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. 

Reading At The Desk: Yes, We Do That Here-- A Guest Post by Christen Wiser from Ela Area [IL] Public Library

While attending the Library Love Fest Adult Book Buzz yesterday [link to the video will be here], people in the chat were talking about how to write a policy that allows staff to read at the desk.

That made me think of my colleague, Christen Wiser, and the work she has done on this front. I offered to connect her to people with questions and quickly realized that there are many of you who are starting to tackle this issue.

While Christen never wrote an official policy, below is her argument for why they allow reading at the desk at her library and how they make it an active part of their award winning RA service. I am sharing  her "essay" with her permission and passing on her hope that it can help you make the argument for staff being able to read at the desk at your library a reality. 

____________________________________

Reading at the desk: Yes, we do that here.

My name is Christen Wiser. I’m the head of Popular Materials at Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich, IL. I lead a combined information and readers services desk that primarily serves adults and teens. It is staffed by part time information desk assistants and a small group of librarians. A few years ago, we were facing a conundrum. We process passports at the Info Desk. The applicant load overwhelmed the desk, choking out other services. We worked with the State Department and the Illinois Library Association to encourage other libraries to offer passport services in Illinois to relieve the pressure on our desk. It worked! Huzzah!

But a different issue emerged. The traffic at the desk slowed down. Now we actually had time for readers’ advisory! But patrons who always associated us with passports didn’t realize they could ask us for books...so they didn’t. The desk needed a rebrand and we needed to retrain our community -- and our staff -- to this new reality.

We started with training staff. We hosted Becky Spatford for sessions of RA for All and Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town. Fantastic! Staff were on board. But we still needed to get patrons to associate our desk with books. And my staff still needed something to do on desk during slow periods. I’m not a fan of creating busy work. It’s work to create more work. That has to be some form of managerial torture. But I really struggled with a solution.

How do our values get in the way of problem solving? How did this lead to reading on the desk? The breakthrough came after I attended ​Elevate Illinois Libraries Leadership Program​ in 2018. Dr. Adam Goodman asked us a question, which formed a kernel for me. I don’t remember his exact words, but to paraphrase: How do our values get in the way of solving problems?

My problem involved solving the pacing issue at my desk. I valued always looking available and welcoming at the desk. Reading at the desk felt opposite to that. It sent, I felt, a negative message. It didn’t look good to taxpayers and stakeholders. Staff would ignore patrons or look too busy to help. This wasn’t an optimal use of their time. All the arguments. You’ve heard them. You’ve argued them. So have I. But asking that one question really flipped this philosophy on its head and I began to regard reading at the desk as a solution. Here are a few ways my perspective changed.

Modeling behavior
As I said, my desk needed to rebrand. We wanted patrons to know what we do and how we can help them. A book in hand suggests...we can help with books! Plus, we want our patrons to read. We know they come into the library for many reasons: to use a study room, print documents, scan photos, attend storytime, etc. But libraries are still a book forward institution and we believe reading is a pleasure and a right. Let’s model that behavior to every person who comes through the door.

Building a community around books
My staff want to work. They want to keep occupied. They are curious and intelligent and want mental stimulation. It’s difficult in their position, because the majority of them are part time assistants without additional duties like collection development, committee work, or programming. If a patron isn’t standing in front of them or on the phone, then they don’t have a lot else to do. And have you ever noticed how the culture sours when it’s slow? That’s usually when the drama and gossip starts. I’m just saying! Allowing them to read at the desk was a decision to work with staff rather than against them. I prefer flow to resistance. They want to read at the desk without feeling like they have to look over their shoulder to see if I’m coming. I want that too. Having a positive focus, such as a good book, really improves morale because it minimizes the perils of ennui.

I can’t control the flow of patrons into the library. But I can allow staff to occupy slow periods by picking up a book or a magazine or newspaper. It invites patrons to ask them questions or start a conversation around the book. I love when I hear, “Oh! I read that book last week. Tell me what you think of it? Have you also read...?” Reading on the desk helps us build relationships with our community around books! And it helps staff to learn more about books, which leads into my next point.

Professional Development
It is surprising to me that in an institution where we expect staff to be knowledgeable about popular culture, even make it a requirement on job descriptions and review documentation, that we do not make space for this kind of professional development during work hours. Libraries provide CPR training, sexual harassment training, fire drills, etc. during work hours. We wouldn’t dream of making them do that unpaid. But we question whether or not we should allow staff to read at the desk. What will the taxpayers think? What will the board think? But we don’t question whether staff should consume popular materials, as required for their positions, at home and unpaid. Explain to me the ethics there. Yes, those of us who are credentialed librarians “expected that” when we signed up for this profession, but it still doesn’t make it ethical. In these litigious times, I truly believe libraries need to take a serious look at this issue. When it comes to unpaid work, courts will inevitably favor the employee.

