Comparing the Book Talk to BookTok via Booklist

In the July 2025 issue of Booklist, Kaitlyn Griffith-Miller, a YA Librarian in WA, wrote a "Trade Secrets" article comparing RA in the Library to RA on BookTok which you can access here.

This article is one of the better explanations of why we in the library need to care about BookTok. By framing it all from the library perspective this is an article that you can use to help yourself and/or pass on to others.

For example, here are a few key points from the piece: 

• RA follows a conversational structure built on questions. BookTok skips the interview and instead shows you what it felt like to read a book.
• RA offers consistency, context, and curation. BookTok brings energy, visibility, and virality.
• Because in the end, whether it is a librarian suggesting a read-alike or a TikToker screaming into their phone camera, the goal is the same, getting the right book into the right hands at exactly the right time. 

Please click through and read the article. Whether you are a BookTok super user or have never logged on (and all experiences in between) this short article has something for you.

New Booktalking Exercise Worksheet: Conversation Starters to Display

My Booktalk Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town program has been on my slate of "basics" programs for years, but over those years, it has gone through a huge transformation. It used to be all about talking at patrons with prepared statements and now it is about encouraging impromptu conversations. You can click through to see a recent version of that presentation.

The key to that transformation is conversation starters. I have many posts with conversation starter examples here. But recently, I have added an exercise as well, to take it all a step further and turn your conversation starter questions and conversations into displays. In other words, taking the work you are already doing and helping it help you serve patrons more efficiently and effectively.

Here is the link to that form. I have also posted its content at the end of this post. I will be adding it to the 10 Rule of Basic RA page as well. 

The idea here is that you can use these questions in small groups of staff to practice sharing books with readers through natural language questions. This allows you to have a conversation, and removes the instinct to make the RA interaction all about a transaction. I always suggest trying it out in staff only groups a few times first though because it is different. Not having an end point or a prepared statement about a few titles is a bit disconcerting at first. But it doesn't take long for staff to realize that talking about books without an end goal is literally why they became a library worker.

Also, using the same conversation starter with different people illustrates how the same questions can lead to completely different interactions. 

Once staff are comfortable, they can move on to trying out these conversation starters with patrons.

The more conversations we have with patrons, the more relationships we build. Relationships lead to more checkouts and engagement. That goes a lot further than putting a single book in a readers hand when they ask for something to read.

Conversations with different people also ensures that we get a side array of titles mentioned and suggested. Relying on the same 4 staff members to always come up with the ideas makes for stale and receptive displays, lists, and suggestions.

Setting up the expectation that the library is a place where people come to talk about books, book news, what they are reading, what they want to read, etc.... will also lead to more RA questions.

Once you practice among yourselves, you will not only see how focusing on having a conversation makes your RA Service better, but you will also have a list of titles that you can confidently suggest to others. 

This is what I teach when I offer my Booktalk Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town program. I put people in small groups while I am there in person, and then send them off with the the form to ask patrons as well.

But we don't only have to ask verbally. Turn these six questions into books marks, with one question on the top of each. Leave them out on your displays, at the end of rows, on your desk. Also, put them in every book on the holds shelf. Place a note at the bottom to have them return it with their item. Gather the answers and turn them into the displays with the titles I suggest below.

Ask your staff as well. Get as many people involved as possible. Keep a spreadsheet of the answers and mark when books show up multiple times because not only will these titles make for great displays, they will also be excellent suggestions when you are in a hurry. And if a book is mentioned by a wide swath of readers, you can suggest it with more confidence.

And these questions are not specific to any service area. You can make a list for children and teen as easily as adult. The same questions will serve all service areas.

Remind patrons that their answers will be used to build displays and make lists (you can note that on the bookmark as well). This is very important because it goes toward the conversation leading to relationships as I mentioned above. Patrons will come back to the library to see a book they mentioned on a display. No you won't be noting who suggested it anywhere on your displays or lists (in fact, do not ask for names on the bookmarks to ensure privacy), and some books will be mentioned by multiple people, but when a patron sees a book they mentioned on a display, they will know you heard them. They will see that you truly want to be in conversation with them.

And, they will tell their friends. Don't underestimate this. I have seen it happen. I have seen patrons bring a friend to show them a display where a book they suggested is featured. This not only solidifies your relationship with that patron, but its is the start of a new one with the friend.

Feel free to use this exercise sheet with your staff or patrons. And if you have success (or questions), let me know. I can feature you here on the blog. 

