With in-person RA I talked about Mary K's Generic rules of RA which she developed after having her student do secret shopper interactions. They were a total of eleven rules but I just pulled out the following:
- Listen to the user and try to find out what the person likes and/or loathes reading before you do anything else.
- Ignore what you like to read unless you're sure it matches what the reader likes.
- Find out if the person wants something else by the same author before suggesting it.
- Use the library's catalog only after you have a clear idea of what the person is interested in and be sure to verify any suggestions with the library's collection (that they are owned, on the shelf, etc.)
- Explain what you are doing as you search, especially if you are using an electronic tool, such as NoveList. Tell them how they can use it themselves.
- Unless the user tells you that there is some urgency, ask for some more time and offer to phone or email a result at a later time (Smith, 13).
These were just a few that I put in the paper that I felt were the most important.
Online RA is blogs, microblogs (Twitter), Facebook, Pinterest, and form-based RA. Form-based RA was said to have started in Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library where they created a form to be either filled out online or picked up in the library, filled out, and then turned back in. This gives the librarian time to make better selections for patrons. I listed the following libraries that I found that have form-based RA on their website:
- Anderson Public Library: https://www.and.lib.in.us/looking-for-a-good-book-adults
- Hamilton East Public Library: https://hepl.lib.in.us/my-next-book/
- New York Publick Library: https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/recommendations/ask-us
- Brooklyn Public Library: https://bklynlibrary.org/bookmatch
- Jefferson-Madison Regional Library: https://jmrl.org/pr-readers.htm
- Williamsburg Regional Library: https://www.wrl.org/books-and-reading/adults/find-good-book/looking-good-book-reader-profile-forms
Many different libraries use blogs to post book review and suggestion. Microblogging has become popular to post book title and library events. Pinterest has become a place where some librarians have made booklists.
Smith, Duncan. “Readers’ Advisory: The Who, the How, and the Why.” Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 54, no. 4, Summer 2014, pp. 11-16. Academic Search Premier, https://www.statelib.lib.in.us/inspire/authenticate-eds.asp?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26AuthType%3dcookie%2cgeo%2curl%2cip%26geocustid%3ds8475741%26db%3daph%26AN%3d103412239%26site%3deds-live%26scope.
Looks like we chose the same topic, but you covered several more aspects of both in-person and online RA. Great work! To me, I feel there are too many situations that lead to rushed RA conversations. Librarians should always do their best to have the RA conversation, but a physical RA form to hand out can add to the service. Having an RA form, physical or online, can allow patrons to take the time to think about their own interests. It also then allows library staff to gain experience by going through the RA process looking at the patron's request. My RA skills have improved a lot since I began responding to online RA form requests. It allows me to look at several books and to see what is out there. We as librarians can do this in our spare time, but there are just so many books out there. At least with an RA form completed you are narrowed down to what you have to look for.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that book displays could be considered a form of RA service. I also haven't heard of RA forms, but they seem like they'd be very useful! I feel like using an RA form would take pressure off of patrons, too. I'm a shy person, so I don't like "bothering" people, and I'm never really sure what to say, so having a form to fill out instead of face-to-face interaction would be wonderful to me.
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