As employers, libraries need to change the view on reading at work...as not work. When staff read at the desk, it is not a waste of tax dollars. They are doing the job they are paid to do while meeting the requirements of their positions. Reading at the desk gives them the opportunity to create depth and breadth for their readers’ advisory skills. If a patron or stakeholder raises concerns, it is perfectly appropriate to state that reading is a requirement of the position. When they say, “it must be nice to have a job where you can read all day.” Yes, yes, it is. But I have to say, these comments are far and few between. In fact, I’ve never heard them spoken to someone actively reading.

Setting Expectations
I don’t want to sidestep one more concern about reading at the desk. I felt it myself. Concerns about staff accidentally ignoring patrons or looking too busy are both valid. But they are not insurmountable. There is a simple solution, one that we should employ as managers regularly. I spent time with staff laying out expectations. For this to be successful, we have to be aware of the patrons entering our space. We have to look *and be* available. Proactive customer service is one of our standards that we literally have framed and mounted in our staff hallway. The RUSA guidelines for providing excellent reference service doesn’t fly out the window because we’re at a cliffhanger. A bookmark is a handy tool for these moments. Patrons come first. Period. Laying out the expectation along with some behavioral coaching is something we need to do regularly with our public desk staff regardless. In this case, training is a simple solution to making sure staff and patrons are happy.

In addition to training, we created an “Ask me what I’m reading” campaign for our desk staff to help bolster this expectation. Staff were provided with signage, pins, and bookmarks inviting patrons to engage them while they read. It’s a concept that we’ve seen out in library land and bookstores. And patrons do ask!

In summary, allowing reading at the desk created a positive solution to a challenging situation. It helped our desk build community and foster a joy of reading for themselves and for our patrons. Reading at the desk allowed them to hone their required advisory skills. And it channeled restless energy into positive outlet during downtimes at the desks. The concerns that are raised about reading at the desk have fairly simple solutions and is truly a positive use of tax dollars and staff time.

RA for All Virtual Road Show Visits NE Ohio for RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling

Today I am presenting my completely updated and overhauled program RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling for The Northeast Ohio Regional Library System.

This is a program that was on the books pre-virus, but I am happy to announce that I have added 2 more programs with this group in the meantime, both coming in May: my signature RA for All training and Recharge Your Book Club.

More on those later. Today we are going to talk about how to use your RA skills to build better displays, in person and online, and organize your collections in a way that is interactive for your patrons.

There are dozens of links embedded in this presentation, tips and tricks scattered throughout that you can use right now to help make your RA service more patron friendly. This is a fun and engaging presentation that provides tangible activities. It is an instructional pep talk, encouraging libraries to work together and think outside the "shelf" in order to serve patrons better.

And as always, if you have questions or want me to present for your group or staff, contact me here.

Click here to access the slides

RA for All Roadshow Visits the ILA Annual Conference for 2 Panel Presentations

Today is the final day of the ILA Annual Conference and I am sponsoring your coffee today!

I am also presenting twice. Below are the details on my panels with links to all of the slides, both mine and my fellow presenters. Access is for anyone, anywhere, at any time.

My first program is from 9am-10am, with two library colleagues and mystery author Tracy Clark. It is entitled, "Flip the Readers' Advisory Script: Think Like a Reader:"

Quit worrying about finding the perfect book for your patrons! Recover the joy of spring books with readers by going back to your own roots as a book lover. Join three librarians and one author who have found fun ways to craft and maintain inviting, diverse, and inclusive collections. Think less like a library worker and more like the joyful reader hiding inside you. When you engage your readers on their terms, you'll not only increase your circulation, but also revitalize you own enthusiasm!

I am presenting for the first 10-12 minutes and I will be interview Ms Clark to conclude the session. This one is going to be a lot of fun because we all get to focus on ourselves as readers!

We have organized a book sale and signing with Ms Clark immediately after the panel too, so stick around and get some awesome Chicago mysteries for your collections before heading to your next session.

Click here for the full details, including all presenters, our room assignment, and the links to everyone's slides and/or handouts.

Then later in the day, from 3-4pm, I will be a part of "Painless Promotion: Encouraging All Staff to Hype the Whole Library:"

Grow beyond the traditional marketing model and embrace a whole library philosophy where promotion is everyone's job. Informing the public of programs, services, and materials that will interest or help them solve a problem is at the core of what we already provide. But why do most library staff think marketing isn’t part of their job? None of these presenters are traditional marketers, but it is a part of how they serve patrons every day. Join them as they share practical tips to engage staff, inform the community, increase return on investment, and create a more positive experience for all.