1. What book made you forget you were reading? 

   Turn answers into a "Get Lost in a Good Book" display/list 

2. What was the book you had the most fun reading?

   Turn answers into a "Fun Reads" display/list

3. What book do you recommend to everyone you know? 

   Turn answers into a "Sure Bets" display/list

4. What was the book that most surprised you?

   Turn answers into a "These Books Surprised Our Readers" display/list

5. What is your  favorite “Under the Radar Book”

   Turn answers into a "Forgotten Favorites" display/list

6. What is your favorite type of story?

   Use the natural language answers to come up with fresh list and display ideas.

Booklist Spotlights the Environment and Sustainability and I Have Ideas On How (and Why) to Use It With a Wider Group of Readers

One of my favorite things about Booklist as a resource is that it covers all leisure reading-- all ages, all formats, fiction and nonfiction-- all in a single magazine. And, yet another favorite thing is that each issue has a few "spotlights," gathering the best from the previous 12 months (since the last spotlight) into useful lists.

The March 1st issue was a great example of those favorite things colliding. The spotlight was on the Environment and Sustainability and that issue provided two excellent lists of nonfiction that are great for a general adult audience. Lists you can use immediately with readers:

• Top 10 Books on the Environment & Sustainability 2023
• The Essentials: See the Forests and the Trees

On that second list, I read and loved 2 of the titles as we considered them for the Andrew Carnegie Medal last year: Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon and The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth, by Ben Rawlence. The later title easily made our Nonfiction Longlist.

All of these titles are perfect for a general reader, those who want accurate scientific information in a fun to read package. Nothing here is too technical. Take Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon for example. This is both a book about our declining forests AND a true crime story. It is written just like True Crime, a genre I covered yesterday on the blog. And we know that is super popular.

That is but one example. The appeal of these titles is vast and the potential readership is wide. Consider putting these titles on a display with your Cli-Fi to show readers the wide array of reading options that are available to them. You can also click here for other posts I have tagged Cli-Fi. We don't need to always separate fiction and nonfiction in our displays; in fact, I have found that readers appreciate when fiction and nonfiction options are intermingle because too often readers forget one while looking for the other. They appreciate us more when we offer a potential read that they would not have ever picked up without our help.

Also, remember these lists and, especially, the annotations are ready to use with readers immediately. Especially the annotation because all of Booklist's Spotlight issue lists have annotations that are perfect conversation starters for you to introduce a book. It's a built in suggestion and book talk allow one list. And the editors at Booklist have vetted these titles for you. These are the best of the best. 

So use these lists now, but remember, every single issue is a spotlight for something and willinlcude vetted lists you can use immediately and with confidence. 

RA for All Greatest Hits: Use the Words of Others

This post is part of my newly created RA for All "Greatest Hits Archive. You can click here to use the tag to pull up everything in the series or you can visit the newly created Greatest Hits page here. 

Today's post is a rerun of one of the MOST IMPORTANT things I teach when I teach RA Service-- you can and should use the words of others.

As we are assisting out patrons to find a good read, theys do not care if we read the book we are suggesting or not. What they do care about though is that someone has read the book and enjoyed it. 

So stop worrying so much about reading all the books and only using your experience to help readers and start using resources to book talk any title. More below, and honestly, anytime you hear me talking about RA Service to anyone anywhere.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018

You Can Use The Words of Others to Booktalk

Starting tomorrow and a half dozen times over the next 45 days, I am going to be promoting the idea of booktalking-- all over the library-- to many different organizations across a few different states.

I love talking about booktalking as much as I love booktalking. My booktalking training is one of my favorite and most popular programs. You know why? Because every single person on staff at your library can booktalk. Everyone. From the maintenance crew to the Director.
In my program I share stories about specific libraries who have cultivated a culture of booktalking at their library. But the basic idea is, anyone on staff can and should talk about what they are reading, watching, and listening to with each other or with patrons-- out loud for others to hear. As long as the things you are talking about are something that can be checked out from the library. Even new movies are good to talk about at work because they will be available at some point and you can use them to start a conversation about other movies or books.
The point is that booktalking is not only about hand selling a title to a specific patron based on their likes and dislikes. Rather, booktalking is a way to start conversations at the library. When you talk about leisure items at the library freely, openly, and often, you are both demonstrating that you care about leisure items AND advertising that you are qualified to help patrons find some themselves.
This is a concept I spend a a good 30 minutes developing in this program, but today on the blog I want to point out something I have learned after presenting a version of this program for three years now. I have found that many library workers don’t want to talk about what they are reading or watching. There reasons are valid and fair for sure. Some cite privacy concerns, especially those whose job is not at a public desk; they don’t want to have to share what they do in their free time. Others rightly comment that they are reading, for example, erotic romance, and work at the Children's’ desk most of the day [this has come up enough that I think you might want to ask your youth staff if they have any suggestions here]. Still others say, I want to talk about the book I just read, but I am not comfortable finding the right words.
For all of these reasons, and just so you can share books you haven’t read, I have what I thought was common sense advice, but through training after training I am learning is quite a revolutionary idea--

I hope my sharing this advice encourages all of you to get out there and talk about more books with patrons, especially those you haven’t read yourself.

