Special Topics Paper Summary

For my Special Topics Paper, I focused on passive readers’ advisory options - ways that librarians can suggest books to patrons without having a face-to-face RA interview. This topic is really interesting to me because 1) I’m an introvert and if I can find out information on my own without having to ask someone, hooray!, and 2) I love finding creative displays in libraries that showcase new and different titles. I am much more likely to pick up a book from a clever display than to pick one at random off the shelf. I normally just put books on hold and then pick those up without doing any browsing, but if a librarian has created a display that catches my attention, I will stop and look. 

My full paper showcased all kinds of options that librarians can use for passive readers’ advisory. In this summary version on my blog, I am just going to write about a few of my favorites so it’s not overwhelming. Since my MLIS specialization is Youth Services, many of the ideas I am focusing on are ones that could be used in a school library or in the children’s/teen area of a public library. 

Bookmarks

Bookmarks are an easy way to share titles with patrons. Lists of titles can be created by author, by genre, by readalikes, etc… The bookmarks below were created by one of my favorite library bloggers - The Book Wrangler. Mike is a K-5 librarian who created these bookmarks with the teachers at his school. He asked teachers for a few book recommendations each (which they put into a google spreadsheet). Then he formatted yearbook photos of the teachers to create bookmarks. When one book gets checked out, he just moves the bookmark to another of the titles recommended by that teacher.

Shelf Displays

Shelf displays are an easy way to grab patrons’ attention without a lot of work on a librarian’s part. The displays are endlessly customizable. Showcased books can be a pairing of a novel and graphic novel, a fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject, readalikes, books by the same author, etc... Below is an example from a librarian in California, Heather Gruenthal. She has paired the book Legend with the graphic novel version of the title, inserting a simple sign in the middle saying “If you like this (arrow to one book), try this (arrow to the other book.)”

Wall Displays

Wall displays are a great way to set up a really large passive readers’ advisory option. A blank wall, a bulletin board, or even a bank of windows can be used. Since there is much more space than, say, a shelf display, a wall display can contain lots of colors, graphics, and text to catch a patron’s eye. The interactive flow chart below was created by Ontario-based librarian Karissa Fast to help patrons find a YA title to read. At each yellow box, patrons make a decision - aliens or dragons? Harry Potter or Batman? The corresponding decisions lead patrons farther down the chart until they end up at a title that matches all of their choices. This kind of flow chart could easily be customized for different age groups (even using just pictures and no text for the youngest patrons), and could revolve around any genre or theme.

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about passive readers’ advisory options. If anyone would like to see the other examples I showcased in my paper, just let me know and I can forward the info to you.