Click here for the full details, including all presenters, our room assignment, and the links to everyone's slides and/or handouts.

RA for All Roadshow Visits Northeastern PA for a Day of Regional RA Training

One of the things I love about my job as a library consultant is the different types of groups I get to work with. Sometimes it is a single library system staff, others it is a gathering of the entire staff of a few small libraries all at once, and then I go to conferences where you get a whole mixed up group of library people. But some of the most satisfying work I do is targeted staff training as I will be doing today at a regional all day RA conference in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Why is it so satisfying? Because at these events I can teach as a "train the trainer." I am reaching more libraries at once because their RA staff are being sent by their library to this regional event. This means that the administration already has buy-in to do more RA or they wouldn't pay for the staff member to be with me. And, I am able to include more working together exercises so that these people, from all over the same region, but most of whom do not know each other well, will continue to reach out and work together after I leave.

It is the combination of energizing library workers from so many libraries and encouraging them to both bring the information back to their home turf and to continue working together that makes me so professionally happy. I have seen my participation in these types of event help large swaths of libraries, many of whom are not officially connected in anyway other than geographic proximity, improve their service to all readers. And honestly, improving service to leisure readers is why I do this in the first place.

That being said, while the schedule of events appears to be the same as the program I did earlier this month in WI, as I was going through my approach to these presentations for today, I realized what I will say and emphasize, is actually quite different. As it should be. First the audience is double the size today. Second, the previous presentation was for a single staff serving one population, while these library workers come from a wide range of service populations. And third, I have made some updates and additions to my standard presentations even from earlier this month.

Let's get to it. Remember, while these links are specifically for today's PA attendees, there is a lot here for all of my readers, including the very first exercise we are going to be doing during check-in time! Seriously, if any of you are going to a regional meeting or running a training anytime soon, feel free to borrow this exercise. 

Here is today's schedule of events:

9-9:30: Check in and Breakfast Exercise: As people enter, they will find two sheets of paper on their tables. Each paper will have a conversation starter question. Attendees will be encouraged to discuss both questions and record some of the answers on the paper. The sheets will be collected and the answers and ideas explored at each table will be compiled by the organizers so that all of the attendees can see what was discussed at every table. The questions I have chosen for this exercise today are:

• Why is it important to read diversely?
• What book fo you wish you could read again for the first time?

The other point about this exercise is that it gives people a conversation starter to connect with others during the breaks too. I will be facilitating this exercise and encouraging participants share with each other all day both formally and informally.

9:30-10:45: RA for All: Readers Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget. The implementation of this vital service is the responsibility of every staff member-- from pages to directors, from those behind the scenes to the ones on the front lines. This program will remove the mystery behind providing great RA service. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service” as a guide, Becky Spratford will use your own love of your favorite books to show you how to help any patron find their next great read. It's not as hard as you think. But more importantly, you will learn why a staff that can harness the power of sharing a great read will become a stronger team and improve service to all patrons, especially the hardest to reach ones.

• Follows my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service [updated this week!]

15 min break

11:00- 12: Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town: Booktalking is at the heart of what we do with patrons each and every day at the public library. Whether we are sharing books informally at the services desk, presenting a prepared list of books, or posting information online, talking about books is something we do each and every day. It is a core service, but it is also hard to teach. Booktalking is more of an art than a skill, but with the right guidance and some practice, it can go a long way toward engaging your patrons and re-energizing your staff. Join experienced Readers’ Advisory Becky Spratford as she shares the secret behind delivering great book talks, giving you tips and tricks you can begin using right away to hone your own skills. Rediscover the power and joy that comes from sharing books with patrons.

• Slide Access Here

Lunch 12-1 with Booktalking Exercise

1-2: Demystifying Genre: Nothing is scarier than trying to help a fan of a genre you yourself don’t enjoy. You want to help that, for example, Romance reader find the perfect book, but you are having trouble knowing where to begin because...eek!... you don’t read Romance. You are afraid they will find out you are a fraud. How can YOU possibly help THEM?!? Never fear, in this program, Readers’ Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, will teach you the basic appeals of the major genres, give you the inside track on what a fan of that genre is most drawn to, and provide you with talking points to get your genres readers to tell you what they want. This program focuses on providing you with a diverse and inclusive list of up to date authors with at least 40% of the example titles representing own voices. You will leave this session with the confidence and skill to help fans of every genre, regardless of whether or not you have ever read a book in that genre yourself. And that will leave a trail of happy patrons in your wake.