Use the words of others when you booktalk!

I just assumed people knew that a “book talk” didn’t need to also be written by them. I was wrong to assume.

Yes, you heard me. You don’t have to write the words about the book you are talking about, heck you don’t even have to have read it. The point of the booktalk isn’t to prove you have a great way with words. The point is to talk about an item...period.

One of my 10 Rules of RA Service is “Use Resources.” We have trained patrons for over 100 years that librarians do not know the answers to every question, rather we know how to find the answers. We use resources. Guess what, we can use them for leisure reading too. As long as we are honest that the words are not ours, it’s fine. In fact, it is better than fine. It is what we are best at. Its what our patrons expect us to do.

That’s right. Many of you think your patrons will be disappointed in you if you “read” a booktalk. Why do you think that? You read them answers about reference questions. They don’t expect you to pull facts about North Korea out of thin air. Here’s the truth, we put this pressure on ourselves. Our patrons expect us to use resources. So stop giving yourself more stress and more work to do. Use resources!

So where can you find booktalk material? Reviews, professional or from Goodreads, blurbs from other authors [check Fantastic Fiction for those], other libraries’ websites, book lists, etc.... Heck, I ever pull books of the shelf and read the blurbs and summary off the back with the patron. You can read all of these to a patron and say, “Wow, this book looks so interesting. Here’s what someone who enjoyed it says.” This is a book talk! You are starting a conversation about books by using the words of others.

I often keep the conversation going with the patron here by adding, “Well I will put that on my mountain of a TBR pile. What about you? What are you reading?”

Using resources for your booktalking material means you can talk about ANY BOOK AT ANY TIME. You have no limits now.

This also goes hand in hand with yesterday’s post when I talked about owning up to us not doing everything we can to curate and promote diverse collections. Another excuse some library workers make as a reason for their failure in this is that they don’t have time to read all the diverse titles, and that is why they don’t promote them. While I think this excuse is BS, this concept of using reviews and book talks by others counters this excuse. Now you can freely talk about any title in the world. 

RA for All Roadshow Visits Back to the Book XXI

Click here for details

Today I am in Twinsburg, OH for the popular Back to the Book Festival, now in its 21st year. This is the first time this event has been held since Fall 2019 when they hosted my colleague Robin Bradford. I was all set to appear in Fall 2020, but of course, that was cancelled.

So here we are, gathered for a day of learning that was 2 years in the making.

You can click here for the full schedule [which is mostly me all day] but I have also cross-posted my presentations with slides access from my Recent and Upcoming Presentations page below.

Please note, the organizers asked me to create a brand new program for them for this specific event: Bringing Readers Back to the Building: Book Based In-Person Events Beyond Community Reads [Slides].

I am very happy with how this turned out, and in fact, have already scheduled two more presentations of this brand new program in the coming months. [Again, see my Recent and Upcoming Presentations page for details.]

I am excited to see and interact with so many of you in person today, and all of you, please enjoy the free slide access below, including an updated Horror RA.

• Northeast Ohio Regional Library System: Back to the Book XXI
• In person: Thursday October 27, 2022-- ALL DAY
• Details here
• Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town [Slides]
• Bringing Readers Back to the Building: Book Based In-Person Events Beyond Community Reads [Slides]
• Horror Readers' Advisory" How to Help Your Scariest Patrons [Slides]

RA for All Virtual Roadshow Visits South Central [WI] Library System

I am in the middle of a three month training contract with my neighbors just to the North. Here is the info from my Recent and Upcoming Presentations Page:

• South Central [WI] Library System: 3 Months of Virtual Training
• RA for All: Flip the Script and Think Like a Reader 
• Tuesday, May 17, 2022 from 1-2:30pm Central
• Slide access here
• Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town
• Tuesday June 14, 2022 from 10:30-12
• Slide access here
• Demystifying Genre
• Tuesday, July 12, 2022 from 1-2:30 Central
• Slide access here

As I mentioned a few months ago, I am not posting every virtual presentation that I am giving these days for a variety of reasons, but the top 2 are that one, since 2020 my volume has increased. If I posted every time I was presenting a training program, I would have very little blog space for content. And two, which is related, because I am giving presentations so often, the changes program to program are subtle. If you want to see every presentation though, the slides are always on the Recent and Upcoming Presentations page here-- past 6 months and the current schedule for future, although there are a few in process events not on there yet.

