RA for All Guest Post: Meredith and KHCPL's Heat Index

For my next guest post I am featuring Meredith from Kokomo-Howard County [IN] Public Library. I have been working with Meredith to plan her library system’s in-service training this coming December [which they have hired me to do]. Meredith was recently made the coordinator for all RA across the multi-building district so she is very busy, but also very excited to inject some much needed RA into their busy library’s daily routine.

During one of our planning talks, Meredith mentioned that she created a “Heat Index” for Romance. It was being used by the patrons and the staff to facilitate more comfortable sharing of Romance preferences, both more comfortable for the patrons to be honest and for the library workers to ask delicate questions.

I asked Meredith to write something up for me to share with all of you.  If you want to ask Meredith more questions about her heat index, click here for the phone number of her library.

On a side note, meeting people like Meredith is why I love my job as an RA Consultant. I honestly learn as much from meeting and working with all of you-- from all over the world-- as you do from me. So for that reason alone I thought Meredith’s post was the best place to start this guest postapolooza. That and come on, starting off with the “heat” is kinda fun too.

Take it away Meredith.....

RA for Romance: Introducing the Heat Index

By Meredith Wagner

Readers’ Advisory Coordinator

Kokomo-Howard County Public Library

The idea of a heating rating may be nothing new to those familiar with the romance publishing industry, but to even avid fans of the genre it may come as a surprise. 

After all, romance novels are all about sex, right? Yes and no. The defining characteristic of the romance genre is a woman’s sexual awakening, and the plot revolves around her relationship(s) with another person (or persons). Within this framework, stories run the gamut from kisses only or euphemistic implied sex behind closed doors all the way to a wild romp described in explicit detail. 

Readers often know what kinds of stories they like but are unable to express exactly what that is. To assist, many publishers have developed their own heat rating systems although there is no official thermometer for the romance industry. As a readers’ advisory tool, I created a Heat Index by distilling a combination of explanatory sources. The most basic heat generating criteria are the amount of sexual content, the type of sexual acts (traditional vs. taboo), and the level of description for the sexual encounters. The other significant factors are the number of partners, the degree of commitment in the relationship(s), and the emphasis on emotional and physical experience.

In defining the varying heat levels, my goal was to use the most simple and judgement-free terminology possible. While the romance industry may be comfortable using terms like “erotica,” “erotic romance,” and “BDSM,” many readers (particularly people living in conservative communities) may not. The categories I devised were: chaste, warm, hot, spicy, and explicit. 

After defining the heat levels, I then sought out authors for each temperature based on romance review sites. To be sure that the example authors for each heating rating were correct, I even skimmed some of their best known works, which, for someone who is not a romance reader, was quite eye-opening. And, viola!, the library’s own heat rating system for the romance genre was born. 

Below is the bookmark and flyer we made as well as the text pulled out (at the bottom) so you can see it all clearly.

Sweet & Chaste

Sensuality: Kissing and Allusion (“closed” door)

One Partner

Emotional Focus

Commitment: Marriage

Authors: 

• Kristan Higgins
• Debbie Macomber
• Betty Neels
• Pamela Morsi
• Deborah White Smith
• LaVryle Spencer
• Lisa Wingate

Warm

Sensuality: Mild Description and Euphemism, 1 to 2 scenes (“open” or “closed” door)

One Partner

Emotion Focus

Commitment: Engagement or Marriage

Authors: 

• Judith Arnold
• Mary Balogh
• Gail Carriger
• Dakota Cassidy
• Jennifer Crusie
• Edith Layton
• Nora Roberts
• Susan Wiggs
• Rebecca York

Hot

Sensuality: Detailed Description, Multiple scenes (“open” door)

One Partner

Equal Emotional and Physical Focus

Commitment: Monogamous

Authors: 

• Leanne Banks
• Diana Gabaldon
• Linda Howard
• Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Lisa Kleypas
• Linda Lael Miller
• Karen Marie Moning
• J.D. Robb
• Nora Roberts

Spicy

Sensuality: Graphic Description, Multiple scenes 

Multiple partners and/or light novelty

Physical Focus 

Commitment: Possible

Authors: 

• Jacqueline Carey
• Christine Feehan
• Lori Forster
• Laurell K. Hamilton
• Lora Leigh
• Lynsay Sands
• Gena Showalter
• J.R. Ward 

Explicit

Sensuality: Intensely Graphic Description 

Multiple partners, alternate lifestyles, and/or fetish

Physical Focus

Commitment: None

Authors: 

• Wahida Clark
• Olivia Cunning
• Laurell K. Hamilton
• Emma Holly
• E.L. James
• Alison Kent
• Angela Knight
• Madeline Sheehan
• Nikki Turner
• Joanna Wylde

RA for All Guest Post: Novel Tea at the Hinsdale [IL] Public Library

Today we kick off the guest posts with Emily Borsa and Maura Schoo from the Hinsdale [IL] Public Library and their Novel Tea Program.