• Slide Access Here

15 min break

2:15-3: RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling Edition: If someone told you there’s a practical and easy way to increase circulation, patron visits, program attendance and the job satisfaction of your staff, would you do it? Of course you would. Librarian Becky Spratford has developed a method you can use to accomplish all of this and it plays off of the skills, talents, and interests you already possess. She’ll explain how to deepen staff involvement in readers’ advisory in a way that gets everyone from staff to patrons excited. You are spending a lot of effort and money on cultivating good collections, but are you giving those collections a fair chance to shine? Are you linking your work with patrons as you find them items to your programming and other services? Do your patrons even know the full breadth of what you offer them? And how are you measuring results? With just a few simple tweaks to how you already market your collections, services, programs and even staff, Becky will help you leave a trail of happier and more engaged patrons in your wake. 

• Slide Access Here

RA for All Roadshow Visits SWANx19

Today I am doing a brand new version of my signature program for my local catalog consortium's annual conference-- SWANx2019.

They asked me what I could do in their 45 minute slots and here is what I came up with:

11:00AM - 11:45AM​ Readers Advisory Rethink: Flip the Script and Think Like A Reader Classroom 4 (2nd Floor)Presented by Becky Spratford, Readers’ Advisory Specialist, Illinois Library LuminaryReaders Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service,” Becky Spratford of Illinois Library Luminary will show you how to use your love of books to help any patron find their next great read. Quit worrying about finding the perfect book for your patrons and recover the joy of sharing books with readers instead!

What I am trying here today is a shortened version of my signature program that focuses on the hands on aspects of my training. I will be going over rules 1-6 of my Ten Rules of Basic RA Service. The idea is to have the library workers in attendance spend their time connecting with a book they love, sharing it, and then giving them some direction on how to spread that love to others.

To be honest, when I was first approached to present tat this conference, I was a little miffed that I only got 45 minutes, but now, I am actually excited. This could become a useful program for these shorter time frames.

I do love SWAN too. We have one of the largest shared catalogs in the country. Our resource sharing is amazing, easy for staff and patrons, and a model for libraries throughout the country. Seriously, we are that awesome. I have never been available to present at this conference before, but this year, they asked me far enough in advance that I could block the day.

Click here for the full schedule of events and see below for the direct link to my slides. After the event the website will have handouts too.

Click here for live slides

RA for All Roadshow Visits Portage County [WI] Public Library

Today is the first day of my busy travel season. For a variety of reasons, libraries tend to the majority of their in person staff training between August and November which means, I will be bouncing around quite a bit over the next 4 months. For example, this week begins and ends with an in person presentation by me.

Currently, I am in Stevens Point, WI to provide a full day of training for the staff of the Portage County [WI] Public Library. This is a library that is very excited to start serving it's leisure readers better and I am so excited to help them take the next step.

Below is the schedule of today's events with links to the slides for all to access.

9:30-10:50: RA for All: Readers Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget. The implementation of this vital service is the responsibility of every staff member-- from pages to directors, from those behind the scenes to the ones on the front lines. This program will remove the mystery behind providing great RA service. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service” as a guide, Becky Spratford will use your own love of your favorite books to show you how to help any patron find their next great read. It's not as hard as you think. But more importantly, you will learn why a staff that can harness the power of sharing a great read will become a stronger team and improve service to all patrons, especially the hardest to reach ones.

• Follows my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service

11:00- 12: Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town: Booktalking is at the heart of what we do with patrons each and every day at the public library. Whether we are sharing books informally at the services desk, presenting a prepared list of books, or posting information online, talking about books is something we do each and every day. It is a core service, but it is also hard to teach. Booktalking is more of an art than a skill, but with the right guidance and some practice, it can go a long way toward engaging your patrons and re-energizing your staff. Join experienced Readers’ Advisory Becky Spratford as she shares the secret behind delivering great book talks, giving you tips and tricks you can begin using right away to hone your own skills. Rediscover the power and joy that comes from sharing books with patrons.

• Slide access here and this one features a BRAND NEW horror book talk.

Lunch 12-1 with Booktalking Examples

1-2: Demystifying Genre: Nothing is scarier than trying to help a fan of a genre you yourself don’t enjoy. You want to help that, for example, Romance reader find the perfect book, but you are having trouble knowing where to begin because...eek!... you don’t read Romance. You are afraid they will find out you are a fraud. How can YOU possibly help THEM?!? Never fear, in this program, Readers’ Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, will teach you the basic appeals of the major genres, give you the inside track on what a fan of that genre is most drawn to, and provide you with talking points to get your genres readers to tell you what they want. This program focuses on providing you with a diverse and inclusive list of up to date authors with at least 40% of the example titles representing own voices. You will leave this session with the confidence and skill to help fans of every genre, regardless of whether or not you have ever read a book in that genre yourself. And that will leave a trail of happy patrons in your wake.

