ALA Annual 2018 Report: LibraryReads 101

One of the programs I was most excited to attend at ALA Annual was Library Reads 101. As my readers know, I love LibraryReads, but I have also never been afraid to provide the group with constructive criticism. Since the steering committee hired their first Executive Director, Rebecca Vnuk, I knew the entire organization was committed to making meaningful tweaks to this wonderful program, and I wanted to be there to her all about it.

Before I start my recap you can see the color slides here or the black and white pdf for easy printing here.

The program began with the why you should participate. I have found that this is the highest hurdle to getting people to be a part of the process. Seriously, as I travel the country and try to convince library workers to participate, it is harder for me to convince them why their voice is needed. Once they start and realize how easy and fun it is, they never stop.

I really appreciate the time the panel spent on this WHY. Here is the slide with the bullet points:

Now, let me elaborate a bit. The things on this slide are important, but I have heard these and passed them on to you many times. The panelists shared some other tidbits that really got me excited, so I thought I would pass them on to you.

Stephen mentioned one reason right at the beginning that I loved-- The kid and YA book world are so good at creating excitement. Adult books rarely reach that level of excitement. Adults deserve some excitement too. Who better to do this than us? We are the adult book pushers. That is why we have LibraryReads.

Speaking of, at its outset 5 years ago [!] LR was a little loose about including YA, but they are very strict now about not allowing it. They want to focus on fiction and nonfiction meant for adults. Adults deserve great reads as much as kids. We are the book experts who can lead them there.

Speaking of excitement, I learned another great reason to participate, actually it was my favorite and the MOST important [in my opinion]-- the reason the nomination deadlines are so early is because the publishers want to be ready to promote the book WE are so excited about. Yes, they actually do care what we like because there is now hard data that the publisher see a clear boost in orders for the books that make he list.

Please do not underestimate this as a reason to participate. We are making our collective voice heard. Sometimes we identify a book that the publishers were not planning on pushing too hard, but then when they see we loved it, they literally switch gears and get behind that title, big time. Guys, this is important information.

I know I have been encouraging you NOT to vote for the big names, but rather put your votes behind less mainstream, more inclusive titles, but all without proof that it would make a difference with the publishers. Now I have proof. [I also have more to say about the big author issue below.]

The fourth bullet point-- “Enhance your RA skills”-- is also a big one and the panel spent a lot of time on that one later in the program, but first let me share the easy “how-to” participate that the panel shared.

Please use the links above to follow the easy step by step screen shots on how to participate but again I have a few comments to add:

• You can vote for books coming out in any month. Yes, you can vote for books for the next list, but you can also vote for a book for a list not due out for months from now. There is no limit to how early you can vote, just how late you can.
• You have to click “REVIEW” to vote. But, you do not have to actually review it. What you need to do in the “review” dialog box is go to the top right corner of the box where you could write a review and click on “Submit to.”
• “Submit to” is what a vote is. So you would choose “LibraryReads” if you want to vote for it.
• You can also “Submit to" the publisher at the same time. “Publisher” is a box you can check. You can check as many boxes as you want. 
• I honestly was “meh” on sharing with the publisher and wasn’t going to advocate either way for you, until....
• ...the day after this program I was chatting with Golda, the library marketing person for Norton, and she said she wished that more LibraryReads voters shared their votes with her. She wants to know [good and bad] how library workers feel about the books she has on her list. It helps her to promote the correct books to our audience and she can share our thoughts with the larger corporate structure. She has no idea how we feel about titles that don’t make the LR list unless we tell her. Please share with the publisher.

This final bullet point was a mind blow for me. I never thought of Golda’s point from the larger perspective. Only 10 books can be on the LR list each month, but hundreds of books garner votes. However, unless we choose to share our vote with the publisher, they don’t see those runners up.