But, when I am involved in a multi-month program, I like to point it out on the blog because it is a great example of how I can provide affordable training to larger groups with a program that builds over the course of the contract. In this case, the client [SCLS] got a repeat customer discount and a multi-month booking discount. The programs can be recorded for their library workers and the training is free to them whether live or recorded. So it is really an on-demand training option. I do exercises during each program

AND offer things that you can do after-- and they are accessible with the recording.

Take a look at the Recent and Upcoming Presentations page for other examples of the multi-month training programs I have offered to a couple of systems this year. If you want to book me virtually for this year, there is still time. Contact me, but I would get on it before ALA Annual because after that conference, I know I will have many more interested libraries asking for training.

Finally, I also wanted to point out today's Booktalking Program in particular because this is one of my programs that has had a complete overhaul this year. There is a lot there to help everyone reading this, even if you do not hear me give the talk. I have made the slides as an outline of the major points I am focusing on while also linking you to more on many of the topics by me as well.

Click through to learn all about how easy it is to share books with your patrons from every position at the public library-- literally every. Those of you who have seen this program know that I have a real life example of a janitor who became the best book-talker at a library.

Back tomorrow with a VERY EXCITING LibraryReads list. Seriously. It is awesome.

RA Basics: Promote the Books Patrons Will Not Find on Their Own

Recently I saw this article entitled "I Left Your Favorite Book Off That List On Purpose" over on Book Riot. It was written in response to comments they have received about their lists.

While I am not surprised people get salty about their favs being left off of lists, I think that this article's publication is a good time to remind you of A VERY BASIC RA RULE. Here it is:

Our job is to promote the books patrons would NOT find on their own.

That's RA 101. We do not need to add blockbuster books to our displays and lists. They do not need your help. And even more so, you are not helping your patrons find a book by putting, for example, Stephen King on a Horror list. Everyone knows Stephen King writes Horror. Let's help people find more.

[eds note/shameless plug: I have an entire book about that]

Our job in service to leisure readers at the public library, is to help them find the books they didn't know about or maybe did know about a few years ago and never got to. It is NOT to give them options the they already love. How is that helpful?!?!

Now, you can use popular titles as a carrot to get people to check out your list or display. For instance, you can title a display "Stephen King's Legacy" or "Romance Beyond Nora Roberts." 

Your best displays and promotion are those which feature books that make the average library patron thinks, "Huh, I didn't know about any of these. Yay library for pointing me to books that are 'new' to me!"

Keep this in mind. Always. Highlight books that need the attention, books that people would love if they just knew you owned them, books that could come a new favorite.

This mantra,"Our job is to promote the books patrons would NOT find on their own," should be your guide as you build lists and displays. As you share books with readers. 

Also you need to make sure your lists represent marginalized voices and are not only filled with white, cis authors. This does not mean you display Colson Whitehead, however. He also does not need your help. 

That being said, I would also argue that the titles getting the most censorship backlash right now should also not be on your lists and displays. They are all over the news as well. But what you can do is use titles like Gender Queer or Beloved or Maus as the starting point for lists, and then provide people with other excellent titles that readers of those books may also enjoy, if only they knew about them. 

For every banned book, there are dozens more on the same topic or with similar appeal that never get read. Make a display of books that explore gender identity and include graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction, and more. You can title it, "Beyond Gender Queer." This is your chance to show your patrons the breadth of your collections and make it clear that you are about options, not just what's hot.

I have included a slide from my Booktalking program which highlights some of this in easy to remember bullet points. And this is a good time to add the reminder, that creating displays and book lists is a form of "Booktalking."

Now start promoting the books that need it.

Click here to access all slides

RA for All Virtual Roadshow Visits PCLS for a BRAND NEW Booktalking Program

Last month I wrote about my multi-month training plan with Pierce County Library System in Washington State in this post. As we enter month two, I will tell you, I was optimistic, but it is going even better than I could have imagined. I am especially excited about the assignments we are working on and the conversations this work is creating across the system, already.

Interestingly, some of the feedback is clearly noticing that the values of the organization's approach to serving leisure readers is changing. It is! That is the point. It is a staff driven priority, not an edict from upon high. And we are working together-- myself and the training team-- to make sure this change sticks.

Month 2 begins today with my BRAND NEW booktalking program. In this program I challenge everyone to rethink that term "book talk" and realize any conversation we have with each other or users is a book talk. It is not a term reserved solely for formal presentations.  

The focus here is on those conversations, yes, but also it is about getting everyone on staff involved in some way because the more staff we have engaged in the process, the more patrons we can reach and help.  And the benefit of being a library that prioritizing having conversations centered around books--your brand-- is that your users are more satisfied. Hence the title-- Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town.