• Slide access here

15 min break

2:15-3: RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling Edition: If someone told you there’s a practical and easy way to increase circulation, patron visits, program attendance and the job satisfaction of your staff, would you do it? Of course you would. Librarian Becky Spratford has developed a method you can use to accomplish all of this and it plays off of the skills, talents, and interests you already possess. She’ll explain how to deepen staff involvement in readers’ advisory in a way that gets everyone from staff to patrons excited. You are spending a lot of effort and money on cultivating good collections, but are you giving those collections a fair chance to shine? Are you linking your work with patrons as you find them items to your programming and other services? Do your patrons even know the full breadth of what you offer them? And how are you measuring results? With just a few simple tweaks to how you already market your collections, services, programs and even staff, Becky will help you leave a trail of happier and more engaged patrons in your wake. 

• Slide access here

RA for All Roadshow Visit the RSA Day at the Peoria Public Library

Today I am at the Peoria Public Library to provide the Keynote and 2 breakout sessions [that repeat, so four sessions but on 2 topics] for the Resource Sharing Alliance Training Day. It is a sell out, but all of the details are here.

I am excited to be there and thankful that RAILS provided RSA with a grant to make my appearance possible.

Below you can find the information about the entire day. I am sharing it because I think they have put together a wonderful day of training for a wide variety of library staff to partake in. I have inserted the links to my resources and slides where applicable.

Click here to see the announcement on L2 also.

RSA Day 2019!

When:		Wednesday, March 20, 2019 (9:30 AM - 3:30 PM)
Where:		Peoria Public Library (In Person, Max: 150)
Cost:		Free

All RSA member libraries are invited to a day of training.

Member Library Group: RSA Consortium
Event Coordinator: Alissa Williams
Email: alissaw@mortonlibrary.org
Phone: 309-263-2200

Join us on March 20, 2019 at the Peoria Public Library – Main Library for an exciting day of training. For our 3rd annual event we have altered the schedule to provide more in-depth sessions.
 - Breakout sessions #1 & #2 will repeat as will sessions #3 & #4.
 - Lunch is provided.

Please note Peoria Public Library – Main Library doors do not open until 9 a.m. 

The Schedule for the Day is as follows:

9:30-10:40 Welcome & Keynote
Keynote: “RA for ALL” Becky Spratford

• This talk follow Becky's 10 Rules of RA Service

Readers Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget. The implementation of this vital service is the responsibility of every staff member—from pages to directors, from those behind the scenes to the ones on the front lines. This program will remove the mystery behind providing great RA service. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service” as a guide, Becky Spratford will use your own love of your favorite books to show you how to help any patron find their next great read. It's not as hard as you think. But more importantly, you will learn why a staff that can harness the power of sharing a great read will become a stronger team and improve service to all patrons.

10:45-11:30 Breakout Sessions #1
11:40-12:40 Lunch
12:45-1:30 Breakout Sessions #2
1:45-2:30 Breakout Sessions #3
2:45-3:30 Breakout Sessions #4

We are pleased to announce our keynote speaker is Becky Spratford of RA for ALL. 

Becky Spratford is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All , and is on the Steering Committee of the Adult Reading Round Table .

She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist . Becky is also known for her work with horror readers as the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror , Second Edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association who honored her as a special guest of honor at StokerCon 2017 for her contribution to the genre. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll .

Becky will present her keynote “RA for ALL” as well as two breakout sessions. Her appearance is made possible by a RAILS Continuing Education Event Grant.

Breakouts #1 & #2:
   1. Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town by Becky Spratford
Booktalking is at the heart of what we do with patrons each and every day at the public library. Whether we are sharing books informally at the services desk, presenting a prepared list of books, or posting information online, talking about books is something we do each and every day. It is a core service, but it is also hard to teach. Booktalking is more of an art than a skill, but with the right guidance and some practice, it can go a long way toward engaging your patrons and re-energizing your staff. Join experienced Readers’ Advisory Becky Spratford as she shares the secret behind delivering great book talks, giving you tips and tricks you can begin using right away to hone your own skills. Rediscover the power and joy that comes from sharing books with patrons.

• Slide access here

    2. Cataloging Maintenance Center
Learn about what services the cataloging and maintenance center offers to all Illinois libraries.

    3. IMRF Basics
IMRF Field Representative Randy Stevens will provide you with an overview of your IMRF benefits. 

    4. RSA Cataloging (Session 1) & RSA Past, Present, Future (Session 2)
In Session 1 Cataloging topics will be discussed. In Session 2, RSA staff will share a brief history of RSA, our current state, and what our future holds as we work on a strategic plan and more granular, practical membership levels.

