next Crime Fiction Genre Study Assignment and General Comments on Running a Genre Study

I am finding it hard to believe that the ARRT 2014-2015 Crime Fiction Genre Study is winding down.  As I mentioned here, I hosted our last fiction genre discussion on psychological suspense.

And in less than 2 weeks, we will all gather together to have Magan lead us through True Crime.  Click here for the details on location, time and assignment.

The imminent arrival of that meeting date meant I needed to get my butt in gear and make the assignment for our penultimate meeting in October when we will discuss Special Interests and Formats: Audio, Graphic Novels, Multicultural, and YA Crime. 

Phew that is a mouthful.  Here is the link with all of the details.

Which only leaves our wrap-up meeting in December left to go.

I know there are many people out there who have followed this genre study and many of the past ones ARRT has done, using them as a guide for their own forays into the world of genre study.  Our official position at ARRT is that you are free to use our assignments and even our notes [if you are a member yourself] as long as you give credit to ARRT as the creators of the material.

The work that goes into preparing the assignments and running each of our genre studies is truly the work of the entire ARRT Steering Committee. As a group, ARRT has been running successful, collaborative, and useful genre studies for over 2 decades. It takes planning and teamwork. We love to share our successes, but please don’t steal our stuff without acknowledging those of us who work so hard to make it happen. We may make it look easy to pull off, but it takes many people to make the genre study happen each year, let alone the number of people who have made it possible over decades!

And we are not kidding about wanting to share our success.  As mentioned in this post, ARRT is coming to the Illinois Library Association Conference in October to teach you much of what we know about running genre studies.  On Saturday morning, 10/24/15, I will be presenting the following program for ARRT:

Genre Study Success!: Working Together to Help Leisure Readers  

The Adult Reading Round Table [ARRT], the country’s oldest group dedicated to developing readers advisory skills and promoting leisure reading, has been using the genre study as a training program for more than twenty years. This year, ARRT wants to share their success. Genre studies are a great way for librarians at any library that serves leisure readers at any age level to work together to improve their skills. At their essence, genre studies are group-centered discussions about categories of popular reading. Participants engage in a shared reading experience, compare reactions, and discuss both the books they have read and how patrons interact with the genre. As the actual study itself can take many forms, ARRT will walk you through the process of crafting a genre study model that works best for your needs, sharing their time tested tips and tricks to insure success for you, your staff, and, most importantly, your readers.

This program will help workers from any library where there are leisure reading patrons-- public, school, and even some academic.

This is your chance to see what it takes to embark upon a genre study [from a single meeting to a multi-year study] and ask us questions.  Other members of the ARRT Steering Committee will be in the audience to help tackle those questions both during the presentation and after.

Click here for more details about the ILA Conference and here for more information about ARRT.

Of course, I am also willing to answer any questions you have.  Contact info here.

ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study Psychological Suspense Notes Available-- Now with Venn Diagrams

Here is your semi-regular reminder that I am leading the now almost complete ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study and we have a website with lots of great info whether you are a member or not.

Last meeting we tackled Psychological Suspense.  Here is the assignment we used to frame the discussion.

The notes are now ready, but the notes are for members only.  Here is the link to the notes page.  Members will also receive an email with a reminder of the password.

However, I am sharing something from our discussion with all of my readers today because it is part of the discussion that I created ahead of time. Since it is not a product of the discussion, it is fair game.

I made a Venn Diagram by hand and posted it on the wall.  Our fabulous notetaker Karen recreated it digitally for the notes.  I have included that immediately below:

This diagram was offered up as part of our discussion wrapping up Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense and moving on to Psychological Suspense. I created it to try explain each genre’s place in the overall Crime category since this was the last time we would be discussing a single fiction genre. [Again, consult our 2 year schedule for details.]

My point that day was that Psychological Suspense was the least “crime” like of the genres, but that there was still a small slice where the appeals overlapped, especially for Suspense readers. Hence the diagram.

We had a great discussion where people were honest about their own preferences for and against Psychological Suspense.  By making this discussion down a bit more of a personal reading tastes road, I felt like we were really able to get to the heart of the appeal of all Crime Fiction for a wide range of readers.  It also made me happy to have dedicated all of this time to leading the study [without even taking into account all that I have personally gained and learned by being a part of it].

But that’s enough looking back.  Now it is time to move on to our next meeting-- True Crime on August 6th at Glenview. Details including location, time and assignment are here.