[ed note: I know you are probably the only library in town, but this sounds better than friendliest library in your region; you get the idea I'm going for.]

I have not done more than a surface edit to this program in years. While I have kept the slide format the same, please know, the presentation is almost all new new material. 

I am very excited to share this with a system [over two days- today and next week] that is committed to using this action oriented talk to instill change both at the system level and in each branch. 

And that excitement is leading me to sharing the slides with you today. Please watch the slides in presentation mode as slide 8 has animation and the main bullet points are behind the "conversation" starters.

Contact me with questions or if you want to set up training with your library or system. Click here to see my recent and upcoming presentation schedule as well. 

Click here for slide access

Resource Alert: The Great First-Half 2022 Book Preview Is More Useful Than You May Think.

One of my favorite tools came out recently, The Great First-Half 2022 Book Preview via The Millions.

This is a comprehensive, and yes, a bit overwhelming, list of all of the titles, coming soon, that you MUST know about. Of course if you do collection development you can use this list to start filling your carts for future purchases, but please do not underestimate how helpful this list is even if you do not have any collection duties.

In fact, it is one of my favorite resources to help readers at the desk. How? Well, here are some of the ways I use the current list, and backlist versions of their "most anticipated lists." And please note, cross reference this post with my post on Curbside Patrons and Discovery to include these ideas, lists, and conversation starters in your socially distant RA work too.

Collection Development: As I mentioned above, this is the most obvious reason to use these lists. You can go through them to learn about the most anticipated titles and get them on order. This list is especially helpful at identifying midlist gems. Titles that the editors think will gain traction but may not have the largest marketing plans and/or from lesser known authors. Even if they don't end up becoming break out hits, the fact that these editors identified them early is enough reason to have them in our library collections. The midlist are often some of our best "sure bets," titles we can suggest to readers with confidence ones that they would not know about with out us. They are also more likely to be on the shelf. Ans don't forget previous "most anticipated lists." Those are books you somebody probably ordered, are a great options, are probably on the shelf waiting for their next reader, and have an annotation right there for you to use to handsell.

Displays: New books get their own display space, but what about great titles from the last 1-4 years that are in your collections, smashed between other books, not being highlighted, but are still a great option. We are always looking for ways  to get our high interest, backlist titles out in front of patrons. Well, these lists are just what you and your patrons are looking for. There are so many titles, from so many years that you could go through them one at a time. Make a display [or online lists with catalog links and in building traditional displays] by year. For example, flashback to 2018's hottest books. And then put all the ones you own out and watch them fly off the shelves. Make it interactive by asking people what their favorite read from 2018 was and then make a second display of patron [and staff] picks from 2018. Then feature another year. Do one a month. Patrons will LOVE  IT. And your administration and board will also love it because your backlist will be circulating. Most of our investment collections-wise is in our backlist. Think about it; we have more older titles than newer ones. Help that backlist shine, collect data on the increase in circulation, and then get it into Board reports. Everybody wins!

Conversation Starter: I alluded to this above as a way to engage patrons in a conversation about their favorite books of "yore" for display, but in general these lists are a great conversation starter, at the desk or online. And even more especially, on Goodreads. Why? Because if you get a library account and ask your patrons questions about their favorite books from 2018 on Goodreads, they can just go to their shelf and see what books they gave the most stars to that year. They are already in the space where the answers to your questions are. You could also start this convo on other social media platforms and link to the Goodreads conversation too. Those who use Instagram, post pictures of your physical displays and start a conversation about that year on that platform. There are many possibilities to start conversations about lesser known titles here.

Booktalks: One of my main mantras as I encourage more staff to actively participate in RA Service is to remind people that they can and should use the words of others as they suggest books to potential readers. These lists are all fully annotated, with a prepared soundbite that you can share with patrons. Obviously you  want to share books you own, but there is no excuse to not hand sell these titles if they are in your collections. You start by saying it was a hot title in, for example, 2019, and then read the blurb. If they seem interested you can pull the physical book or look up reviews on NoveList [professional opinions] and Goodreads [regular reader opinions] for more information. But the hardest part of your job-- finding a high interest title that is readily available and having something well thought out to say about it-- well that is done for you with these lists.

Covers: Finally, the least important reason I love this resource but a nice bonus, the cover is right there with the book's entry. Covers tell us a lot about a book [I have discussed it  many times and you can click here to read more on how to use covers in your service to readers] and having the cover in front of you before you pull the book is extremely helpful.

Please check out this year's and past year's previews and use them to make your job easier and your patron's happier.