This is a great program to engage patrons in a “book discussion” type program in a community where there is heavy book discussion saturation.  

So here are Emily and Maura to explain what they do and how it works; they even included sample handouts....

With over 45 active book clubs in town, our library hasn’t had much luck hosting the typical book discussion program.   Existing services to the local clubs include bringing in multiple copies of titles for use by the members and creating discussion guides for use during their meetings.   With so many traditional clubs already in the community, we needed to find a way to meet the needs of readers in a new way, so the Novel Tea quarterly book discussion was formed.

Two librarians, Emily and Maura, each book talk recently published books that they have read and enjoyed. It is helpful that their reading tastes differ because it gives the book talk range and variety. The discussion is then opened up to participants to share titles that they have recently read.  All attendees receive a handout with Maura & Emily’s picks, enjoy some tea and sweet treats, and the occasional raffle prize.  A follow up newsletter (created with Library Aware) compiling all of the attendees recommendations, along with any other interesting tidbits generated by the discussion, is created and emailed to the group the following week.

Our attendees tend to be avid readers who love to talk about books so the group conversation is always lively.  Everyone appreciates a chance to share their favorite authors & titles with the group.  The dialogue primarily runs itself but Maura & Emily occasionally chime in to moderate or redirect a question so everyone gets a chance to speak. This is a great program for book club members to attend who are seeking ideas for their next club read. 

This program has been a success from the very first session.  We currently max out at 15 people (and 90 minutes) and all sessions to date have been filled.   The handouts are created through Library Aware and are great because we have them linked on our website and Pinterest pages. They are very easy to pull up and print, and easy to share on social media.

Novel Tea is also portable as an outreach opportunity.   We have recently begun visiting a local assisted living facility to conduct the program to interested residents.  The discussion was a great segue way to promote the library’s homebound delivery service.  On future visits we will bring our mobile circulation tools to create/renew library cards and check out copies of the featured books to the attendees.

Local paper article: http://tinyurl.com/DoingsNVTEA

HPL website page with handouts posted: http://tinyurl.com/hplnvltea

RA for All Guest Post Time

It is time for me to take a break and enjoy family and friends, but I didn’t want to leave you all in the lurch while I was gone.  Also, even I get sick of only hearing only my ideas all the time. So, from now through August 1, it is guest postapolooza here on RA for All. [which is extra punny because Lollapalooza is here in Chicago during this stretch of time.]

I solicited guest posts from you, my readers, and asked some colleagues directly to share some of their thoughts and expertise with you all.

But before we begin with the new guest posts today, I wanted to acknowledge some of the guest posts I have featured over the last 9 years of RA for All!

I never thought I would have that many guest posts, a fact I came to understand all to clearly as I was preparing this post and I realized, I never tagged any of those posts “guest post.” Don’t worry, I spent 45 minutes fixing that problem, and now all you have to do is click the tag "guest post" here or in the right gutter to pull them all up.

Word of warning, many of these people do not work at the same places they did back when they contributed a guest post, so please keep that in mind. But with the passage of time there are also some wonderful gems to find in the tag, like one of Leah White’s very first written pieces about merchandising in libraries, a topic she has gone on to share all over the country. Or, my former intern Elizabeth, now ARRT Steering Committee member and Asst. Head of Adult Services at her library, talking about being a brand new librarian [she is now the Assistant Head of Adult Services at her library].

I purposely did not link to the above teased posts by the way. I want you to click here and use the guest post tag to find some words of wisdom from those who have shared their expertise here on the blog before. Discover it for yourself.

And then sit back and wait for a new post from a different person for the next week and a half. I know I learned a lot by reading through these posts as I was scheduling them for you. They are worth your time. I hope you keep visiting while I am on vacation.