    5. Rural Libraries Unite! How to Feel Less Alone in a Small Rural Library
Are you new to your small rural library? Do you feel isolated and out of step with your bigger library neighbors? Do you wonder if you can find a mentor who understands the issues you face? You are not alone--Illinois has many small rural libraries and we are blessed with a sharing community! Join us at this session to:meet other staff members of small rural libraries, ask questions unique to small rural libraries, identify groups and mentors (Peoria Area Directors, Renegade Reference, Rural Directors etc). Presented by Beth Duttlinger and Michael Baumann. 

Breakouts #3 & #4:
    1. RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling Edition
If someone told you there’s a practical and easy way to increase circulation, patron visits, program attendance and the job satisfaction of your staff, would you do it? Of course you would. Librarian Becky Spratford has developed a method you can use to accomplish all of this and it plays off of the skills, talents, and interests you already possess. She’ll explain how to deepen staff involvement in readers’ advisory in a way that gets everyone from staff to patrons excited. You are spending a lot of effort and money on cultivating good collections, but are you giving those collections a fair chance to shine? Are you linking your work with patrons as you find them items to your programming and other services? Do your patrons even know the full breadth of what you offer them? And how are you measuring results? With just a few simple tweaks to how you already market your collections, services, programs and even staff, Becky will help you leave a trail of happier and more engaged patrons in your wake.

• Slide access here

    2. Practice Makes Perfect: Difficult Patron Role Play
Have you ever been yelled at by a patron? Have you ever had a patron get annoyed and decide to urinate over the computer keyboard because you do not understand his message? What about the patrons who think it is okay to bring their dogs into the library and eat the books? What about the patron who plays all the staff against each other so they never have to pay fines? These are just some of the TRUE problem patron stories that have been heard over the years in libraries everywhere. Ryan Franklin from the Illinois State Library and Michael Baumann from the Toulon Public Library will be acting out some of these scenarios, and giving the audience a chance to get involved. Volunteers will be given a chance to act as a problem patron, and see how a committee member would react.

    3. Big Day Programming
Many libraries have begun hosting large scale programming. Laura Warren will be discussing her library’s annual Star Wars Day, Amanda Shaffer will be telling us about Harry Potter Day, and Joel Shoemaker will be giving information on his Metamora Square(s): An Intergenerational Initiative program. We will have ideas about running these sorts of programs at your libraries, as well as advice on scaling these programs up or down to fit your patrons. We will talk about tips and tricks for running these sorts of programs on a budget. 

    4. RSA Cataloging (Session 3) & RSA Past, Present, Future (Session 4)
In Session 3 Cataloging topics will be discussed. In Session 4, RSA staff will share a brief history of RSA, our current state, and what our future holds as we work on a strategic plan and more granular, practical membership levels.

    5. Fine Free Libraries
Learn from libraries that have gone Fine Free on why they made the decision, how they implemented it and what the results have been. 

RA for All Virtual Roadshow Returns to Utah State Library

As part of my two webinar series with the Utah State Library, I am presenting my RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling program this morning.

This program focuses on the fact that all of the skills we already have and use for our most basic RA Service can also be used to increase staff and patron investment and involvement in your core services.

This program offers many ideas and options that encourage you to rethink what you already know and do, to allow you to go from good to GREAT. I am providing the spark, but you can do it. I have faith in you. Plus, you know what will worth with your patrons better than anyone else.

And, I have even updated it from when I gave this same presentation a week ago.

So if you work in Utah, I'll "see" you soon or catch you in the recording. For the rest of you, here are the slides with live links.

Click here for slide access 

RA for All Roadshow Visits the Wisconsin Library Association Pre-Conference

This morning I got up at the crack of dawn to make my way to the banks of the Mississippi in Lacrosse, Wisconsin so that I could be a part of the Wisconsin Library Association Conference today and tomorrow.

Today, I am providing one of the half day preconferences. Here is the schedule of events from the website, including the specific links for my programs. Conference attendees, please note that all links and handouts are also available on the conference website.

1:00 P.M. - 2:15 P.M. 
RA for All 
Readers Advisory belongs in every library, no matter its budget or type. The implementation of this vital service is the responsibility of every staff member-- from pages to directors, from those behind the scenes to the ones on the front lines. This program will remove the mystery behind providing great RA service. Using her “Ten Rules of Basic RA Service” as a guide, Becky Spratford will use your own love of your favorite books to show you how to help any patron find their next great read. It's not as hard as you think. But more importantly, you will learn why a staff that can harness the power of sharing a great read will become a stronger team and improve service to all patrons.