Resource Alert: LJ Fall Preview 2021-- 133 Titles To Know, Buy, and Suggest to Readers And Editor's Picks

Last week Library Journal released 2 extremely helpful articles for you to help readers navigate the overwhelming Fall publishing season.

The first, Fall Preview 2021: 133 Titles To Know, Buy, and Suggest To Readers breaks down an excellent range of titles with commentary. This article is obviously helpful for ordering purposes, but more importantly, it provides you with context to book talk these titles to potential readers while also alerting you to some of the specifics readers can expect to find between the pages.

And the second, the LJ editors have their Fall 2021 Picks with their reasons why they love these titles here. Remember, these are the editors who have read not only the books, but the reviews of said books. For example, my editor, Stephanie Klose, has her Horror and Romance picks. Her top pick, The Last House on Needless Street, I gave a star review here; a review she edited. She also read the book and we had a long talk about why it was so great. And in this case, not only is the novel well constructed and entertaining, but it also has a very wide appeal, one of the reasons we and recommend it so highly. 

This knowledge and understanding of your job helping readers in your library is duplicated by each editor for their entire list. 

Both links lead you to a plethora of information about books that will have high demand, titles you might not get your hands on for awhile, but those links will give you the information you need to talk to patrons about them and help them find "while you wait" options. These articles will also make you look super knowledgeable in the process, as all good resources should.

Resource Alert: PW Summer Reads With Super Easy Back List and Year's Best Access

One of my favorite year round tools is now live-- The Publisher's Weekly Best Books of Summer 2021.

But while the list itself is great, it is the search bar that is the reason I adore this resource:

It is a little hard to see here on the blog, but click through and look at it for yourself.

While the list itself is displayed below the search bar as a slide show of one book at a time, you can use the search bar to look at the list by genre and for all age levels.

PLUS-- every summer reads list going back to 2012 AND every "Best" of the year list going back to 2010 is also accessible right there from the main navigation bar.

So many lists of great titles across the breadth of reading preferences, easily accessible, with very few clicks, are right at your digital fingertips.

Because remember last year's [or 5 year's ago's] best summer reads are still great summer reads right now. They are even great when it isn't summer. And those older titles are available RIGHT NOW!

And PW does this every time they update with their Summer Reads of Year End Best lists, linking both lists together and with the backlist each time.

Also, each book comes with an annotation that gives you a way to book talk the title to any patron. Remember, one of my biggest pieces of advice when it comes to hand selling titles to patrons is that you should not be afraid to use the words of others. These PW lists are the words of others that you can easily use to book talk any title, new or old, that appears on these lists. And the annotations also link to more information, interviews, reviews, etc.... about that title or author that had previously appeared in PW.

So stop reading this post and start hunting through the treasure trove of reading suggestions with ready to use book talks that makes up the PW Summer Reads list.

Bookmark it for use all year long. There are very few places where you can find the breadth of suggestions that are "best" with backlist access as easily as here.

Click here to enter the database

Booklist Webinar Access- Library Love for LibraryReads and a Webinar Backlist Resource Reminder

Yesterday, Booklist hosted a webinar in conjunction with LibraryReads. Below are all of the links including a link to the recording. This is an upcoming books webinar. Even if you don't watch it, please look at the slides. Each slide is a booktalk you can use with patrons to hand sell this book now [to get holds started] and later when the books come out. 

I have all of the info below, but Booklist always has ALL of their webinars available in an archive HERE for free. That link is a great resource in general to suggest books to readers. Often these webinars are about upcoming books when they happen live, but please remember, the archive because after the books come out...these are tools you can use in real time to suggest books that are on the shelf now and a book talk is right there and ready for you.

Thank you for registering for
"Library Love for LibraryReads"

As promised, here are links to the follow-up materials:

Webinar Archive
PowerPoint Slides
Title List
Certificate of Completion

Be sure to check out these helpful links from our panelists

Norton Library Edelweiss Catalog
Subscription link for the Norton Library Newsletter (Adult books):
The Book Drop (from Simon & Schuster)
Book Club Favorites (from Simon & Schuster)
Simon & Schuster Monthly Newsletter
LibraryReads YouTube Channel

RA for All Roadshow Visits Reaching Forward [Yesterday and Today]

Yesterday and today was Part 1 of the Illinois Library Association's Reaching Forward conference. 

"Part 1?" you ask. Just like many things in our world these days Reaching Forward had to pivot and it looks a little different now.

Let me back up a bit though because the history and mission behind the entire Reaching Forward conference is important to share, especially because not all of you live here in IL.

Reaching Forward is a long standing conference for library workers. While professional librarians won't be turned away, this is a conference that is always focused on and geared toward everyone BUT the librarians at a library. I love that we have this conference and have been a supporter of it for many years.