Also, thanks to all of my contributors, now, in the past, and to come in the future. If you think you have something worth sharing here on RA for All, contact me and we can talk about it.  I am always interested in hearing what people are doing to help their readers out there.

Under the Radar Book Discussion Books

Tomorrow, the Adult Reading Round Table's Literary Book Discussion and Leadership Training will be meeting in Batavia to discuss The Sisters Brothers.  Here is my post about this wonderful book from back in 2011 when I first read it.

But today, I want to talk about the Leadership Topic designated for this meeting.

From the ARRT book discussion site:

As always, discussion of the book includes a nuts-and-bolts session devoted to sharing practical solutions to the problems and concerns of book discussion leaders.

The Leadership Training Discussion, led by Elizabeth Hopkins, will offer participants a chance to share their favorite under the radar book discussion gems.  Please come ready to book talk a title or two that worked really well with your group. Try to focus on less obvious choices.  We will turn the notes into a Library Aware bibliography that everyone can share with their book groups.  Also, feel free to bring questions about specific titles you might want to try but aren't sure about to see if anyone has tried them already.

I will not be able to make this meeting tomorrow, so today I am contributing a title to list we are trying to make to help every book club leader.

As my under the radar title, I want to suggest The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. You can click here for my full book discussion report, but I also made it easy for you [and for tomorrow's notetaker] and have attached it below.

Look for the full crowd sourced list of under the radar book discussion titles that worked surprisingly well coming in August.

__________________________________________

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012

BPL Book Discussion: The Ghost Map

Monday we met and had an engaging, interesting, and I would even venture to say a bit raucous, discussion of Steven Johnson's 2006 bestseller and award winning The Ghost Map.  Here is the official summary from the publisher:

"This is a story with four protagonists: a deadly bacterium, a vast city, and two gifted but very different men.” So begins Steven Johnson’s multi-layered account of the 1854 London cholera epidemic. London was just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world, but it lacked the public health infrastructure to support its exploding population. As a result, the city became the perfect breeding ground for a deadly disease. Rising up against the dogma of the scientific community, two men, Dr. John Snow and Reverend Henry Whitehead, attempted to put a stop to the epidemic, and in doing so revolutionized the way we think of the spread of disease, the nature of scientific inquiry, and the rise of the modern city.

So yes, we had a great discussion about sewage and poop.  I was a bit worried before we started, so I made a conscious effort to get the uncomfortable stuff out of the way from the start.  I began by saying, "I know we usually start by asking who liked, disliked, and was so-so on the book, but I realize no one is going to admit to liking a book about poop, so I will change the question to who found the book interesting, not interesting enough to get over that it is about poop, or so-so."

This did a lot to alleviate the discomfort a few people had when they came in.  I diffused the situation with humor and a direct acknowledgement of the subject matter.  If you discuss this book, even of you are okay with talking about poop in public (I'm all good, my hubby is a doctor; poop is tame for our house), don't underestimate how uncomfortable others may be.  Cut it off at the pass.

Now on to the discussion:

• We had 9 Interestings and 5 so-so, but not a single person raised their hand for not interesting.  People had different parts that they enjoyed more than others.  Many cited how much they enjoyed the history of science angle.  One person got specific and said she really liked following the discovery process.  Another group of people said what most intrigued them was how Johnson probed into why people hang on to a wrong idea for so long, and how John Snow worked tirelessly to change their minds.
• One of my favorite comments of the entire discussion came from the participant who said that this book reminded her that "clean water is a gift."
• We talked at length about how Johnson structured the book. This will come up frequently as I recount our discussion.  The first issue that came up about this was that there were a few people who disliked the opening chapter.  This chapter was all about the way the sanitation was handled by different people who worked in the underclasses in Victorian England.  There was a lot of detail about how poop was scooped and recycled/disposed of (to put it succinctly).  Those who really enjoyed the epidemiology part of the book, said they just needed to get past this part.
• In general John structures the book in a narrative style. He is telling us the story of as I quoted above, "...a deadly bacterium, a vast city, and two gifted but very different men.”  This is not a linear story. As a result, they are a lot of "side stories" or tangents that Johnson goes off on for longer periods of time before eventually making his way back to Snow and Rev Whitehead (the two gifted men).  Some people were turned off by this wandering style, but a few others loved it. One participant said, "the way he told the story was exactly how my brain works; moving around and following the different leads and questions before going back to the main point."
• The cholera bacteria itself is also a character here.  One woman summed it up perfectly. She started talking about how it attacked the body.  As she was going into some of the graphic details, she cringed a bit.  I asked her if it bothered her.  She straightened up and said, "Oh no.  It was gross, but it was great!."  We all liked learning how bacteria alone are nothing, but how when they come together, they get a group intelligence. We know all know how they use us to live, but when the cholera bacteria kills us, they too die, unless they can get back in the water supply to find a new intestine.
• We talked about John Snow.  Below, I have a link to a large online archive of his work, and there I learned how he is not known in the normal world, but among doctors and medical workers, he is considered the best doctor ever.  We talked about why Snow was the man to finally convince the world that things we could not see in the water were causing cholera, not a bad smell.  Here are some things that were said:
• he was curious
• the ultimate researcher
• cared about people
• very skilled and studied every kind of medicine
• lower class origins so was willing to go into the homes of the poor
• was willing to look elsewhere for answers
• He was more than a doctor: he was a physician, one of the first anesthesiologists, a statistician, an anthropologists, a sociologist, an epidemiologist, a map maker, a public health worker.
• While Farr made a map of the deaths from cholera, Snow used the data and his work on the street level to make that death map into a ghost map.  It was about the people and how they lived rather than just statistics about where and when they died.  This was key to finding the index case and proving how the cholrea got from one baby's dirty diaper into the entire water supply for one neighborhood.
• He was courageous: it takes courage to fight those with all the money and power, but Snow did it
• We decided Snow was like a third party candidate would be today; this led us on a side tangent (Johnson would have been proud) on how much we need a third party candidate with Snow's qualities today. Someone who would allow us to look at the whole picture from a bird's eye view, just as he did with this cholera outbreak.
• We decided that Bill Gates is like Snow.  He has the time, money, brains, and influence to tackle similar issues.  Right now, Gates is working on clean water issues in Africa.
• This book is an emotional roller coaster ride, noted one person. We know Snow will win out and people will conquer cholera, making it safe to live in cities as a species for the first time in history, but the trip to get there was emotional.  Many of us were extremely touched by the discussions of entire families suffering and dying together behind closed doors.  But we also decided that the 8 days chronicled in this book really did change the world forever.  At least the suffering was all worth it.  But as a counter point, you could not relax while reading this book.  That comment really struck a chord with a majority of the group.  While everyone found the book interesting and are very glad they read it, very few enjoyed the reading experience in the traditional sit back and read a good book way. 
• Back to the style for a second.  Not only are there a lot of side stories here, but a few people commented on how there is a lot of repetition.  Johnson hammers the same points over and over again.  One person said, "It was like my husband talking to me." I refocused the group and asked them to consider that maybe Johnson was repetitive for a reason.  In general I find that when something about the style bothers the group, if I ask them to consider why the author made this style choice and get them to stop thinking about whether they liked it or not, I can squeeze some discussion out of them beyond, "I didn't like that part." It was suggested that maybe he used repetition to underscore how meticulously Snow had to build his case against the miasma theory.  Johnson wore us down to show how hard it was to knock the prevailing theory down.
• The last 2 sections (conclusion and epilogue) brought out a lot of negativity.  Multiple people asked where the editor was here.  The problem is that the tone changes.  The book proper ends with summing up the work of Snow and then a comment about how there is a still a pub on the same spot from that fateful summer, only it has been renamed The John Snow.  But then the conclusion and epilogue are, as one person put it, Johnson up on a soapbox. We liked how he made the case for living in cities as the best way for people to live: it is cheaper, greener, and safer.  We loved learning about how NYC's 311 helps them to collect data about how New Yorker's live. But then he gets into terrorism.  The best way someone put it was that the narrative shift was very jarring.  The book went from carefully constructed narrative to soapbox preaching.  Even when we agreed with him, we did not appreciate the style. We understood that he wanted to make the connection to today, but we felt he had already done that.
• Instead, we decided we would have liked more about how people still hang on to ideas that are wrong and how we can convince people to change their minds.  Snow was an information manager.  Someone mentioned how today we are only at the beginning of "The Information Age" and we would have liked to see Johnson talk about that more. He only grazed the surface of that issue.
• By the way, we wanted more detailed examples of Snow's maps.  You can see them online here, but in the book would have been good.  The one map we get is fuzzy and has very little detail.

At the end of the book, Johnson points the reader to a webiste hosted by UCLA's school of public health that is deidcated to John Snow's life and times.  Click here to access it.

Readalikes:  NoveList suggests some good readalikes for The Ghost Map in its book discussion guide.  They include but are not limited to:

• London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd
• The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby
• The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
• Cholera, Chloroform, and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow by Peter Vinten-Johansen, Howard Brody, Nigel Paneth, Stephen Rachman, and Michael Russell Rip
• The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester

You can access the "why" each of these books works by going to NoveList through your local public library.

I think these books represent a nice range of readalike option.  To these I wanted to add some other nonfiction that shares no subjects in common, but all are authors who combine science and history and write their books with an engaging style:

• Walter Isaacson
• Michael Pollan
• Dava Sobel

I have also read a few historical novels which are engaging but also teach you something interesting and different:

• The historical mysteries of Matthew Pearl
• Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
• Brookland by Emily Barton

Finally, the last section of The Ghost Map has a lot about today's squatter cities with their similar structure to Victorian England.  One of this year's consensus best books addresses this issue directly, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo.  It makes a great 21st Century companion read to Johnson's Victorian set work.

RA for All Training at Westmont [IL] Public Library

It's a brand new week and I am kicking it off bright and early by bringing my signature and highly interactive RA for All training to Westmont Public Library, right down the street. And it all starts at 8 am!

Actually that timing is what is so great about this training. I am going to give this high energy, RA training, pep talk from 8-10 am and then they will open the doors at the normal time for a Monday. The staff will learn something new and get a beginning of the week jolt and the patrons will not have to suffer a library closure. Everybody wins here.

I would normally have a Call to Action at the start of the week, but instead of putting that call to action on the blog, it is going to be given live to the staff of Westmont Library.

Don't worry, I am not forgetting about the rest of you. Take this post today as a reminder that you can always practice your basic RA skills. To help jog your memory, here is a link to the Basic Rules of RA Service that I will be using with the library staff this morning.

And don't be jealous, I can come to your library either in person or virtually to deliver any of my RA programs. Just contact me.  I had 2 openings in November just open back up [they rescheduled, one to earlier and one next year]. But don't wait because even 2017 is starting to fill up. April and March are both closed to out of state travel [April to local programs too] and February is starting to book.

So basically, contact me SOON if you want me at your library in the next 6-9 months.

Time to start "RA for All" at Westmont Public Library.....

Library Reads: August 2016

As part of my self appointed duty to keep an index of all Library Reads titles here on the blog with one click on the Library Reads tag, here is the August 2016 list.

This is also your monthly reminder to use that tag to access the huge store of backlist titles that all make great suggestions to patrons hungry for a good read. And, you have the annotation at your finger tips so you can book talk it too.

Please, please, please, I cannot stress enough how rich a resource the backlist Library Reads titles are to you as you work on the desk with readers. The titles from 1-2 years ago will be on the shelf and they are pre-approved “good reads” that appeal to a wide, general audience. And again, you have a pre-written book talk to hand sell the title.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the Library Reads backlist is one of my most used resources when suggesting books to patrons, friends, and family.

Yes, the current lists are great to generate excitement and holds. Please post the nice color PDF’s of the current lists at your library. But the backlist archive is where you will have the most success working with and winning over patrons.

Library Reads is a win-win-win for library workers, publishers, and patrons.

August 2016 LibraryReads List

A Great Reckoning:
A Novel

by Lousie Penny

Published:8/30/2016 by Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250022134

“Armand Gamache is back, and it was worth the wait. As the new leader of the Surete academy, Gamche is working to stop corruption at its source and ensure the best start for the cadets. When a copy of an old map is found near the body of a dead professor, Gamache and Beauvoir race against the clock to find the killer before another person dies. A terrific novel that blends Penny’s amazing lyrical prose with characters that resonate long after the book ends. Highly recommended.”

David Singleton, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Charlotte, NC

The Couple Next Door

by Shari Lapena

Published: 8/23/2016 by Pamela Dorman Books
ISBN: 9780735221086

“This book is so full of twists and turns that my head was swiveling. Who took baby Cora? Marco and Anne decide to leave their baby home alone. After all, they share a wall with their neighbors, with whom they are partying. They would take turns checking in on her baby monitor. But when they return to their flat the first thing they find is an open door and no Cora. Who’s to blame? Could it be an unlikely suspect that you won’t see coming? If you like a book that keeps you guessing until the very end you won’t be disappointed.”

Debbie Frizzell, Johnson County Library, Roeland Park, KS

Watching Edie

by Camilla Way

Published: 8/2/2016 by NAL
ISBN: 9781101991633

“Twisty psychological banter makes this book a thrill ride. Edie was the girl in high school who had it all. Heather was the awkward girl who wanted so badly to be accepted. That was high school and now Edie is a single mom caught in a dead end job. She is about to lose it when Heather comes to her rescue. While Edie loves being able to get her life back, the hold that Heather has on her and the baby is disconcerting. The story jumps back and forth between past and present and you will change your mind about their friendship right up to the last page.”

Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living

by Louise Miller

Published: 8/9/2016 by Pamela Dorman Books
ISBN: 9781101981207

“Talented chef Olivia Rawlings didn’t make the best decisions in her love life, but it takes an accident with a flambéed dessert to force her into a major life change. She flees to a small town in Vermont and takes a job at a small inn. She soon discovers that even though the town is small, the world she has known is about to get much bigger. Miller’s writing is descriptive enough to imagine Olivia in this setting, smell her pastries baking, and hear the music in the story. Miller has captured the essence of a great character in a setting that could easily feel like home to many readers.”

Jennifer Ohzourk, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, MO

The Dollhouse: A Novel

by Fiona Davis

Published: 8/23/2016 by Dutton
ISBN: 9781101984994

“This is the story of the women who stayed in the Barbizon Hotel in the 1950’s. A reporter is tipped off about one of the women, who still lives in the building over 60 years later. As she tries to research a murder and a case of switched identities, she starts becoming part of the story. The narration switched between 2016 and 1952 and as I read the novel, I soon got caught up in the next piece of the puzzle. It had history, romance, and a way to view the changing roles of women. Enjoyed it very much!”

Donna Ballard, East Meadow Public Library, East Meadow, NY

The Book That Matters Most: A Novel

by Ann Hood

Published: 8/9/2016 by W.W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393241655

“A recently separated woman seeks solace and purpose in a local book group, while her daughter is dealing with her own life-changing problems that just might be resolved with a little literary assistance. The juxtaposition of the idyllic small town and the harsh reality of the seedier side of Paris, the weight of memory and regret, and the power of human connection, along with the engaging characters all work together to create an enthralling read. Readers will be carried away with the hope that these lovely and damaged characters can find their own happy ending.”

Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, South Huntington, NY 

Arrowood: A Novel

by Laura McHugh

Published: 8/9/2016 by Spiegel & Grau
ISBN: 9780812996395

“Arden Arrowood returns to the family home, a stately Second Empire mansion, after the death of her father. She is hoping to find some peace and possibly an answer to the decades old mystery of her twin sisters’ kidnapping. Arden, at age 8, was the only witness to their disappearance, but memory is a tricky thing. The spooky old house, the setting on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River Bluffs, the small town atmosphere, a creepy caretaker, and many family secrets make this novel Un-put-down-able! Highly recommended.”

Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX

Behind Closed Doors

by B.A. Paris
Published: 8/9/2016 by St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9781250121004

“On the surface, Jack and Grace have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, and the perfect jobs. What lies beneath the surface is something so sinister yet so believable that it will horrify most readers. What happens behind closed doors and could, or would, you believe it? This is a superb story of psychological abuse that will have your heart racing right up to the end.”

Marika Zemke, Commerce Township Public Library, Commerce Twp, MI 

First Star I See Tonight: A Novel

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Published: 8/23/2016 by William Morrow
ISBN: 9780062405616

““First Star I See Tonight is a satisfying addition to the Chicago Stars series. Cooper Graham has just retired as the quarterback when he meets private investigator Piper. Their relationship starts off with a mutual dislike that quickly turns into one full of sparks. Watching them navigate the waters is fascinating. In the end Cooper lays it all on the line in order to win his biggest game ever…a happily ever after. I highly recommend the book.”
—Jennifer Cook, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire , WI 

Jennifer Cook, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire , WI 

Die Like An Eagle: A Meg Langslow Mystery

by Donna Andrews

Published: 8/2/2016 by Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250078551

“Meg and her family embrace America’s favorite past time. It’s the opening weekend for the Caerphilly Summerball baseball league and Meg finds a body in the porta-potty. Meg, her friends and family must catch a killer and figure out how to oust the petty league president before everyone’s weekend is ruined. Reading Andrews’ books are like a visit home to your favorite relatives, plus she weaves humor and fun while still penning an enjoyable mystery.”

Karen Emery, Johnson County Public Library, Franklin, IN

The Big Read Evolves!

By now you have probably heard, but I want to mention it anyway, The National Endowment for the Arts has revamped their Big Read grant program. As reported in the Booklist Reader:

Earlier today, the NEA Big Read program—the National Endowment for the Arts’ literature initiative—announced that it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary by adding 13 new titles to the books the organization uses in programs at schools and public libraries. The organization has switched its focus, according to the press release, from classic tales to “contemporary authors and books written since the founding of the NEA 50 years ago.”

This addition of new titles with a focus on authors who are from diverse American backgrounds AND whose books were written in the last 50 years is a big deal for libraries all over the country.

The authors of the newly added books.
Click here to see a full list of the approved titles both new and old.

The Big Read has given out millions of dollars to libraries, money without which these large scale communities reads could not happen. Click here for the about page with all of the details. Most libraries have to apply for this grant to be able to have theses popular events but the catch is, you have to use one of the official “Big Read” titles.

With the addition of these new titles and the ones that remain from a purge to make room for these new books, there is now a much better list for libraries from all over the country to choose from. There are books that represent a wide range of genres and populations [both ethnically but also geographically].  The list is more varied to represent the “American” experience in it’s totality but most importantly, every single one of these titles provides opportunities to have rich and rewarding discussions.

That is the point of the Big Read, to take a book and have a community wide conversation about it.  Many libraries had avoided applying for Big Read grants because of the title choices. I am hopeful that with this influx of fresh, diverse, and contemporary titles the Big Read will become an option for more communities than ever before, opening up the powers and pleasures of the library to thousands of new patrons. And isn’t that the point of these programs-- to show our communities how vital the public library can be to their lives. This list of books will help to make that happen.

I am so excited because I truly believe that lives will be profounded effected and enriched by this change. Thank you NEA for stepping up to the plate and being brave enough to evolve in a way that many government funded programs have not been able to do. I am proud that my tax dollars go to this program.

If you are interested in pursuing a Big Read Grant for your community, click here.

Graphic Novels Collection Development Time

I say this every July, but it bares repeating....

July is the best month to work on your graphic novel collections because of Comic Con. But don’t wait until the end of the month when the Con happens to start. You need to start now because once the conference opens [July 21], the news, articles, and Eisner Award announcements will be coming fast and furious. If your overall graphic novel collection is a hot mess, this information will do you no good. Now is the time to work on this collection-- weed, replace, add new titles, etc...

Also, you need to be ready for the comic related questions that will start coming when Comic Con is happening because no matter where you live, the media giants make sure their stuff is in the mainstream news for the duration of the Con. This leads to more comic related requests and inquiries at the library every single July.

Here are a few things you can do over the next week and a half to get your graphic novel collection and yourself into pre-Comic Con shape:

• Assess the year that has been up to this point with this post on the best comics for the first half of the year from Panels.
• In general bookmark Panels for all of your graphic novel questions. They have the website and a podcast.
• Also No Flying, No Tights is a wonderful resource.
• Get ready for the second half of 2016 with this post from Library Journal on the Graphic Novels they are most excited about for the rest of 2016.
• Click here to read everything I have ever tagged Graphic Novels on the blog. This will include award winners, reviews, resources, and more, from the last 9 years.

Now use this information to assess your collection, arm yourself with the most current comic knowledge, and maybe even get a display or two up all before Comic Con dominates the entertainment world.

It is a lot easier if you spend a few hours now rather than being caught off guard come late next week. Plus, you can promote your graphic novel collections and show fans that you are in the know before the Con begins. Heck, a graphic novel display might even catch the eye some of those Pokemon Go people who haven’t been to the library in years [ever?] to check something out.

Program Alert: Becoming the Face of RA

I am very excited to announce this because every single one of you can participate in this one. That’s right, if you can read this, you can be a part of our next ARRT Program--

Becoming the Face of RA
Thursday, August 25, 2016
2pm-4pm
RAILS
125 Tower Drive
Burr Ridge, IL

How, you may be wondering, can you participate from far away? Easy, we are partnering with Booklist and NoveList as part of their ongoing RA Conversation series. So as long as you have signed up to get Rebecca Vnuk’s Corner Shelf or just read this blog, you will be alerted when the video recording is available for free viewing. If you have an Internet connection, you can join us!

Now, I know watching the video is not as good as being there since you cannot network and interact with your fellow RA peeps, but we at ARRT have had many requests to provide a virtual version of our programs, so we are trying this out.

But if you can join us, click here to register. It is FREE if you are an ARRT member and only $10 if you are not. But big hint people-- ARRT membership is only $10.

Since this program will be on the web for free eventually, we didn’t feel right charging anyone to come. So if you want to reap the benefit of being at the event to meet and greet with these fabulous speakers [and me] all we are asking is that you become a member.

Also, we are happy that Melissa from Downers Grove is joining us. She will be talking about the work they did to create Book Genie which won them the inaugural ARRT/ILA RA Service award.  This year’s winner was just selected and will be announced soon, but quick teaser, I was thrilled that the winners are both former students of mine who now work together! We hope to have them present for us soon too.

Again, if you want to join us live, click here. The room only holds about 50 so please sign-up so we can have an accurate head count. Otherwise sometime after August 25th look out for the video.

RA for All: Call to Action--Don’t Bad Mouth Any Books or Authors in Public...EVER!

I have been a Readers’ Advisor for 16 years and a teacher/trainer of RA for 12 of those years. One of the tenets of RA Service is Betty Rosenberg’s famous quote, “Never apologize for your reading tastes.”  That is the cornerstone behind modern RA Service and what made it fundamentally different from any RA Service that came before it.

We are nonjudgemental ALWAYS. If someone’s favorite author is James Patterson and they love James Patterson and want to read everything he writes or publishes as himself or under his co-authors, good for them. Find them everything and then find them readadlikes that they would like when they run out.

I do not care if you like Patterson. That is not the point. Being a Readers’ Advisor had NOTHING to do with how you feel about a certain book. What you are concerned with is why the person in front of you likes the book that she or he does, and then finding her or him another book she or he may also enjoy. Again, not caring how you would feel about said book.

Psst....it’s not about you. It’s about the person in front of you. Seriously, I don’t care about how you feel about a book or author unless you want me to do some RA for you. Then I care immensely about you.

It is no coincidence that I pick Patterson here. Look, I know he has a lot of books coming out ALL THE TIME. And I know he takes a lot of our budget up. And I know that they are not the most literary titles. I know we get frustrated with him.

BUT, here is what a Patterson book is-- a crowd pleaser, a quick and easy escape from the real world, a book that gets people excited about reading books! Because he has so many books and they are so addictive to their readers, we have patrons coming into the library to feed their need for more. No one can afford to buy every Patterson book, heck, we libraries can barely afford it. They come in to the library to get them and while they are visiting and/or waiting for the next Patterson title, they try other books. He creates tons of business for us. He creates readers. He stimulates a life long love of reading.

BUT [yes another but], for all the good Patterson does getting people of all ages to read and visit the library, I still hear library people bad mouthing him all of the time. And the worst part of it is.....WE DO IT IN FRONT OF PATRONS!

How do you think that makes our readers feel?

I feel like I shouldn’t have to write this kind of post anymore, but apparently I do because over the weekend, my friend and ARRT colleague Megan and I had this Twitter exchange.

The fact that she had to Tweet this makes me sad and angry. Overhearing our colleagues doing this is infuriating.

Back in 2012 I had this post where I talked about three books I disliked but for which I wrote a review that did not necessarily give that away. I write every review, whether just for this blog or for publication, for the book’s best reader. That is the purpose of what we do.

Now even in that post, I do mention sometimes it is hard to always be positive about every book. And yes, we all need to vent about authors we personally dislike sometimes. But that venting needs to be done in staff meetings, at outside library events, in emails to colleagues, etc... Somewhere that is not at the desk where we are stationed to help ANY reader who comes by. Who is that helping? I am not sure because it is not helping any patrons in ear shot who love the author you are bad mouthing, nor is it helping your library promote your services. And it makes you look like a judgmental ass.

If you want to be a book snob, don’t work at the public library. We don’t need you or want you. 

Every book has a reader. Our job is to listen to the patron in front of us and find him or her THEIR book. And, it is a fun and rewarding job a that.

Or, as Megan said succinctly above, Don’t jude. Connect.