• This program follows my 10 Rules of  Basic RA Service

15-Minute Break

2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. 
Booktalking: Harnessing the Power of Sharing Books with Patrons
Booktalking is at the heart of what we do with patrons each and every day at the public library. Whether we are sharing books informally at the service desk, presenting a prepared list of books, or posting information online, talking about books is something we do each and every day. It is a core service, but it is also hard to teach. Booktalking is more of an art than a skill, but with the right guidance and some practice it can go a long way toward engaging your patrons and re-energizing your staff. Join experienced Readers Advisory Specialist Becky Spratford as she shares the secrets behind delivering great book talks, giving you tips and tricks you can begin using right away to hone your own skills. Rediscover the power and joy that comes from sharing books with patrons.

• Here are the slides. Also, this program has had a name change. It is now-- Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town

3:30 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Facilitated Booktalking Practice

10-Minute Break

4:10 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.  
RA Rethink: Merchandising and Upselling Edition 
If someone told you there’s a practical and easy way to increase circulation, patron visits, program attendance and the job satisfaction of your staff, would you do it? Of course you would. Becky has developed a method you can use to accomplish all of this and it plays off of the skills, talents, and interests you already possess. She’ll explain how to deepen staff involvement in readers advisory in a way that gets everyone from staff to patrons excited. You are spending a lot of effort and money on cultivating good collections, but are you giving those collections a fair chance to shine? Are you linking your programming and other services to items you are finding for your patrons? Do your patrons even know the full breadth of what you offer them? And how are you measuring results? With just a few simple tweaks to how you already market your collections, services, programs and even staff, Becky will help you leave a trail of happier and more engaged patrons in your wake.

• Slides access is here

Call to Action: Try a Completely New Resource

Today’s Call to Action is in honor of the Jewish New Year which I am celebrating today.

I have always enjoyed celebrating the New Year in Fall. I have so many good memories of the new beginnings, contemplative hours in temple being asked to think about the year that was and the year that will be [from a very young age, that time taught me so much about self reflection], and momentum events in my life that were tied to Rosh Hashanah. I even met my non-Jewish husband because of a series of events that began with how I celebrated my first Rosh Hashanah away from home and I made life long connections those first weeks of the first year of college because of the High Holidays.

Honestly, to me, Fall is always the start of the New Year and I have especially loved the excuse to be able to take time during a busy part of the year to step back and appreciate the beauty of life. This year I am especially focusing on the positive for this 1 day.

I am also using the Jewish New Year as an inspiration for all of you to try something NEW. We all get in a rut and use the same resources as we help reader after reader. And honestly, sometimes we can go weeks without switching it up beyond our tried and true personal favorites. We know how they work, we can manipulate them to get the answers we need quickly, we are conformable using them. But...

...there is also something to be said for changing it up a little. You don’t know what is out there and how it could help your patrons if you don’t give new things a try. Specifically using a different resource not only allows you to find new suggestions for your patrons, ones your tried and true resources might not pull up, but some of them will also inspire you to broaden the type of questions you ask your patrons, thus leading to entirely new avenues of conversation.

You can pick ANY resource that is new to you [if you use my tag “resources," it will pull up the ones I have talked about in reverse chronological order], but in true Becky fashion, I cannot give you Call to Action marching orders without at least giving you one example.

I have talked about the wonderful Largehearted Boy site before, mostly for its comprehensive year end lists. But first, from the about statement:

• largehearted boy is a literature and music website that explores that spot in the venn diagram where the two arts overlap.

Today, I want to advocate for using the Book Notes series specifically to help patrons. Again, from the site:

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. 

Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.

And, the lists go back to 2005! There are links to the archives everywhere on the site-- left gutter, end of each post, and through a keyword search by author or title of a book.


Why I love using these music-book hybrid essays is precisely because they are slightly outside the box. I have found that if there is a book or author a patron has really enjoyed for which Largehearted Boy has one of these Book Notes, it is the perfect RA conversation starter. Each essay is written by the book's author, and they talk about each song they have chosen and why it fits the specific book. Looking at these essays with a patron opens up entirely different avenues of conversation about the book and/or author in question than just talking about the book itself. Even reading an interview with the author isn’t as good because asking an author to pick a playlist for their book is so much more specific than most interviews. They get more personal and bring up interesting tangents relating to the  appeal of the story, ones that the patron might not have considered before, ones that you can then use for new avenues of searching, ones that will lead to an outside the box suggestion. You may even surprise yourself where this resource takes you; I know this because it has happened to me, both as I helped patrons and myself.

Just using this resource to shake us out of asking the same old appeal based questions to a patron about their favorite books, is worth your time, even if you then go to a tried and true resource to finish up the interaction. I also love using these book-music hybrid essays to inspire me. Forcing your brain to think a little differently about the same type of questions is invigorating and often sparks new ideas.

So there is my suggestions, but honestly, any new to you resource will give you the same type of invigoration and inspiration. Also, don’t only do this once a year. I know I am posting this Call to Action because of the holiday, but I do try to go out of my way to answer a routine question with a totally different and/or new resource about once a month, if only to keep me fresh and continuously excited to help the next person.