It also used to be presented as two distinct and unconnected conferences, one called Reaching Forward South and the other just Reaching Forward but presented in Rosemont [next to O'Hare Airport]. Last year, I was invited to RF South in person and was going to present 4 sessions [1 for each time slot]. I was excited to work with my colleagues further south. However, that conference set for Spring 2020 was cancelled. I agreed to contribute to whatever form it took for 2021 immediately.

Well, that form is what we began yesterday when I presented RA for All: Flip the Script and Think Like a Reader and Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town and will continue this morning when I offer Demystifying Genre and Actively Anti-Racist Library Service to Leisure Readers.

I am a bit embarrassed as it looks like I took over the conference, but I am also excited. All 4 programs are updated and the last one is BRAND NEW. It is part of the work I am doing with Robin Bradford as outline here. 

And then there is still the RF Part 2. That is on May 7th, the date when the Reaching Forward near Chicago would have taken place in person. This is also part of that new form. The organizers of Reaching Forward who use to put on separate conferences, have combined forces and are offering all 3 days of content for only $50.  It is one of those good things to come from the pandemic and I hope this unification sticks into the future.

My presentation for May 7th is also brand new: Peek Behind the Admin Curtain: Trustee Secrets All Library Staff Need To Know with Joe Filapck. Details on that program are here. But I will have slides and more about that program on May 7th. For now, you can use the links above to access the slides for my 4 presentations over the last 2 days no matter where you live.

In fact, you can also follow the conference and see what we were talking about yesterday, today, and on May 7th on Twitter with #RFIllinois2021.

And if you want me to come to your virtual state library conference, it is easier [and cheaper] than ever because I can do it from my living room. Contact me for rates, programs offered, and availability. I am also starting to be asked to attend some possible in person events this fall. I will be fully vaccinated by next week and I am entertaining offers to appear in person beginning in September. 

RA for All Rerun: Share Why Someone Would Enjoy a Book, Not the Plot

I have a lot of meetings the next few days and this is a backlist post I just sent to someone I am working with in those meetings. This made me realize it is worth sharing again. And I am also adding it to my 10 Rules of Basic RA Page.

This is foundational information to today' Conversational Based RA Services [as opposed to transactional]. Click here for slides on that topic.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020

Share Why Someone Would Enjoy a Book, Not The Plot

Sometimes I feel like a broken record, but then I remember that many of you encounter this blog at different points in your careers  so today I just want to post a quick reminder about how and why we do this job of helping leisure readers.

When we talk about books with patrons we do not need to spend more than a single sentence on the "plot," and that sentence, or even just phrase, is more to frame the book within the vast of universe of the entirety of the publishing world.

What we need to all focus on is WHY someone would want to read it. That is the information you need to  share. The plot they can read on the back of the book, but how the story is told, that is why they will like it or not.

And here is the best news for you-- articulating how the story is told is super easy to find via resources. Bonus: if you haven't read the book yourself it is even easier! That is mostly because you will only use resources to articulate appeal rather than introduce your version of the book.

In terms of the best resources to do this, I have a two pronged attack-- Professional Book World resources and Reader Driven resources. This insures you get the book world opinion and actual reader comments. Using them in combination is both efficient and effective.

For the Professional opinion, the best place to go is NoveList because they have multiple resources in one place. You can find the professional reviews from the major journals and the appeal terms and themes assigned by NoveList. Pairing the main entry for a title with the reviews is one of the best ways to get a sense of why someone would enjoy the book. You can even read the appeal terms and some of the key points from the review right from the database to your patron.

For the Reader Driven option, I like Goodreads. Look, there are issues with Goodreads, it is not perfect, but it is where the largest number of reviews, from actual readers, are available. I always suggest checking 4 star and 2 star reviews to get a sense of why a book really worked or didn't work for a particular reader. This gives you a 360 degree view of the appeal of the book to a casual leisure reader. The only better resource for this is chatting with a patron at the desk.

Goodreads also has another one of my favorite reader driven resources-- the "shelves" people place a book on. Go on, look up a recent favorite read. Here is the entry for Plan Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth [I just gave it a star in LJ and it is out next week]. I picked this book because it has wide appeal. Toward the top of the right gutter you will find a "Genre" chart for every book. Here is a screen shot of the one for Plain Bad Heroines.

As you can see in the image, you can also click on "See top shelves..."for more. These shelves are the terms real readers use to classify their books. Let's use this example to show how you use these. This novel is a Gothic, historical, horror novel with a mystery at its heart and a strong lesbian frame. Those  things are all reflected in those terms above, but which is the most important to your reader?