As I reported earlier, the publishers have seen our voice makes a difference in sales for the “winners,” but what about those titles that still get a lot of votes, titles the publisher wasn’t really focused on previously, but that don’t win. Well, if we let them know with every single vote by clicking the “Submit to” publishers box every time we click “LibraryReads,” well, we can make our voice heard on even more titles.

Thanks to Golda for this important insight. 

Now back to the “Reviews.” Many people tell me they can’t possibly write such eloquent annotations  for the books as the ones they see on the final list. But guess what I found out...no one can! Ha. If you want the chance to have your review show up on the list, Lynn had some great advice.

First, there are many slides in the presentation devoted to how to write better annotations, beginning with this one:

Slides 12-20 go into great detail about how to write a great LR annotation.

But here’s the thing, the second thing I learned-- just try your best. It is great way to practice your RA skills. Use their advice in these slides to try to capture why you are so excited about this book. The practice alone is worth it.

And third, NO ANNOTATION IS EVER TAKEN EXACTLY FROM THE VOTE AND USED WITHOUT A CHANCE TO IMPROVE IT.

Seriously, I didn’t know this either. Lynn is one of the Steering Committee members whose job it is to go through all of the submitted “reviews” for the winners and identify ones that are promising. She then works with the person who submitted it to edit the annotation. This is great for two reasons. First, Lynn said they find the person who is very excited and who has good reasons, first. The enthusiasm is key. Then they can work together on the exact wording. And second, the LR annotations can have a general standard which makes them a better resource going forward because a steering committee member is involved.

Since the LR Steering Committee merely oversees the entire LR voting process and do not have any say on who wins, this is where they can help make their mark on the list as a valuable resource in perpetuity.

So while I will not make a stand here to tell my readers they MUST do a review in order to vote. I did like learning that anything you add might get you tagged to work on writing the official review and, most importantly, you will be helped through the process. Every annotation you see has been edited. So don’t be afraid you aren’t “good” enough at writing them. Give it a try. You might get your annotation up on the list. But before you try, I highly suggest using slides 12-20 to get you started and headed in the correct direction.

The program then moved into ways you can use LR for Collection Development and RA. Again click here to see slides 18 and 19 where this is addressed. Many of the things Rebecca talked about here are things that I have mentioned many times on this blog but I think she summed it up making the following points which I tweeted out:

 LR wants to help you be better at your job. You cannot possibly read every book, but by using the list, you can know about a lot more of them. And in this case, they are “pre-approved” by your colleagues.

The panel ended by reminding us that this fall marks LibraryReads 5th Anniversary. Wow! And now with Rebecca as the first paid employee of the organization, many changes are coming.

A few changes like making the voting even easier and revamping the website are obvious, but two big changes I want to talk about really speak to the feedback and constructive criticism I, and others, have been giving them.

The first one is HUGE. LR is going to create a “Hall of Fame” list of authors. This addresses the issue of the big name authors getting so many of the votes. Since LR is strictly based on who gets the most votes, it makes sense that better known authors with a new book will garner a lot of votes. Many library workers don’t realize that they are diluting the votes for the smaller titles when they vote for people like Louise Penny. Who doesn’t love Louise Penny? We are all excited when she has a new book, but that is the point...we all know about her.

So rather than not letting you vote for authors like Penny, you can still send all your love for them. However, authors who always end up on the list [there will be some rules about this] will be acknowledged as LR “Hall of Fame” for that month. They will still get to be a LR pick. BUT, they will not take up a top 10 spot. This frees up another spot on the list for a less well known author. This is brilliant. Now authors big and small can still get the recognition they deserve. I am beyond happy about this change.

And second, LR is going to start expanding their reach beyond the list. They will begin offering programming both in person regionally and online with the ultimate goal of LR also reaching out to all of the regional organizations that provide RA CE [like ARRT] so that LR can act as a single clearinghouse where library workers can go to see all of their options for training, all over the country, in one place.

