One of my job duties is to teach the other staff in my library district about Reader's Advisory. I sort of inherited the job from another librarian who went on to greener pastures. I only have to do it for 3 days once a year. But for the last 3 years, I have panicked about it for at least a month before I teach because I don't have a set answer on how to help a patron find a good book. Also, I think staff are tough critics and I want to be sure to know my stuff when I present it. But I really have to get over it. I have 1.5 hours to help the staff who attend my class feel more comfortable doing reader's advisory. I know that in MLS programs, they spend a whole semester. So I know I am barely scratching the surface. But it still scares me!
But what scares me more is I know that every week at the Reference Desk, someone is going to ask me to recommend a book. Or they are going to tell me that they are in a reading slump. I stay cool and calm on the outside, but on the inside I am saying "oh sh*t, what the hell am I going to recommend to them?" (BTW, my library has plenty of reader's advisory tools, but it is still one of the hardest questions to get at the reference desk.) Sometimes I hit it out of the park and recommend a book or two that someone loves and they thank me the next time they see me. Other times, I spend 30 to 45 minutes with someone and nothing I recommend is good enough for them. Unfortunately, the bad experiences stick with me.
So why is reader's advisory so hard?? BTW, can anyone recommend any good books??
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