When I first started working in libraries, a colleague said to me after observing me help a teen find a book, “you’re really good at RA.”

“What’s RA?” I asked sheepishly. I wasn’t sure it was a compliment.

“Readers’ advisory. Figuring out what kind of book they are looking for, and helping them find it.”

I was a natural readers’ advisor, mostly because I had wide and eclectic reading taste that was definitely influenced by mood, and I thought a lot about why I was drawn to all different kinds of stories, and what they had in common.

Even if you’re not widely read or have narrow, specific taste, you can become good at readers’ advisory.

Before diving into training and spending time honing your readers’ advisory skills, it’s important to establish why this is even something that’s needed and why libraries should be in the business of readers’ advisory.

Why Readers’ Advisory Matters

Part one of the staff readers’ advisory training classes that I’ve started are all about why reader’s advisory matters. It’s perfect for showing reluctant administrators why this type of training is important, and it’s a great overview for reluctant staff on why offering this service is important work for them.

Reader’s advisory is an extension of Ranganathan’s 5 laws of library science.

Books are for use: they are not sacred objects, they are meant to be read.

Every book its reader: every item in the library’s collection has an audience.

Every reader her book: the library’s collection should reflect the wide variety of interests and tastes of the community it serves.

Save the time of the reader: libraries should organize materials in a way that makes it easier for a user to locate that material they need, and library staff should have the requisite knowledge and skills to help a user find the material they want.

The library is always growing: new materials are acquired on an ongoing basis, and so readers’ advisory training is never complete.

Readers’ advisory is as critical a library function as reference. 

Books are the business of libraries, and reading is our brand.

The library’s core function is to make books widely available and accessible in the community. Even as libraries expand their services and offer STEAM programming, community outreach, or civic engagement, that is no reason to treat books as an afterthought.

(You don’t go to a barbecue joint for their cole slaw, you know?)

Libraries best serve their community by spending time and resources doing what they do best—acquiring book on a large scale, organizing them so people can find what they want, and promoting reading as both an educational pursuit and a leisure activity.

Programs and events can and should have other learning or enrichment goals, from scientific education to cultural awareness. But they all tie back into our core mission: libraries promote literacy.

And it’s a good business to be in!

Books change lives.

One time I was weeding books and pulled one that had some wear and tear off the shelf. I opened it up to see if the spine was broken, and noticed it had handwritten notes in the front.

In three distinct handwriting styles, it said, “this book saved my life.” “Me, too. I finally got help.” “I’m so glad I found this book, I don’t know what would have happened to me without it.”

It was a young adult novel about a girl struggling with self harm.

This is just one example – I bet everyone in this room has a story about a book that changed their life.

Reading changes people’s lives in big, dramatic ways, but also in more subtle ways. The stories we read shape the people we become. Research shows that reading changes people’s beliefs and attitudes.

• Experience-Taking

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology explores the process of experience-taking, when people read a story and engage in the imaginative process of spontaneously assuming the identity of a character in a narrative and simulating that character’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors, goals, and traits as if they were one’s own.

Six studies investigated the degree to which particular psychological states and features of narratives cause individuals, without instruction, to engage in experience-taking and investigated how the merger between self and other that occurs during experience-taking produces changes in judgments, attitudes, and behavior that align with the character’s.

• Analogies and Metaphor

Reading literature of any kind features properties that aren’t found in informational texts. Analogies and metaphor offer great potential for knowledge transfer – the ability to apply something learned in one scenario to another.

Reading increases people’s empathy. 

And it makes you better at forming better interpersonal relationships. (More “literary” fiction is associated with this effect – read the links for more detail).

In today’s world, empathy can go a long way. Reading books about other cultures, places, and going on adventures with characters who are different and you can help readers understand the perspective of other people, and make them more likely to understand and respect those from different backgrounds.

Of course, this is why reading diversely is so good for people. And although readers’ advisory is about meeting the needs of readers and not influencing their choices,  readers’ advisory can lead readers to books that will truly resonate with them that they might not have otherwise picked.

Reading is good for your health.

But even if one is not reading highbrow literary fiction that focuses on the psychology of the characters, but is instead drawn to action-packed, even formulaic, genre fiction— reading has benefits. It offers an escape from the real world. Reading reduces stress (which really can kill you) and increases mental well being. A lifetime of reading keeps your mind sharp as you age.

So, we’ve established that libraries are in the books business, and reading is good. Doesn’t it end there? We provide the books, they pick them out. 

But…

Over a million books are published each year.

Readers are overwhelmed with choice. It’ can be frustrating to have to wade through all the books published each month, let alone find that backlist title that perfectly matches their interests and mood, since most news coverage of books focuses on forthcoming titles or recently published books.

Librarians don’t have a sales agenda, like a bookstore or a publisher. They’re in the game of suggesting and curating materials with the end user’s satisfaction in mind.

Most bookstores don’t have the depth or breadth of a library’s holdings, either, so there is more content readily available to recommend.

Libraries have the capacity to build a community of readers.

Staff who are deeply invested in not only the current trends of publishing, but also the needs and interests of their community, can spark conversations and bring people together. Look at the dozens of people who are responding to our weekly question on Facebook of “what are you reading?” People crave that sense of connection, whether they are coming in to browse the new shelf, coming in for a book club, or joining in the conversation online.

So all we’re missing are the skills to expertly match readers to books!

With some basic training, you all can be on your way to helping readers find books that will save their live/relief stress/spark a connection/or be the perfect place for their cat to rest. Part II of this training focuses on Nancy Pearl’s Four Doorways into Fiction, and appeal factors as readers’ advisory tools.