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Library Advisory Services Supporting Interests and Entertainment - October 24, 2006 Meeting Notes

  • Discussion of the LASSIE Name - Should we include something about Reader's Advisory in the title?

  • Discussion of meetings and program ideas

    • Hold a workshop to encourage interest?

  • Program Ideas and Meeting Ideas

    • Do a Reader's Advisory workshop on basic R.A. - How to do Reader's Advisory (fiction) in April

      • Comparing Databases

        • What Do I Read Next?

        • Novelist?

        • User Friendly Databases?

  • What Do I Read Next?

    • Hit or Miss to find Read Alike lists

      • Fiction, Age Range, Genre, Time Period information, etc.

      • Great selling point, but not included in all reviews

  • Novelist

    • Getting any mention of an author or title - demonstration - put in compared to X in Review field and not X in author field

    • Rollercoaster Suspense - about rollercoasters and also hits about appeal factors

    • Hanky - 3-hanky read and 5-hanky read

    • Find by Plot?

      • Very dependent on plot

      • Character names - golden!

    • Works with kids titles

      • Choose your age group

    • Popularity Ranking

      • Does anyone know how they determine popularity ranking?

    • For Readers

      • What are folks reading now - ideas for current suggestions from Novelist reviewers

    • Read-alikes

      • Nevada Barr

  • PLCH Database

  • Turning the Page - Books Blog - http://www2.cincinnatilibrary.org/blog/

    • Choose your color...

    • Welcome Chaos

    • Kate Atkinson - comments

    • About - choose your blog author and read all the reviews that author has written!

    • Staff can see how many hits each entry has had...

  • Blogs in libraries

    • Few comments from patrons

    • Lack of communication - blogs can fix it?

    • Started with staff blogs

    • Moved to public blogs

    • Collection updates - new items

      • Discussion of centralized collection development

    • Favorites list

    • http://booksbythebanks.blogspot.com/

  • Fiction_L

    • Able to send someone a list of titles that they would like based on preferences...

    • Webrary.org - archived booklists

    • Great lists

  • News Booklist

  • Good Sites for Read-alikes

    • Google-ing Read-alikes

    • Pros and cons

  • http://www.readersadvice.com/

    • lists EVERYONE!

    • Genre searching

  • http://www.waterborolibrary.org/

    • Have books by grade level

    • Very extensive list!

  • What's Next http://www.kdl.org/libcat/whatsnext.asp

    • Up-to-date - usually pretty good

  • http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/

  • Books to Movies and back...

  • Just a good book...

  • Genreflecting

  • Keeping R.A. websites updated?

    • Who is in charge?

    • Monthly updates?

    • Subject experts?

    • Branch Managers?

  • Do you have a lot of requests for Reader's Advisory?

    • Display for Read-alikes?

    • Know what they're looking for, asking friends, etc.

    • Relying on staff?

  • Reader's Advisory is under-publicized at libraries!

    • How to change that?

    • Promoting?

    • R.A. may be the next level for libraries - we're no longer the only avenue for information, but we can EVALUATE that information...

    • How can we “sell†R.A. to our administration?

    • How do we publicize this service to patrons?

  • Staffing Issues

    • We'd like to do a lot, but where do we start?

  • Featured websites

    • Feature an R.A. website?

    • Feature a movie and book website?

  • Display ideas...

    • Shelf pockets with bookmarks - R.A. information in the public spaces

    • Read-alikes on shelves

    • Databases and online resources on shelves

    • Brochures on shelves with descriptions

    • Your Online Library...

    • Chilton's in the car section

    • Antiques

    • Homework Help

  • Online Journal titles are slowly being incorporated into catalogs...

    • Odd results

  • What questions do you get the most?

    • Read-alikes?

    • Mysteries?

    • Computer questions?

    • Homework reading assignments?

    • Sci-Fi?

    • Homebound service - audiobooks for my neighbor/parent/friend?

      • Give them your card and get the homebound person to call us and we'll pull books for you.

      • Outreach - online profile of patrons?

    • Questions to create your profile

      • Patrons like to be asked!

  • Whichbook? http://www.whichbook.net/

  • Patron can mark if they would like the library to keep their reading history - great for homebound R.A.

  • How does your Reference Desk and R.A. staff work?

    • Everything that is not Circulation related goes to the Reference desk, and they do both Reference and R.A.

    • Usually staff 2 at the Reference desk to do everything and have a buzzer that sounds in the back if they need help

    • All staff is cross-trained (theoretically)

    • One desk - the everything desk?

      • Call for help?

    • Circ. And a Ref. Desk? Specialize questions?

    • Quiet spots?

      • Do you lose services when our desks are moved to a quieter spot?

      • Chance for a conversation in the busier spots?

  • Our Next Meeting...

    • Jan. 23, 2007 - North Central Branch Library

      • 9:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m.

      • Music Advisory Training

      • Go to Wiliamsburg Regional Library and fill out the R.A. profile - bring your list to the next meeting!

      • Ideas for smaller systems

      • Ideas for larger systems

      • Pick a resources and demonstration

  • January 23, 2007 - Topic: Music Advisory Training and Discussion

  • April 17, 2007 - Topic: Basic Reader's Advisory Training and Discussion

  • July 24, 2007 - Topic TBA - Summer Reading Theme? Kid and teen Reader's Advisory-to help your non-youth staff (or new youth staff) service the youth patrons? Booktalks? What are the biggest titles? If you've never done children's advisory and someone comes up to you, what do you do?