After listening to the program I asked a question that came up during the presentation. It was mentioned by a panelist that it is very hard to get some of the smaller publishers onto Edelweiss or NetGalley so they can be eligible for the monthly list. As LR works right now you can ONLY be on the list if your titles are on those platforms. Now, LR is looking into other ways to include smaller presses, but it appears that the biggest hurdle for the smaller presses is that the member fees for Edelweiss and NetGalley are cost prohibitive. So when the question portion came I asked the panel what we could do as library workers to help these smaller publishers. How can we advocate for them and ask Edelweiss lower their fees? Those of us in the room brainstormed a few ideas. One idea we all liked was to encourage them to adopt a “per capita” model like databases do for libraries, where we pay based on our population. The LR Steering Committee promised to think about it and get out some ideas to all of us. I trust them because many of the other concerns I have passed on to them over the last 5 years are being addressed. They listen.

As you can see, there was a lot of very useful information in this 101 program. I highly recommend you take some time to look at the slides, consider this additional information in my report, and then start participating in LibraryReads because Library Reads is us.

Browser's Corner Massive Updates

I have spent all morning updating the Browser's Corner, our BPL blog where you can discover great backlist reading suggestions.

I have been a little bit behind in updating it since having to take it over due to staffing shortages...BUT, your patience is paying off.

I have set the Browser's Corner to run new staff reading recommendations starting back on Wednesday pretty much every week day until April 28th! That's over 20 new posts!

Woo Hoo!

Please remember that there are hundreds of posts, each one a great reading recommendation from one of our staff members. We have contributors from many different departments, with a wide variety of reading tastes, so there truly is something for every reader there.

The site also lists some of our "If you like..." reading lists and the notes from past Book Lover's Club meetings [which means the site has patron recommendations too!].

So thanks for standing-by, but now it is time to go back and visit us at The Browser's Corner.

BPL RA Staff Training Today

Later this afternoon, the BPL RA Dream Team is having a staff meeting.  At last month’s meeting we mostly tackled Summer Reading Wrap Up and One Book, One City pre-planning, but this month our fearless leader Kathy and I have some training exercises and instruction planned.  Both of us are quite excited.

Kathy is going to begin with a refresher on writing annotations using what the 2 of us learned by attending ARRT’s RA Summer Camp with Neal Wyatt.  You can click here for my recap.  Our staff is very active in writing annotations for our popular Browsers’ Corner, but Kathy and I felt like we got new energy from Neal’s talk and we want to pass that energy on.

After Kathy’s annotation pep talk, I will be introducing a “new" passive RA service at the BPL.  What is passive RA?  It is a way to provide RA service without direct interaction between a staff member and a patron. [If you are confused, it will become very clear in a moment].

I also need to qualify what I meant by “new.”  Two years ago, Kathy and I attended a program at ALA entitled Leading Readers to Water...Guerrilla Marketing for RA. Click on the title for my recap report.  But for today’s purposes, Kathy and I saw something specific that we loved in this program. From my report:

• Put customized RA stickers with contact info in the books!  I LOVE THIS You suggest a readalike in the book and when they finish they know where to go next.  Have contact info so they know you did it.

For two years now we have wanted to start a service like this, but we needed to figure out HOW we would have everyone work on it together and TRAIN the staff to go from providing readalikes verbally to a person standing in front of them to crafting ones in writing that our patrons could discover at the end of a book.

Step one was achieved this past summer as we got the staff used to using our shared Google Drive account to manage the summer reading program.  This was a Google Form and Reports simple system that they were required to log into in order to check on a reader’s progress in the program or to note the awarding of prizes. The result-- everyone can now login, choose the right documents, and collaborate within the department Drive.

I know we are not alone at BPL RA in that the tech skills of our staff are all across the spectrum. By creating a fairly low stakes, but mandatory, application of this new tool, we had a fairly easy training experience.

Step two is my job. I set up 2 completed and formatted “stickers” in our Google Drive.  I also created a document which explains the required elements such as the bold opening with author and title and our contact info [samples at the bottom of this post]. In the meeting today, I will talk to them about writing readalikes in this shortened format.  They will be using their shelf talker annotation skills that they have been building for a few years now as a stepping stone.

