Perspectives on Reading

 Finding a Good Book:  What a Real Readers Advisor Does

Readers advisor is a library term for someone who helps readers locate a book they would like to read based on the reader's preference.  It is important to understand that a readers preference is situational and comes with genre or topic biases.  

What Readers Like

In order to get to the heart of what readers enjoy to read, you must identify what appeals to them.  For example; do they like happy endings, a fast or slow paced book, or past or future settings.  Some readers only enjoy fiction or nonfiction.  Many readers enjoy audio, or e-books, while others prefer print.  To meet these diverse needs, RA's have developed techniques to use when interviewing a reader.

Direct Readers Advising Techniques

These techniques include face to face interactions.  This usually begins with asking the reader about a book they enjoyed or disliked and if they want a book that is similar or  not.  Finding out what a reader wants to read is different then conducting a reference interview.  In this type of interaction, the reader takes the lead.  What is similar, is that the librarian needs to know where to find the desired information once they are aware of what the reader is interested in.  These face to group interactions usually involve a presentation about a book to a group and involve organizing, sponsoring, and referring people to reading groups.  RA groups also include author visits where readers can meet favorite authors and learn what they look like and how they live.  

Indirect Readers Advising Techniques

These include websites, displays, and and lists.  Social tagging are also forms of indirect techniques.  Another form of an indirect technique is an online interaction instead of face to face.  This is various forms of social media such as wikis, blogs, and reader reviews.