True Crime Genre Study Assignment

Tomorrow, we are meeting to discuss Psychological Suspense for the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study which means it is time to unveil the next assignment.

Here is the link to the page for August’s discussion of True Crime.  I have also reposted it below.

As always, feel free to use our Genre Study Assignments to assist you in leading your own.  All we ask is that you credit ARRT.

_________________________________________________

Assignment-- You Should Read At Least 3 Books in Total

Benchmark (Choose One):

• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• Helter Skelter: the True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi 
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Please read two more books from the list below:

• Blue Blood by Edward Conlon
• John Douglas (any title)
• Diane Fanning (any title)
• Robert Graysmith (any title)
• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
• Joe McGinniss (any title)
• Ann Rule (any title)
• James Swanson (any title)

*This meeting will also include a general discussion of true crime as a "genre.” 

Suggested reading on that topic: You're Doing It Wrong a Conversation between Laura Lippman and Megan Abbott on how much truth is required to called a crime story nonfiction [from Booklist Reader]

Questions? Contact Magan mszwarek@fppl.org 

Genre Study Notes on Suspense and Romantic Suspense and Next Meeting on Psychological Suspense

This post begins with an announcement to ARRT members that the password protected notes for the April 2 meeting on Suspense and Romantic Suspense (which included an intense discussion on, James Patterson, or as I like to call him, the man that keeps us RA Librarians in business) are up and ready for download here.

You will be receiving your reminder email soon.

But I also wanted to plug the next meeting when we are tackling my all time favorite genre --psychological suspense-- in June.  Details on location and assignment here.

This is going to be a great meeting for a bunch of reasons.

First, I love the genre. Yes, I love it more than horror. I know, shocking. But those of you who know me, know I can be super enthusiastic about anything, but when I actually love something, I go to a whole new level.  You should come just to see that happen.

Two, psychological suspense is one of the fastest growing genres out there right now. I will discuss this tremendous and explosive growth with the group, but even with its popularity, psychological suspense is not recognized as its own “genre” all of the time and by all of the resources, which means that our meeting will be a great time for all of us to pool our knowledge to create our own genre resource.

Three, psychological suspense is the last of the genres we are tackling (before we move on to nonfiction and special formats and interests), and interestingly, while it shares much in common with the other crime genres, there is a lot that is different here too. We are going to work to place psychological suspense within the context of crime fiction AND all of popular fiction. I am thinking I might need to draw some venn diagrams for this meeting.  [Again, not to be missed, Becky drawing. Seriously, this is going to be one of the best meetings in terms of observing me at my most “Becky-ness.”]

And fourth, I have a super, extra special reason why this meeting will be worth your attendance.  Some of you know why, but I am not ready to announce it here yet.  That being said, you need time to read the assignments, so trust me, very soon you will have another reason why you will want to come to the Berwyn Library on June 4th to talk about psychological suspense.

Crime Fiction Genre Study Update: Meetings Past, Present and Future

Lots of updates today on the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study front.

As I said above, I’ve got news of meeting Past, Present, and Future.

Let’s start with Past-- We met on February 5th to tackle the final Thriller subgenres of Adventure, Crime/Caper, and Supernatural.  I have just uploaded the password protected notes. Members can access them here with the password. If you are an ARRT member you will also be receiving the notes without the encryption in an email.

If you want to become a member, it is only $10 and you get the password with access to ALL of the notes, not just the ones for meetings that happen while you are a member (that answers a question I recently received inquiring about this).  Click here to learn how to join ARRT.

Now on to Present-- Stacey reports that she has a great meeting planned for April 2nd on Suspense and Romantic Suspense.  Not only will she be leading a discussion on the authors and the genres, but she will also be drawing parallels and distinctions between these suspense genres and those we discussed in previous months-- mystery and thriller.  Click here for the assignment. Remember, you can follow along with your own group.  We don’t mind if you use our assignments as long as you give ARRT credit.

And finally, as promised, Future-- I just put the finishing touches on the June assignment when we will discuss my favorite of the crime genres-- Psychological Suspense. I can’t wait to get to talk about some of my all-time favorite stories.

Don’t forget, for more Crime Fiction fun, there is still time to sign up for Doing Time With Sisters in Crime program on Wednesday, March 25th.  Click here for all of the details. Everyone and anyone who can get themselves to the Deerfield Public Library on that day by 2pm is invited to hear three crime fiction authors talking about their craft.  The cost is $15.

ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study Notes and All New Mystery Webinar

Oh, I have lots of Crime related news and thankfully not a bit of it involves an actual crime!

First, we are about to begin year two of the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study.  I have been busy updating the site today.  Please head on over to see the cleaned up resources page, the newest assignment (meeting 2/5/15), and the most current notes from our December meeting.

Now, you do need to be a member of ARRT to receive the password to read the notes, but you are in luck because it is also ARRT renewal time!  For only $10 you can have access to both years of the notes. That’s right. New members get access to 2 years worth of notes, or what is the entire genre study.  I personally think the notes are worth $10, but then, I am biased.

Click here for a membership form.

One of the best things about leading the crime genre study is how much it has forced me to be as knowledgeable and as up to date as possible on crime fiction.  It is easy to rely on the old standbys, especially with a genre as popular as mystery, so being the leader of this genre study has opened my eyes to new authors, trends, resources, and issues.

Speaking of mystery in particular, I am also putting the finishing touches on a completely revamped and exciting mystery webinar for the Maine State Library:

Event Type: Maine State LibraryDate: 2/3/2015Start Time: 9:30 AM [Eastern]End Time: 11:00 AM [Eastern]Description:
Join experienced Readers’ Advisor Becky Spratford for 90 minutes of murder and detection as she walks you through the current state of mystery fiction. She will get you up to speed on the best resources, most popular authors, and biggest trends of the genre. This program will walk you through the RA interview as it specifically applies to mystery fans. She will provide an overview of what mystery readers like most about the genre and illustrate the differences in the various mystery subgenres, small differences that can make a huge difference when helping patrons. During this webinar, Becky will also consider the appeal of other crime centered stories for mystery readers including suspense, thriller, and true crime options. You will come away from this webinar re-energized and ready to help all of your mystery fans.

 They will be making it available to anyone who wants to register [and pay]. Contact Valerie Osborne for details.

The slides will be available here on RA for All beginning on 2/3; however, in order to access the recording of me presenting the slides, you must register.

There are lots of mysterious happenings emanating from RA for All basecamp these days with more to come soon.  Stay tuned.

ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study Day

Today we are meeting at Glenview Public Library to discuss espionage and forensic thrillers.  You can use the link to see the assignment.

I am finishing my prep for our 2pm meeting right now, and have been having way too much fun getting lost in the exotic and dangerous world of spies and delving into the gore and science of forensic anthropology.  I normally do not read these titles on my own, but I have to say, they have been among my favorite of the subgenres in the genre study so far.

One of the things we discuss in the meetings [which are open only to members of ARRT as are the detailed notes of the discussion] is the appeal of these subgenres.  What type of reader will most enjoy these books.  We have 25-30 people in attendance at each meeting, so we have many real life examples to share with each other.  I love this part of the discussion because most of us are experienced readers’ advisory librarians; we know of these authors.  But, we don’t often get a chance to share patron interaction stories, successes and failures in particular.  I learn so much by hearing from my colleagues on working with these authors and genres with readers.

In preparing to share my own experiences with espionage and forensic thrillers, one of the things I noticed with my patrons is that there is a pretty even split between women and men with these subgenres.  That was definitely not the case when we discussed cozy mysteries. But with espionage and forensic, I find that no matter the sex of the author, these books appeal to both men and women fairly equally.  That is rare in my experience.

Also both subgenres are extremely influenced by their popularity in visual mediums. Thrillers in general are very cinematic and often used for film and TV, but the current popularity of these two specific subgenres is particularly tied to their popularity on the screen.

So that’s a tease of what we will talk about later today.  I also give an overview of the subgenres and information about the specific authors that were assigned to start off the more specific discussion. But as I said, you must be a member to attend or receive the password to the notes.

That being said, I encourage anyone out there to use our assignments to create their own genre study, but please just credit ARRT.  Although I am the official leader of the 2 year genre study, it is a group effort with a team of 4 of us organizing and administering the meetings.  Plus we have the support and assistance from the entire Steering Committee.

I also just posted the next assignment for February 2015 at the Berwyn Public Library. It is the first meeting of year 2! We will be finishing up thrillers with a discussion of the subgenres of adventure, crime/caper, and supernatural.

If you are interested in having me come talk to your group about how to organize and run a genre study of your own, drop me a line, leave a comment, or tweet at me [@RAforAll].

New Genre Study Notes Are Available

Those of you following the ARRT Genre Study on this blog, we have our notes from the October 2, 2014 meeting up.  They are password protected with your password AND you should have received them via email late yesterday.