Step three is coming next.  We are going to ask staff to pick a book they have enjoyed that is not brand new and put it into the proper folder on the Google Drive with at least 1 readalike and WHY you think it is a good readalike option in the style and fashion which I demonstrate today.

We want to encourage conversation and collaboration, so we are not expecting any one person to HAVE to do an entire readalike sticker themselves.  Although, I have done 2 [posted below] as examples, and we will not discourage anyone who wants to do an entire sticker, we do want to see collaboration on these individual docs because we hope to move onto Step 4....

Step four may take awhile, but our ultimate goal is once fluency in collaborating on Google Drive is achieved, we want to introduce a Form Based RA service.  Many libraries provide these services and most are modeled off of Williamsburg Regional Library’s version, but basically what it involves is creating a form that patrons can fill out listing their personal reading preferences, and then we, as a staff, work together to suggest 5 books they may enjoy. After a week to 10 days of collaboration, we hope to provide a list of five books they should try next.

It is important to note here that while our staff is very good at talking with patrons and using resources and experience to suggest excellent readalike options at the desk, as a group, we need to work on collaborating to provide RA for people who are not physically in front of us.  Some of the obstacles are because of technology training [which I think Kathy and I are addressing above] and the other is that we are not used to suggesting books together as a group.  All of us still function 1-on-1 with patrons, unless someone else is at the desk and gets involved.  We not only want to be having a larger staff conversation about providing RA to patrons, but also we want our patrons to get suggestions from the BPL RA staff as a unit, not just 1 staff member.

I realize this is a lot, but since Kathy and I have put a great deal of time and effort into this process, I thought it was worth sharing. Feel free to borrow away or contact me with questions.  Heck we borrowed the stickers and form based RA ideas from others already.  Why not keep the sharing train running down the tracks?

Finally, I have attached the first 2 stickers I have created for our new service.  It should be noted that they are not formatted here for our stickers.  Also, once we have a dozen books with stickers in the back, we plan to put out a small display with the books and a flyer explaining the service to promote it.  But what we really can’t wait for is for people to simply start encountering our staff suggestions as they turn the last page of a random book.

To start, I chose two books that I have hand sold to many patrons with great success.

_______________________________________________

Did you enjoy reading Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement? You may also enjoy these other titles from our collection. 

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea has a similar setting and features a strong female character in a gritty and haunting story with uplifting ending. 

Canada by Richard Ford is also a moving story with a coming of age theme, a border setting, and a storyline that is haunting, character driven and heartbreakingly beautiful. 

The young narrator of Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka, June, is similar to Ladydi. Both are curious, strong young women forced into very adult situations, but they are able to learn and blossom as a result. 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is another gritty, haunting, and lyrical story with female characters facing impossible choices at its center. Although here, instead of Mexico, the setting is Afghanistan.

Want more reading suggestions? Stop by the RA desk or contact us @ 708.795.8000 x3005 or ra@berwylibrary.org. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Did you enjoy reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker? You may also enjoy these other titles from our collection. Forever by Pete Hamill also uses a mixture of fiction and fantasy to tell a moving immigrant story set in New York City. Forever spans centuries with an immortal protagonist and The Golem and the Jinni is set in 1899, but both stories invoke the mythology of "the old country." For those who want another tale of magical realism with awe inspiring world building, fluid storytelling, and a tone which, while darker is infused with an overwhelming sense of hope, try Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks is a good choice for readers who want another novel featuring Jews and Arabs working together to save something precious. Brooks’ tale alternates between the past and the present, but features a similar magical tone and a look into the customs, traditions, and ways of those who came before us.

Want more reading suggestions? Stop by the RA desk or contact us @ 708.795.8000 x3005 or ra@berwylibrary.org.  

Final Student Annotation Day: Plug For Their Blog

I am taking a break from the review-a-polooza today in honor of my last lecture of the semester.

