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The Readers' Advisory Handbook
Readers' advisory has long ago sprinted past merely suggesting books to patrons; it now encompasses many different formats and means of communication--working with patrons of all types and ages, in and outside the actual library. To help harried librarians handle increased demand, experts Jessica Moyer and Kaite Stover assemble a group of specialists who have created a one-stop resource for all kinds of readers' advisory issues. Here you will find a trove of solid guidance, including How to advise patrons on all kinds of media, from fiction and nonfiction to audiobooks, graphic novels and even reference materials How to provide services to senior citizens, teens and even readers who are incarcerated How to handle author visits and book groups How to enhance storytelling, even for adultsCovering everything from getting to know a library’s materials to marketing and promoting RA, this practical handbook will help you expand services immediately without adding costs or training time.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 25, 2013
I had my students read almost every chapter in this book in my Readers' Advisory Services course. It's a great book to include in a course like this because it talks about all the other things that are also included in Readers' Advisory - author visits, book events, passive readers' advisory, book lists, reviewing, etc.
One student came to the first day of my class and said - "I love this book. I think I read every chapter already." She had a ton of post-it notes sticking out of it, too, so know that it was accessible to her before she even started the Readers' Advisory course, so current and future librarians will find some useful, practical things here.
One student came to the first day of my class and said - "I love this book. I think I read every chapter already." She had a ton of post-it notes sticking out of it, too, so know that it was accessible to her before she even started the Readers' Advisory course, so current and future librarians will find some useful, practical things here.
August 3, 2010
Must have for professional collections for librarians. This book is set up to be read thoroughly (which I highly recommend) or to flip through for chapters that relate to your area. I was fortunate enough to take three RA related workshops taught by one of the authors, Kaite Stover , a couple years ago. I kept every handout she gave. They are all in a binder that I keep at work with me. This book is now beside that binder. Section 2 of the book on reviewing and evaluating materials will come in handy if you ever find yourself asked to review something out of your normal reading tastes like an audio book or graphic novel.
While some libraries are fortunate enough to have a designed desk for readers advisory services other doesn’t so chapter 10 is really helpful on making bookmarks, booklists and displays. This is also a helpful service when you don’t have the time for one on one contact with each patron. I will sometimes place bookmarks or booklists in books that patrons have on hold that I think will benefit from the bookmark or booklist. My favorite part of the programming section is David Wright’s chapter on doing story time for adults. It sounds like his adult story time is a must-attend event. Sadly I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as entertaining. I’d clear a room instead of packing a room.
I work at a library that has a considerably older population so I appreciated Alicia Ahlvers advice on readers advisory for older adults. It is sometimes hard to find books to suggest to older patrons. I like her author suggestions. I have previously suggested some of them but she suggests some that I never would have thought of.
I especially like the final two chapters of the book that deal with YA reading adult books and vice versa. Both of those are something I deal with almost daily. Glad I’m not the only one that’s noticed that trend. This book contains almost more helpful RA hints than a librarian can use in a lifetime. It makes me excited to go to work and try out some of the suggestions.
While some libraries are fortunate enough to have a designed desk for readers advisory services other doesn’t so chapter 10 is really helpful on making bookmarks, booklists and displays. This is also a helpful service when you don’t have the time for one on one contact with each patron. I will sometimes place bookmarks or booklists in books that patrons have on hold that I think will benefit from the bookmark or booklist. My favorite part of the programming section is David Wright’s chapter on doing story time for adults. It sounds like his adult story time is a must-attend event. Sadly I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as entertaining. I’d clear a room instead of packing a room.
I work at a library that has a considerably older population so I appreciated Alicia Ahlvers advice on readers advisory for older adults. It is sometimes hard to find books to suggest to older patrons. I like her author suggestions. I have previously suggested some of them but she suggests some that I never would have thought of.
I especially like the final two chapters of the book that deal with YA reading adult books and vice versa. Both of those are something I deal with almost daily. Glad I’m not the only one that’s noticed that trend. This book contains almost more helpful RA hints than a librarian can use in a lifetime. It makes me excited to go to work and try out some of the suggestions.
June 1, 2010
The usual upfront disclaimers: I'm friends with both editors, went to graduate school with Jessica, in fact, contributed to two of Jessica's other book projects and had been asked to contribute to this one (but had to decline), and I received my copy as a free review copy.
When they called this a Handbook, they were right in every sense of the term. This is truly a practical tool for anyone involved in readers' advisory work. Moyer and Stover have laid the book out logically with each section flowing into the next. The first section on "Getting to Know Your Materials" is the one everyone can use and learn something from. Succeeding sections take you a level deeper into readers' advisory services with each one. I've already taken ideas from a number of sections and have incorporated them into classes I teach to librarians in Iowa.
A must read for all public librarians and anyone providing readers' advisory services.
When they called this a Handbook, they were right in every sense of the term. This is truly a practical tool for anyone involved in readers' advisory work. Moyer and Stover have laid the book out logically with each section flowing into the next. The first section on "Getting to Know Your Materials" is the one everyone can use and learn something from. Succeeding sections take you a level deeper into readers' advisory services with each one. I've already taken ideas from a number of sections and have incorporated them into classes I teach to librarians in Iowa.
A must read for all public librarians and anyone providing readers' advisory services.
