[Publib] RE: Readers' Advisory Training

[Theyer, Hillary]

I don't know about Library Schools around the country, but my experience has been that Reference is core, and Readers Advisory is elective.  I think too many Public Librarians end up out there without the elective.  I know I didn't really feel I got or knew RA until I attended a preconference at PLA in Phoenix, where the lightbulb finally went off and I understood that this was instinct, refernce, and Librarianship together, and I could recommend readalikes for Tom Clancy never having read one of his books in my life (still haven't).  I finally walked away with tools I could use in the real world, and I had been a Librarian for a few years.  All too often, RA is left to OJT (on the job training) and then it really depends on the trainer, the importance the Library puts on RA, and the support RA gets with creation of reading lists, purchase of tools, time to read, and the simple freedom to spend time talking books with people at the desk, a luxury not every Library grants to its Librarians.

I know I did, and recommend to others, spend a few years reviewing books professionally which really helps hone RA and book review skills.  Where I work, if you select fiction you are expected to review regularly for your colleagues, and that helps too.  We also have a culture that respects reading and the RA process, as well as tools like Novelist, and are given work time to make reading lists for special projects.  not all are as lucky as I am.

Hillary Theyer
Torrance PL (CA)

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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:42:01 -0800 (PST)
From: Jill Nicholson <jillanicholson at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Publib] Readers' Advisory Training
To: "publib at webjunction.org" <publib at webjunction.org>
Message-ID: <412600.9442.qm at web65701.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Should not Readers' Advisory be taught separately (along with Viewers' and Listeners' Advisory)?? The knowledge base for Readers' Advisory and Reference is different.
?
Jill Nicholson
CEO
Lincoln (Ontario) Public Library