My Fall 2012 RA students in LIS 763 at Dominican University have been one of the best overall groups I have had in awhile.  While normally, at least half of the students are engaged and add positively to the class, there are often a few students each semester who either cause me trouble or really do not give their full effort.  As a teacher that is frustrating, and unfortunately, it taints your view of the group as a whole.

I am so pleased that this semester, that was not the case.  Overall they are a wonderful group who are engaged, they keep improving, and they care about doing their best.  Tonight is my last chance to teach them because next week they turn in their final papers and half of them give a presentation.  Then it is goodbye to the group.  One student, Elizabeth will turn up on the blog next semester as "Intern Elizabeth," filling the shoes of fabulous "Intern Christi" from Spring 2012 and awesome "Intern Bill"who just completed his practicum, and thus his Masters Degree, this past Monday. Congrats Bill.  [P.S., if you have a job out there in the Chicago area, contact me about Bill.]

Back to the current batch of students.  I have not been as annoying about reminding you to check out their Student Blog every single week as I have been in semesters' past.  But today, hours before their final posts go live, I do want to remind you of what a wonderful resource their blog is.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you I consult RA 763's Blog on a regular basis to help my patrons.  The students are given free range to read any 5 books that interest them as long as they each fit a separate category.  The approved categories are genre and format designations which can be seen and accessed in the right gutter of the blog.

So as a first use of this resources, you can pull up a list of titles considered "Gentle Reads" or "Inspirational" as well as more traditional genre designations like "Fantasy" or "Mystery." It just takes one click, and since the students all have different reading tastes and they can pick any book in a given category, the blog has a huge range of annotations available for each category.  Many blogs have a tight focus, but breadth is our mantra here. I want the students to have as wide an experience as possible. If you use the blog to help patrons, you will reap the benefits.

Second, students are required to use the language of appeal in their annotations.  These terms are then converted into tags, but they also appear in the body of each entry.  As a result, you can do a natural language search in the search box at the top of the right gutter for "compelling, character centered and humorous" and get at least 2 pages of results.  You can also choose a sinlge appeal term from the tags cloud by clicking on it-- here is what you get when you click on "character centered."  And, there is still more.  If you read a post and are drawn to a specific appeal term, especially if it is not one of the most popular, so as a result does not appear in the tag cloud, at the end of each annotation, you can simply click on the hyperlinked term to pull up more-- here is what you get when you click on "closely observed characters;" which is a very specific but helpful appeal term.  I really do not know another resource that gives you this many appeal access points for a given title.

Third, the students are required to provide 3 fiction readalikes and 3 nonfiction readalikes with a comment for each as to why the title fits as a similar read.  That is 6 readalikes for every title! And, they are encouraged to give at least one "outside the box" suggestion out of the six, so you won't see only the same old, same old suggestions here.

Fourth, since Joyce and I have been keeping this blog for 3 full years now, the number of titles is huge!  And, as an added bonus, some more popular books have more than one annotation, giving you different perspectives on the same book. And, in reference to the third reason above, it also gives you more readalike options.

Fifth, it would be hard to find a resource where the content is created with more effort and enthusiasm. Look, let's be honest, they are doing this for a grade.  They are library graduate students; these are men and women who want a good grade.  They put a lot of effort into each of their 5 published annotations.  I would argue that there are times that I put in less effort on a review than they do on an annotation. Use their effort to your advantage by using the blog as a resource to help a patron.  The students will make you look like a RA star!

So congrats to the students for being almost done with class.  And to you library workers out there, don't forget to use their hard work to your advantage.  This is an under used resource that I would highly recommend.  I am very proud of their work.  Click here to access RA 763's Blog right now.  For future reference, I always have the link in the right gutter under the heading "Other Sites Featuring Me" listed as "Becky's Student's Blog."

If you are able to help a patron with the student's blog, leave a comment to let me and more importantly, them know.