June 30, 2010
I like this handbook because it acknowledges that readers' advisory is a varied set of skills that must be used to serve a broad variety of readers. The wide range of topics covered here means that every librarian should be able to find some sections to read in which they need improvement. The book would also be very useful to library school students looking for a practical sampler for skill-building in different aspects of reader service. Finally, I like it because it brings together the ideas of so many great librarians, including several whom I haven't seen in print before.
July 15, 2015
A very helpful resource for librarians for conducting readers' advisory. I found the sections on "how to read a book in 10 minutes," passive readers' advisory, and readers' advisory by proxy especially helpful.
May 6, 2020
This was a collection of pieces by various librarians throughout the country. I found the 1st chapter to be a nice review on speed reading a book, something that was covered in one of our all staff days some time ago. Lots of the RA stuff I've been reading seem to be very fond of making lists and such. This proved no exception. An entire section was devoted to creating passive RA items like annotated book lists, book marks and online materials. I'm wondering if it might be worth our while to look into doing something along those lines given how much 'press' these materials are getting in these sources. Something to talk about at any rate. I seem to remember attending a session on adult story time at PLA in Philadelphia and I am certain that he is the same person who authored the chapter regarding that particular topic. I really liked the chapter on providing RA for older adults. The author broke the population down by generation and gave some nice things to consider when providing RA service to these adults effectively given their generational quirks. There are a few more tools presented that I could make use of to hone my RA practices, like URLs to some RA round tables, especially those who may do some in depth genre studies of genres in which I don't normally swim. Definitely a nice resource to refer back to going forward.
April 22, 2018
This was my textbook for a class on Readers' Advisory. It's full of great information and details on how to make readers' advisory easier for everyone involve. It also has quite a few "worksheets" for the reader to go through, in order to practice or get a better handle on these techniques.
February 5, 2022
I bought this book for use at work to create training curriculum in a library.
I have found that I really enjoyed the information that is compiled in this book. It was easy to digest and a quick read.
Defiantly a reference type book, not for casual reading.
I have found that I really enjoyed the information that is compiled in this book. It was easy to digest and a quick read.
Defiantly a reference type book, not for casual reading.
July 22, 2023
There's lots of helpful stuff in this book, although an updated edition might be better. Read for class.
July 28, 2011
Good book. Useful and practical. Things I want to remember: look up ARRT's Genre Boot Camp (www.arrtreads.org/bootcamp.htm). Bookmarks - an under-utilized resource.
I liked the first couple chapters: how to read a book in 10 minutes, and nonfiction speed dating. I feel like the chapter on how to host author events will come in very handy some day soon - I almost got a premonition that doing that will be in my near future.
Interesting final chapters on RA by Proxy for Teens (you are talking the parent, not the teen); RA for Older Adultsl; RA for incarcerated populations, suggesting adult books to teen readers and suggesting teen books to adult readers.
I liked the first couple chapters: how to read a book in 10 minutes, and nonfiction speed dating. I feel like the chapter on how to host author events will come in very handy some day soon - I almost got a premonition that doing that will be in my near future.
Interesting final chapters on RA by Proxy for Teens (you are talking the parent, not the teen); RA for Older Adultsl; RA for incarcerated populations, suggesting adult books to teen readers and suggesting teen books to adult readers.
August 2, 2010
Great overview and guide to the many services that make up "readers' advisory," not just face-to-face interaction. This a collection of short essays written by public librarians around the country. Guides and worksheets are often included after their relevant chapters. Major topics include: ideas for promoting books in your collection through bookmarks, posters, displays and programming; how to "read" a novel, graphic novel, or non-fiction title in ten minutes for the purposes of readers' advisory; how to organize and moderate a book club; the art of read-alikes; and targeted readers' advisory for different audiences (teens, older readers, incarcerated adults).
July 12, 2012
This book covers a lot of ground and, although most useful for public libraries, I think academic libraries could get something out of it too.
The sections concentrate on how to rapidly assess books and audiobooks, how to review various formats, what kinds of services to have and how to promote them, and reader's advisory for special populations.
The sections concentrate on how to rapidly assess books and audiobooks, how to review various formats, what kinds of services to have and how to promote them, and reader's advisory for special populations.
May 16, 2012
Moyer and Stover's book covers the wide array of readers' advisory facets: reading materials, reviewing materials, marketing materials, programming, and expanding readers' advisory services. This title is truly a comprehensive guide to modern readers' advisory.
May 4, 2015
Was required reading for school, but I found it engaging and mostly helpful. Some of the content was a little quaint (ie. "here's how to make an effective bookmark"), but overall it is a solid source. Great for anyone working the frontlines, managing displays, or handling acquisitions.
June 22, 2011
A great guide for actually doing readers' advisory and integrating it into multiple aspects of library service.
July 29, 2023
A good foundational book for readers' advisory strategies and education.
April 19, 2012
A truly excellent resource for librarians who want to focus on readers' services. The chapter by David Wright on adult story time shines above the rest.
December 20, 2013
Practical take on readers' advisory; really liked it. Good resource.
February 6, 2014
there's more to your librarian than meets the eye.
April 2, 2015
Having worked in libraries for so long now, I didn't learn anything new from this, but it's still chock-full of good tips for new librarians.
March 5, 2015
Filled with worksheets and useful information to help provide excellent readers advisory service.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews