To be honest, the first time someone complimented my “RA skills” I didn’t even know what she meant. Talking to people about books is something that came naturally to me. At the time, I had no formal training. I still feel like I am far from an expert on the topic, but it’s a subject I’m passionate about, so when Kelly asked me to contribute a post on my approach to reader’s advisory, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my perspective and learn from other’s ideas.

I didn’t take my first library job because I wanted to be a librarian.  I was looking for a part-time position that wouldn’t be too stressful while I got my master’s degree in social work. I envisioned a career in outreach, advocacy, or organizing on behalf of the welfare of women and children.

It just so happened that when I began my search, a position opened up in the young adult section of my local library. I thought it would be fun so I went ahead and applied, even though my only experience working in a library was as a research assistant. I did have experience working with teens, as a high school debate coach and at a group home for children in the state’s care, but I’m pretty sure the reason I got my position was because of my answer to one particular interview question.

That question was, “What would you recommend to a teen looking for a book ‘like The Hunger Games?’” The film based on the popular series was in production, and it had more holds than any other book in the library. In my response, I discussed why recently released Legend by Marie Lu would be a hit with Hunger Games fans. Rather than any formal education, it was my personal reading and experience discussing books with other enthusiastic readers provided me with the foundation of knowledge to be able to answer that interview question.

Reader’s advisory is one of the most important services libraries provide, which is why I think my answer to that particular question weighed as heavily during the interview as my experience with the organization of information in my finance job and my past work with teens. In surveys, patrons continually rate help “finding their next book” as one of the top reasons they use their library. In fact, at least in the young adult section, I get far more requests for helping finding fiction books for pleasure reading than other types of reference inquiries.

Talking to people about books and understanding why people are attracted to the books they love wasn’t a skill set I consciously tried to develop, but there are three factors that I think help me connect readers with the right books: my reading habits, my approach to an in-person RA interview, and my graphic and social philosophy with regards to passive reader’s advisory.

READING HABITS

If you want to get better at reader’s advisory, there’s no way around it: you have to read. And read widely, which most likely means outside your comfort zone and personal interests. Reading reviews and using tools like NoveList and subject headings are great, but I know I’m best able to hand sell a particular title if I’ve actually read it (even if I didn’t personally like it). There’s certain insight that can only be gained from reading a book.

I’m lucky enough to be interested in a wide variety of styles and genres. I love novels by Portuguese novelist José Saramago, who won the Nobel prize in Literature, as much as I love the campy, supernatural mystery series by Charlaine Harris about a telepathic waitress. YA epic fantasy has as much appeal for me as gritty, realistic teen novels, horror, or paranormal romance. I’ve always had eclectic taste.

But my reading habits did change when I started working in a library and reading became essential to my job and not just a personal hobby. I used to read purely for my own pleasure, but now I’m willing to read just about anything. Even if a book is not my personal cup of tea (I prefer coffee), I can usually envision the type of reader who would enjoy it.

Now that I work in a library, I’m conscious about reading a diverse selection across all categories and genres as well balancing new and forthcoming releases with backlists titles. I’ve tried new formats like graphic novels and audiobooks in order to be able to better advise patrons. I keep track of what I read, I take notes about what I read, and I review most of the titles I read. An organized and deliberate approach to my personal reading definitely helps me in my job, even if isn’t a requirement. Writing about what I’ve read helps me remember details and gives me resources to refer back to if my memory is fuzzy.

While most librarians enter the profession because they are at least somewhat passionate about reading, a love of books is not all you need to be able to offer personal suggestions that work for patrons. It’s how you use and apply that knowledge that makes the difference between good reader’s advisory and great reader’s advisory.

READER’S ADVISORY INTERVIEWS

You know what has informed my reader’s advisory style more than any MLIS class? My part-time job my senior year of high school and freshman year of college working at Hot Topic. While the appeal of the job for me at the time was free concert tickets and a discount on band t-shirts, it taught me more than I anticipated about interacting with consumers. Reader’s advisory isn’t that different than retail sales: instead of helping people find the right band t-shirts and costume jewelry that promotes their desired aesthetic, I now help readers find the right “style’ of book. Customer service experience is important for working in the library. If you’re not adept at interacting with people, front line service in a library is not going to be a fun career for you.

Though I do sometimes help adult patrons find books they want, YA or otherwise, most of my interaction is with teen patrons. I think I’m particularly good at talking with this age group because I genuinely like teens. I respect their opinions and enjoy how passionate they can be about what they love. It’s important to make them feel comfortable discussing their interests and let them know that I’ll never judge them for their taste.

It’s easy to recommend books to people who have similar taste to your own, but reader’s advisory isn’t about you—it’s about helping a patron find a book they will like. I suggest titles with a disclaimer and tell them I’ll in no way be offended if they don’t check out the book or if they do and decide they don’t like it. I listen to what they actually want rather than telling them what I think they should want.

I think it’s also important to throw preconceived notions about what someone will like out the window. Too often, they’re wrong. That 6 foot tall, 220 pound 17 year-old linebacker might lover reading historical romance, and the girl who won’t let go of her boyfriend’s hand might be more into sci-fi with robots than contemporary romance.

The first layer of reader’s advisory is finding a book that is “about” what the reader is interested in or in the mood for, but you’re more likely to find a good match if you look beyond subject matter to appeal terms. Anyone can make a list of zombie books. Finding the right zombie book(s) for someone requires a more nuanced approach. Is the reader looking for a funny zombie book, or a dark gothic horror? Something campy or something thought-provoking? It makes a difference.

Often, more casual readers (and especially teenagers) are most likely not going to articulate what they want in their next read in the kind of terms that librarians or especially bookish people use to describe the style and tone of a novel. A teen is probably not going to approach the reference desk and ask for a “fast-paced and satirical character-driven zombie suspense story” But she might confess that she really like The Walking Dead and might read a book that was kinda like it. Which means that knowing about other types of media can improve your reader’s advisory. Asking about more than just their reading preferences and thinking in terms of what other kind of entertainment they enjoy can also help you get a feel for what type of stories appeal to them.

As happy as I am when a patron settles on a book, for me, the most important part of a reader’s advisory interview is the part that comes after they’ve selected a book. I always invite people to come back and tell me what they thought of the book I helped them find, and make it clear that not only am I genuinely interested, but that hearing feedback helps me connect other readers with books they will like. There’s no way I can read every book out there, and my reaction will always be unique to me and won’t predict another reader’s response. Especially with teens, I think this helps build a rapport with a reader so they know that even if they hated the book, I want to know and care about their opinion.

I know a lot of people I work with get nervous about reader’s advisory. They don’t want to steer the patron in the wrong direction or doubt their own knowledge or are nervous explaining what a book is about. Which I get. I mean, I’ve gotten more than a few “what in the hell are you talking about” looks when trying to articulate what a book is about. Certain titles are easily summed up in quippy one-liners, and the booktalk is easy. Others can be hard to sell despite their awesomeness. (Lots of teens have been skeptical of my suggestion of The Scorpio Races, for instance. Apparently the idea of “killer water horses” freaks some people out, so if anyone has great line to sell that amazing book, I’m all ears).

The point is, not every reader’s advisory interaction is a home run. Sometimes a reader is fickle and doesn’t even know what they are looking for, or sometimes the perfect book is checked out. Sometimes you are just having an off day. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of the perfect book half an hour after the patron has walked away, or was just having one of those days where everything I say comes out awkward and wrong. It happens. Don’t dwell on the mistakes. Learn from them. And be sure to celebrate the victories where you renew someone’s interest in reading by connecting them with the perfect book for them rather than dwell on those patrons that you don’t feel like you’ve completely satisfied.

GET GRAPHIC AND SOCIAL WITH PASSIVE READER’S ADVISORY

As important as in-person reader’s advisory conversations are, you don’t have the opportunity to have an discussion with every patron, and not everyone wants that kind of help, which is why passive reader’s advisory is just as important. There are tons of ways to assist these kind of patrons through lists and displays in both physical and digital spaces. I have a lot of success with passive reader’s advisory in the form of simple graphics and more involved flowcharts.

I’m a tried and true book person. I thrive on the words, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good infographic. A small amount of text paired with images can often convey information in a more accessible way that appeals to people who process information in a visually.

I make RA graphics in a variety of formats, but the two that seem to be the most effective are flowcharts and what I call “like—try—why” sheets.

Remember how I got my library job because I of my answer to “What book would you suggest to a patron looking for something “like The Hunger Games”? I started thinking seriously about changing career paths and pursuing a master’s in library science about the time I made this “So you loved The Hunger Games…What should you read next?” flowchart.

It was true—just as The Hunger Games hit theaters, every kid was going crazy for the series and wanting to get their hands on the next post-apocalyptic action adventure book with a hint of dystopia thrown in. And as I kept being frustrated by having nothing to offer them besides a spot on the hold list for the hottest titles, or not being able to put the right read-alike in their hands because The Hunger Games had so many different appeal factors it was hard to tease out what exactly excited a reader about it.

So after lots of conversations with colleagues and patrons and readers about why they liked The Hunger Games, I brainstormed a bunch of subject headings that might help me locate books with similar themes. I looked for books with the immediate, first person narration and the strong female protagonist. I thought it was a perfect way to entice readers to check out some of the books on the college-bound lists that are classic dystopian.

But having a huge list of titles was overwhelming, so I set about organizing them. Then, it was just about pulling together some covers, brief labels, and arrows to guide readers through to the perfect Hunger Games read-alike for them. In addition to being a resource for staff, it also mimics the in-person reader’s advisory interview by asking the patron questions and leading them to books they might enjoy.

I’ve made other flowcharts to fulfill specific needs, such as the regular inquiry for “funny” books, or to promote a particular event at the library, such as our Teen Read Week activities or our Read Across Lawrence one book, one community events. In other instances, I’ve made simple lists that identify the appeal terms, such as a list of books for fans of Doctor Who or road trip books.

I fell in love with the concept of “If you like…try…and here’s why” format of reader’s advisory graphics when I first saw them on EpicReads (the HarperTeen online community). I really liked the vertical columns and the short explanations of why a fan of a particular book might like a certain title, and I started making similar graphics to display in the Teen Zone at the library and to share on our blog and other social media. For these, I try and stick to a common genre or theme so that someone might be intrigued by one title and consider all those mentioned. I try to pair titles that are circulating well in my library with new releases or forgotten favorites.

For the like—try—why graphics, I often have regular patrons help make them and write the one sentence blurbs. It’s a great way for teens to take ownership of their space, to share their own recommendations, and for me to learn about why Real Actual Teens like certain books and relate them to each other, which is often surprising.

Reader’s advisory graphics are worth the time and effort because they have a dual purpose. They are great to display within the library, but they also share well on social media. At my library, we have a binder with tabs that separate lists, flowcharts, and graphics by genre, subject, and appeal. Readers can flip through on their own if they want to browse, and staff also consult it regularly. It’s easy to switch out like—try—why graphics from a plexi stand or a bulletin board each week based on what books are available, but they also share well on Tumblr, Facebook, or in a blog post, where graphics are going to catch reader’s attention in a way a text based list won’t.

Believe me, you don’t need any special graphic design skills to be able to create interesting and helpful graphics to promote books in your library. I’ve adapted a presentation I’ve give at library conferences into a blog post that goes into much more detail about my process for making graphics and various examples and resources that are useful if you’re thinking about creating your own, which you can find here.

Reader’s advisory is my favorite part of my job. I love geeking out with devoted readers over the books we both love as well as listening to them passionately defend a book that didn’t work for me or rail on how they hated a book I love. I’m interested in reader’s reactions because I’m fascinated by what attracts readers to books and why they feel the way they do about them. There’s something magical and mysterious about reader’s advisory; it’s far from an exact science. I love being able to match a high school student who hates to read but has to do a book report with a title he or she will actually read (and maybe even enjoy!) as much as I love to be able to discuss the latest releases with the teens that read everything. I love being able to surprise an adult who thinks YA is for kids with the depth and complexity of the stories being shelved in the YA section. Reader’s advisory is important to me because I truly believe that finding the right book at the right time can not only change, but save people’s lives.