Happy New Year to those celebrating with me.

For past Call to Action posts, click here.

Give Them What They Want: Reader Focused Collection Development

Almost exactly a year ago I moderated a live event for Booklist and NoveList at the Chicago Public Library [click here for those details and slides or go here to see the recording]. Before we went live, Karen Toonen [from Naperville Public Library, also on ARRT SC and a panelist that day] and Stephen Sposato [see below] and I were chatting about ideas for the 2018 slate of ARRT programs. I threw out the idea of building a program off of CPL’s success with Patron Driven Acquisitions and between the three of us we brainstormed an awesome idea for a program.

Flash forward to today and I can finally announce that program. Karen and I are organizing it [along with ARRT SC members Mike and Nicole; click here to see the full list of all SC members] and we have recruited Stephen to be on the panel. We are also very thankful for the Chicago Public Library and specifically the Archer Heights branch for allowing us to use their space for free.

All of this volunteer effort means we can offer you an amazing program [with snacks!] for only $25 or $15 if you are already an ARRT member.

You can find all of the details below including the link to register [you can prepay with credit card, send a check, or pay at the door, whatever is easiest for your library or you if you have to pay for yourself]. As one of the organizers, I have also added a bit more detail on the content of each panelist’s talk in order to give you even more reason to attend.

Click here to register right now!

Readers are flocking to library’s leisure collections. To make smart collection choices, we must look further than circulation statistics and learn what our entire community desires. Our presenters are using methods suitable at libraries of any size to incorporate patron wishes into collection development, making readers integral to the whole process. From complex patron-driven acquisitions plans at large library systems, to bite-size surveys at the smallest libraries, to prioritizing patron requests, to canny materials displays, all of these librarians are finding innovative ways to put what readers want front and center, and to ferret out even the hardest-to-discover reading desires.

Join us Tuesday, September 25, 2:00- 4:00 PM, at the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library, for “Give Them What They Want: Reader-Focused Collection Development.”
Presenters: 

• Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian, Timberland Regional Library (WA)

• Stephen Sposato, Content Curation Manager, Chicago Public Library

• Nicole Steeves, Director, Fox River Grove Memorial Library

• Rebecca Bartlett, Collection Services Manager, La Grange Public Library

$15 for ARRT members, $20 for non-members 

Register here 

Since I am one of the organizers of this event, I can give you a little more detail on exactly what each speaker will be focusing on.

Robin, will be appearing virtually and she will set the stage by explaining the philosophy behind reader driven collection development and give concrete examples of how she puts this phliophy into action across a region.

Stephen and Nicole are going to present together about the very specific process of instituting Patron Driven Acquisitions [PDA] through your catalog, but the interesting thing here is that Stephen implemented PDA at Chicago Public while Nicole does it at a small more rural library. They are going to show us all how size doesn’t matter when you put the patron first.

And then Rebecca will round out the program with information about the La Grange Public Library’s Lucky Day program. While many libraries have a program similar to theirs, very few crunch the data and cross reference it with strategic plan goals as closely. Also, the Lucky Day program at LGPL puts all formats and age levels of lucky day materials together, right as you enter the library. Also a unique decision. Rebecca will give both the nitty gritty details of how to craft a “Luck Day” collection and why how you display that collection matters. [Hint LGPL uses it to make the library more welcoming to all. Seriously how many libraries have you been to where James Patterson's and Jason Reynolds’ latest books are the first thing you see...on the same shelf...next to each other!]

If you cannot join us, all of the slides and handouts will be available on the ARRT Programs page [go there to see past programs’ slides and handouts] and many of us will be Live Tweeting the event.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer this event virtually. There are many reasons but the biggest one is that ARRT is powered 100% by volunteers. We have no paid Executive Director. Our individual employers are already very gracious about giving us each time to fulfill our ARRT duties including time off to help plan and  stage events. We put on 3-4 programs a year [this year the 4th is at the ILA Annual Conference], an every other year, all day RA conference, 4 Book Club Study meetings, and 6 Genre Study meetings each year. In 2018 will also have a presence at 2 local library conferences. We really want to offer our programs virtually, but we have decided that we are not willing to sacrifice the high level of our in person programming to provide virtual too.

But, I am already exploring how I can get this program or something similar presented in other locations in the coming year. That’s the ideal situation; helping other regional RA groups to offer programming to their area with advice from their local practitioners. It is not only cheaper, but it is also going to be able to be offered more often and the information will be tied to the needs of that area. But that is something I am taking on, not ARRT.

As always, if you stay tuned to the blog you will know about it as soon as there is something to announce.