Reviews back tomorrow.  I have Building Stories, 1Q84, and The Family Fang in the immediate queue.

Student Annotations Are Back

Although I am not teaching this summer semester, Joyce has the class 2x a week.  They began posting new annotations to the class blog this week.  So remember to check it out.  This week they covered the landscape genres (fantasy, historical fiction, western) and adrenaline (thriller, suspense, romantic suspense, and adventure).

Remember to check it every Monday and Wednesday for the next few weeks for great reading suggestions and readalike options.

Student Annotations: Intellect

Last night the students read genres of the intellect: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Psychological Suspense and Mystery.

Click through to read what they had to say.

Student Annotations: Adrenaline

Tonight the students read in the genres of Adventure, Suspense, Romantic Suspense, and Thriller.  Click on over to see what they thought about the books they chose.

Student Annotations: Sense of Place

For those of you who follow the class blog, student annotations are back.

This semester's students have begun exploring the popular genres of adult leisure reading.

The first of many weeks of posts are up on the class blog right now.

This week we are talking about the genres in which the setting is the most important appeal factor.  So click through to see what books they have read in the Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Western Genres.

Remember, every book read comes with a minimum of 6 readalikes too.  This blog is truly a treasure trove of information.  I can't believe I let a few years pass without archiving their work so that others could use it to help their readers (or themselves).

To see a compilation of everything read by all of the students who have ever contributed to the blog, you can use the genre links provided in the right gutter of the site, or you can click here for Fantasy, here for Historical Fiction, and here for Westerns.

You can choose any genre you want, at any time, I just like to alert RA for All readers when their is new content on the class blog.

Also, don't forget that you can also search for books based on their appeal factors by using our tag cloud.

So, let my student's help you to find you your next good read.

Student Annotations: Nonfiction

I am may be taking a night off from teaching,  but Joyce and the class are talking about Nonfiction.  Click on over to the class blog to see what the students had to say about their reading for the week.

Also, as a bonus, here is my new favorite nonfiction leisure reading resource, Sophisticated Dorkiness.

Student Annotations: Genres of the Emotions

Tonight's class is about the genres in which how the books make you feel is the largest appeal factor.

Click here to see what our students read in horror, gentle reads, romance, and women's lives.

For resources check out:

• RA for All: Horror 
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (romance)
• Hennepin County Library's list of gentle reads
• Read On…Women’s Fiction by Rebecca Vnuk

Student Annotations: Genres of the Intellect

I forgot to remind everyone that last night the students updated their blog with annotations on mystery, literary fiction, science fiction, and psychological suspense.

Click through to see what they said about the books they read.

Also, a programming note. The students have midterms next week, so there will be no annotations for 2 weeks, but there will be new reading maps.

Student Annotations: Adrenaline

Tonight's class is on the Adrenaline genres, those in which the fast pace is the most defining element.  The students read and wrote about Adventure, Suspense, Romantic Suspense, and Thriller this week.  So surf on over to the class blog to see what's new.

Click here for past semester's posts on these genres too.

Student Annotations: Sense of Place

Tonight is the first night of student annotations of the semester.  You can expect new content on their blog every Wednesday by 6pm.

I cannot stress enough what a great resource the student blog is for finding your patrons (or yourself) their next good read.  There are over 550 annotations now! You can search by genre, format (graphic novel, audio), appeal (such as dark, character-centered, fast paced), author, or title.  There are also at least 6 readalike options with the reasons why they are readalikes for each title.  We have full-text searching too.  So, if you search for a specific title, your results could include both a full annotations for said title or a place where this title is mentioned as a readalike option.

Anyway, enough with the promotion, click here to see this week's brand new entries for book in the genres in which the setting is THE most important appeal factor: fantasy, historical fiction, and westerns. Also the links enabled in the last sentence for each genre will pull up everything ever posted under that genre

Student Annotations

It's summer so Joyce's students in GSLIS 763 are meeting twice a week to discuss books.  On our class blog they posted Monday's Nonfiction selections and after 6pm tonight there will be more.