If  someone mentions they like this book because it is historical, you are looking in different places for a readalike than those who identify the mystery as their biggest appeal. But because Goodreads crowdsources all of  the data, you can simply click on those terms that real readers use to find more similar titles.

This resource does not always make as much sense as NoveList but that is because it a product  of real readers' brains. Think about yourself. We all have books we enjoy  equally that on paper seem to not have anything in common. And yet, to us they do. Goodreads replicates the randomness of  people and their opinions in a way no professional resource can. I am not exaggerating when I say that there have been numerous times when I clicked n a user generated adjective like "spooky," to help a patron and got better results than using the controlled NoveList language-- because people don't always make algorithmic sense.

But I never have matched a book based on its plot. Maybe its frame, which many might consider plot [it's not], but never on what actually happens. It is always about how the story unfolds, the narrative choices the author makes, and if the reader likes how it all comes together to tell that plot that matters.

Stop focusing on what happens and start sharing why the reader might enjoy it. Use the resources, not your personal experience to share that. Trust me, you will have less stress and happier readers. 

Collection Development Bonanza: The Millions' Most Anticipated: The Great First-Half 2021 Book Preview

I was going through my saved draft  posts  and, lo and behold, I had saved the wonderful Great First-Half 2021 Book Preview from The Millions, but had forgotten to blog about. Today I fix that.

This is a comprehensive, and yes, a bit overwhelming, list of all of the titles, coming soon, that you MUST know about. Of course if you do collection development you can use this list to start compiling your carts for future purchases, but please do not underestimate how helpful this list is as you help readers at  the desk.

Here are some of the ways I use the current list, and backlist versions. And please note, cross reference this post with my post on Curbside Patrons and Discovery to include these ideas, lists, and conversation starters in your socially distant RA work too.

Collection Development: As I mentioned above, this is the most obvious reason to use these lists. You can go through them to learn about the most anticipated titles and get them on order. This list is especially helpful at identifying midlist gems. Titles that the editors think will gain traction but may not have the largest marketing plans and/or from lesser known authors. Even if they don't end up becoming break out hits, the fact that these editors identified them early is enough reason to have them in our library collections. The midlist are often some of our best "sure bets," titles we can suggest to readers with confidence ones that they would not know about with out us. They are also more likely to be on the shelf.

Displays: New books get their own display space, but what about great titles from the last 1-4 years that are in your collections, smashed between other books, not being highlighted, but are still a great option. We are always looking for ways  to get our high interest, backlist titles out in front of patrons. Well, these lists are just what you and your patrons are looking for. There are so many titles, from so many years that you could go through them one at a time. Make a display [online lists with catalog links and in building traditional displays] by year. For example, flashback to 2017's hottest books. And then put all the ones you own out and watch them fly off the shelves. Make it interactive by asking people what their favorite read from 2017 was and then make a second display of patron [and staff] picks from 2017. Then feature another year. Do one a month. Patrons will LOVE  IT. And your administration and board will also love it because your backlist will be circulating. Most of our investment collections-wise is in our backlist. Help it shine, collect data on the increase in circulation, and then get it into Board reports. Everybody wins!

Conversation Starter: I alluded to this above as a way to engage patrons in a conversation about their favorite books of "yore" for display, but in general these lists are a great conversation starter, especially online. And even more especially, on Goodreads. Why? Because if you get a library account and ask your patrons questions about their favorite books from 2018 on Goodreads, they can just go to their shelf and see what books they gave the most stars to that year. They are already in the space where the answers to your questions are. You could also start this convo on other social media platforms and link to the Goodreads conversation too. Those who use Instagram, post pictures of your physical displays and start a conversation about that year on that platform. There are many possibilities to start conversations about lesser known titles here.

Booktalks: One of my main mantras as I encourage more staff to actively participate in RA Service is to remind people that they can and should use the words of others as they suggest books to potential readers. These lists are all fully annotated, with a prepared soundbite that you can share with patrons. Obviously you  want to share books you own, but there is no excuse to not hand sell these titles if they are in your collections. You start by saying it was a hot title in, for example, 2018 and then read the blurb. If they seem interested you can pull the physical book or look up reviews on NoveList [professional opinions] and Goodreads [regular reader opinions] for more information. But the hardest part of your job-- finding a high interest title that is readily available and having something well thought out to say about it-- well that is done for you with these lists.

Covers: Finally, the least important reason I love this resource but a nice bonus, the cover is right there with the book's entry. Covers tell us a lot about a book [I have discussed it  many times and you can click here to read more on how to use covers in your service to readers] and having the cover in front of you before you pull the book is extremely helpful.

Please check out this year's and past year's previews and use them to make your job easier and your patron's happier.