Also, this is your 6 week reminder that we will be discussing the thriller subgenres of Espionage and Forensic on December 4th at the Glenview Public Library.  Anyone, member or not, can click here and use the assignment to run their own genre study. Please just credit ARRT and the genre study website.

If you are interested in more information about this genre study in particular, or in running a genre study on any genre, you can contact me.

Monday Discussion: Mystery vs Thriller Suspense

The Monday Discussion is late today because I have been preparing for this week's big ARRT Crime Fiction Genre study meeting during which we will take the HUGE leap from Mystery to the other crime genres.

As you can see from the assignment, we are beginning with a few different Thriller subgenres.  But during the beginning of the meeting, I am charged with the task of making this group of seasoned librarians care about the small [but as I will argue key] differences in how mystery and thriller/suspense appeal to readers.

Now being a part of what promises to be a lively discussion is a membership benefit of joining ARRT, but I would like to include as many opinions as possible in our conversation.

So for today's Monday Discussion, I want to ask all of you, what do you see as the key appeal differences when it comes to readers between books we call "mystery" and those that we call "thriller" or "suspense?"

I usually go first on these discussions, but I have said much on this topic over the years on this blog; in fact, here is one short post on that topic from 2 years ago.  But I already know what I think.  As the facilitator of this discussion, I want to know what others think-- even if your answer is you don't think the distinction is worth making.

I want to make sure our discussion on Thursday includes as wide a range of thoughts and opinions as possible. The more points of view the better; especially if they are diametrically opposed points of view.

Now, to be fair, I will add one new thing before I open the floor.  Last week, on Fiction-L [the RA listerv] there was this post by Stacy Alesi on the 16 differences between mystery and thrillers/suspense. I don't think I agree with every single point she makes, but the essence of what she is getting at is good.  And, it is a great way for me to solicit feedback from all of you.

So, for today's Monday Discussion, tell me what you see as the differences between mystery and thrillers/suspense.

For past Monday Discussions, click here

Crime Fiction Genre Study Updates

We are quickly approaching the next meeting of the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study. We will be at Glenview Public Library on 8/7/14 discussing Historical Crime. Click here for all of the details on our Crime Fiction Genre Study website, including the assignment.

I also just posted the assignment for the October 2, 2014 meeting on Legal, Political/Financial, and Techno Thrillers.

Remember, while you need to be a member of ARRT to join us for the discussions and/or to review the password protected notes from our meetings, anyone can access the website.  Please feel free to use our assignments, resources, links, etc... to lead your own genre study.  All we ask is that you credit ARRT.

It helps all librarians and library patrons everywhere when we work together to help readers. Even if you are not planning to do an entire Crime Fiction Genre Study yourself, taking a look at each of our assignments will give you a snapshot of these genres and subgenres as they stand for a popular reading audience right now.

If you have any questions, all the contact info is on the site.

Crime Fiction Website Updates

Real quick today because I am neck deep in the preparation for this event.  You should join us if you are around by the way; it will be great, I made some updates to the links on the Crime Fiction Genre Study Website right here. 

Also, I thought this was a great time to remind everyone that we are nearing the 1 month mark until out next meeting.  Click here for meeting details and the assignment.

 But even if you are not a part of the genre study, the links will help you to help yourself and your patrons.  Enjoy!

April Crime Fiction Genre Study Notes Now Available

Last week, I led the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study as we met at Glenview Public Library to discuss Amateur, Cozy, and Humorous Mysteries.  Click here to see our assignment.

The notes will be emailed to the participants shortly, but for the rest of the ARRT Membership, click here to access the password protected folder for the notes.

Consensus among those of us directing this ambitious project is that things are going well, so far.  I would like to particularly single out Karen from Naperville Public Library, our note taker, for fleshing out our discussion notes with some more detailed information about the series we discussed. This will make the notes even more useful to people as they go back to use what they have learned to help readers in their libraries.

The next meeting will be led by Stacey from the Batavia Public Library on Thursday, June 5th from 2-4 at Berwyn Public Library.  The topic is Mystery: Police and P.I.  Click here for the assignment.

To all the rest of you out there.  Please feel free to use our assignments as a guide for your own genre studies, just credit ARRT.  And remember, what is great about participating in any genre study is that you are getting to share and learn about a genre with your peers AND help your patrons to find new and better reads as a direct result.  It really is a fulfilling activity on so many levels.