Don't forget to click on over and see what they are reading. Remember, they get to choose, so we have books that range from brand new to forgotten favorites to classics with each new round of posts.

The blog in general is a great place to find a reading suggestion.  You can search by appeals like humorous, character centered, or violent [we have had over 1700 tags used and all are searchable] or you can search by genre or format [these are determined by the instructors].  You can use it as you help patrons or let readers use the blog themselves to find something that strikes their fancy.

I am so happy to see my grand idea begun back in January of 2009 of creating a place where all of the wonderful work product of our students could be shared with and used by readers everywhere finally coming to fruition.  With over 500 annotations, there really is a book for every reader waiting to be discovered on the LIS 763 Class Blog. Also, since the students are also required to provide 3 fiction and 3 nonfiction readalikes for each book, you really get 7 suggestions for each annotation posted.

It is all part of my overall goal of showcasing the great RA work being done to help readers to find their next good read. If you have never checked out the Student Blog, give it a try right now.

Summer Student Annotations Begin

Even though I am off from teaching in the summers, Joyce has been busy twice a week with a new crop of students busily posting on the student blog.

Last week they worked on genres of landscape (fantasy, historical fiction, and western) and after 6 pm tonight they will be posting a new set (tbd).

Click here to see what they are reading and writing about.

Student Annotations: Special Reading Interests

You read what I had to say about special reading interest areas, now it's time to hear from the GSLIS 763 students.

Click on over to the class blog to see what they had to say about their reading for this week.

Special Reading Interests Discussion

Tonight in GSLIS 763 we are tackling the last grouping of books.  It is hard to believe that there are only 2 weeks left in the Spring 2011 semester.

At the end we focus on what we have reluctantly agreed to call "Special Reading Interests."  Exactly which books fit this designation will vary depending on where you live.  Here in the Chicago area the most popular of these are Inspirational, African American, Latino/s, and GLBTQ.  Specifically at the BPL these are highly popular areas of reading interest for our patrons.

After talking in general about how to work with patrons who are seeking books by genre and special reading interest, we focus on these 4 areas, their resources, the most popular authors, and the genre trends.

Working with any special reading interest collection is always tricky.  If you pull these books out, you risk being accused of ghettoizing them; deeming them as not worthy enough to be the the general fiction.  However, when you do not pull out these books, readers complain that you aren't paying attention to their reading needs.  In other words, you cannot win.

How do you tackle this double-edged sword?  I have found success by making sure your staff is educated about reading options for your largest special reading interest groups.  Also, listen to your patrons.  What do they want?  How are they accessing the books?  We use this 2 pronged attack as we help readers at the BPL.   Let me give you concrete examples:

For Inspirational that is religious we use a sticker; however, for more general inspirational that is not religious (like Mitch Album) we do not.  Our readers who use the stickers to find reading suggestions are looking for Christian fiction.  However, we are aware of books which have an inspirational message and pull them out for displays and annotated lists throughout the year.

For African American, we do not use stickers; however, we do have a high urban fiction readership. To help both our readers and the staff, our fearless leader, Kathy, works to keep an urban fiction list both in print and on the Browsers Corner blog.  We also frequently pull out urban fiction for small mini-displays. 

For GLBTQ, we are blessed to have an active GLBTQ group in Berwyn, BUNGALO, who are also huge library supporters.  They have their monthly meetings at the library, give us a monetary donation every year, and are active volunteers in the Friends of the Library.  As a result, we have a great GLBTQ collection, but we do not pull it out.  In fact, I highly argue against anyone pulling out their GLBTQ books.  Why?  Some GLBTQ readers could be struggling with their feelings about their sexuality and would not want to have to go to a designated area where they would stand out.  Rather, I argue for actively stickering your GLBTQ titles so that readers who are still uncomfortable asking for help can find the books on their own.  This needs to be done with your fiction and nonfiction titles, by the way.

For Latino/a, we do nothing.  I am not sure why.  I think because there is confusion as to whether or not South American authors should be grouped here too.  We do have a large popular fiction collection in Spanish and have a high bilingual patron base.  But like African American, the Latino/a authors are mixed in throughout our collection and at least once a year we highlight the titles with a large display and an updated annotated list of titles of interest.  Interestingly, some of the younger Latino/a writers are moving more toward Urban Lit too.

So where should you go for resources to help your patrons with these special reading interests.  I will give you one web based suggestion for each to get you started.

Inspirational:  I like Best Inspiration because it encompasses the full range of what people find inspirational.  They have also captured the biggest trend in the area--bucket lists.

African-American: For the mainstream, I like The African American Literature Book Club.  For your Urban Lit readers try Street Fiction, a site run by a librarian to promote and educate about the genre.  He has reviews, lists, and interviews.

GLBTQ:  The gold-standard resource for GLBTQ reading interests is The LAMBDA Literary Foundation.  No more commentary needed.  This site is full of information that represents the full breadth of the reading interest and has information for authors and readers.

Latino/a:  I like Latino Stories, a resource created by a teacher, Jose B. Gonzales.  He has links to other websites, resources, awards, and best lists.

Now, I want to know what other special reading interests are popular at your library.  How do you help these readers?

Student Annotations: Formats

Tonight we are talking formats instead of genres.  The students read some great graphic novels and listened to audiobooks for today.  Click over to the class blog to see what they had to say.

Student Annotations: Genres of the Emotions

Tonight's class covers the genres in which how the story makes you feel is the key factor as to why you enjoy those books.  These "emotions" are widely disparate however since tonight we will talk about Romance, Women's Lives and Relationships, Gentle Reads and Horror.  So we love, we cry, we laugh, we feel comfortable, and we are scared out of our minds.

You can click here to see the wide range of books the students read and wrote about on the class blog for this week.

I also wanted to remind you that for more information on Horror specifically, you can always click on over to RA for All: Horror for commentary, reading suggestions, and resources galore.

Student Annotations: Nonfiction

Tonight's class is on nonfiction readers' advisory.  That is a big topic I know.  To help, we break it up into narrative nonfiction, biography, and memoir, but that is still just the tip of the iceberg.

In terms of resources, there are 2 specific nonfiction RA books out there:

• The Readers' Advisory Guide to Nonfiction by Neal Wyatt
• The Real Story: A Guide to Nonfiction Reading Interests (Genreflecting Advisory Series) by Sarah Statz Cords

Speaking of Sarah, she also has a nonfiction blog called Citizen Reader and those of you who live in the Chicagoland area, ARRT is hosting Sarah in April at the Deerfield Public Library.  You can click here to register-- all are welcome.  Here are the details:

Please join us at the Deerfield Public Library, 920 Waukegan Road, on Wednesday, April 27, from 1:30-3:00, for a program titled The Second Stacks: Life Stories, presented by Sarah Statz Cords. The topic of her presentation is Nonfiction Reader’s Advisory, specifically biography, memoirs and travel narratives. For librarians who lead book discussions, this talk should help you to generate ideas for titles to use and should be helpful to anyone working in Reader’s Advisory. The program will be from 1:30 – 3:00 and then there will be refreshments.

Ms. Cords reviews books for Library Journal and Bookslut.com, and has taught a course on adult reading interests at the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Library and Information Studies.   She is the author of The Real Story:   A Guide to Nonfiction Reading Interests and is an associate editor for Reader’s Advisory Online and the co-author of Now Read This III: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction.

I also highly suggest Rick Roche's long running blog, ricklibrarian.  Rick works in a library in a town neighboring mine, he writes about nonfiction and more.  He also wrote Real Lives Revealed: A Guide to Reading Interests in Biography (Real Stories) which is part of Sarah's series.

Try these resources, but don't forget to also check out what the students read and wrote about this week on the class blog.