Upcoming Online and FREE RA Training of Note

First let's start with the specific.  Booklist is having their annual Mysteries and Thrillers Webinar on April 29th.  It is always one I eagerly await each year, but this year, since I am supervising the Crime Fiction Genre Study, I am going to be paying special attention.

Click here to register for free and to see the other webinars they are offering.  Also, click here for access to past webinars through the archive. Again it's free and it's librarians and publishers sharing information.  You need to be a part of this.

The second training announcement is more broad, in a good way.  Please see this press release about the next upcoming RUSA CODES Conversation:

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Ask Us (the 500) Anything: An Open, Free-for-All, Forum on Anything Related to RA

April 22-23, 2014

The success of these CODES Conversations has gathered a community of over 500 people who participate in or monitor the two-day discussions on readers’ advisory services. One of the great attractions of the conversation is the way participants share ideas and their own experience in providing RA services. For this next discussion, we are opening the floor to all 500 and will host an expansive version of a Q&A session on RA. Ask us (all 500 of us) anything. Pick a topic; raise a question; and the rest of us will chime in, sharing our wealth of experience and practices with all. Some of the people who will participate include (I thought we could list a few of us from the committee and then some who are not – if we can email and find out if x,y,z were going to be on – and who should x,y,z be?)

Any question is the perfect question but to get the ball rolling we thought of some starter ones:

What are some no-fail sure-bet suggestions?

How do you talk with a reader who has no idea what she wants to read?

How do you talk about a book you thought was awful?

How do you incorporate RA into staff evaluations?

What makes a review useful?

What are the best sources for keeping up with new titles and genres?

This free, moderated discussion is open to all—just subscribe to the discussion at http://lists.ala.org/sympa/subscribe/codes-convos, then follow and contribute (or lurk!) as you wish.

CODES Conversations are focused electronic conversations on current issues facing collection development and readers’ advisory librarians—or anyone interested in those areas.  

How to unsubscribe: 

Go to http://lists.ala.org/sympa/sigrequest/codes-convos. Put in the email address you used to subscribe and hit the unsubscribe button.

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Look, I know there are some people who try to participate in these conversations and can't stand all of the emails, but I have to say, I have never been disappointed by one of these conversations.  I have come out of every single one having learned something and it was well worth the barrage of messages.

And this new one...it's like a dream come true!  I love these opportunities for people to bring their questions about anything.  As a presenter and trainer myself, I sometimes feel boxed in by the constraints of the prepared talk.  I would much rather someone bring me in to facilitate a sharing of ideas session like this one. I like to share my thoughts, yes, but I also love to hear what other people have to say, especially if it challenges my opinion.  That's the only way to grow, learn, and improve.

I am quite excited to see this conversation.  I am going to try very hard to participate.  But at the very least, I will get a better sense of the issues you all are thinking about by following along and I can tailor my posts and programs to your actual needs after this.

I highly recommend both of these RA training opportunities. Hope to [virtually] see you there.

Crime Fiction Genre Study Update

There has been a lot of positive feedback from many of you out there about the ARRT Crime Fiction Genre Study Website.  So, as promised, here is an update on where we are and detailed info on how you can follow along.

First, you can access everything on the Crime Fiction Genre Study Website. Each time we meet, a new assignment will be posted.  Here is the link for April's assignment, when we will be discussing the Mystery subgenres of Amateur, Cozy and Humorous. I will again be leading this discussion, but we will be meeting in Glenview. Details here.

A few days before the April meeting, we will have the assignment for June's Discussion on the Mystery Subgenres of Police and PI up.  Stacey will be leading that discussion at the Berwyn Library.

But the big news is that the notes are now available from the first meeting but for members only.  If you are an ARRT member you should have received the password to download a word copy of the minutes.  If you think you are a member and have not received the password yet, please contact me through the information on the Genre Study Website and I will help you to get this straightened out.

I want to remind everyone reading this, that anyone, whether they are a member of ARRT or not, is welcome to use the information on the Genre Study Website to facilitate their own Crime Fiction Genre Study, but the notes of what we discussed are for members only.

Speaking of, membership in ARRT is only $10, and if you are thinking of recreating the genre study at your library, for only $10 you can add the notes of our discussion to your study.

Also remember if you are a member who cannot make our meetings, you can follow along virtually by reading the assigned books and downloading the notes.  A few of you have already told me you are doing this.  I am so glad it is working out.  It's our pleasure to help.