The portable MLIS : insights from the experts / edited by Ken Haycock and Brooke E. Sheldon. Chapter 14 Reflection

So here we are on Chapter 14 of The Portable MLIS titled Reader Advisory Services: How to help Users Find a "Good Book" authored by Mary K. Chelton, Professor at Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. My experience with book clubs, which fall under the RA umbrella, is limited. I was part of one when our kids were younger and sleep was at a premium. I found it difficult to keep up with the readings so I graciously bowed out. Aside from my inability to keep up, the discussions often switched gears from reading to parenting. Tangents that were perhaps welcome at the time, but distracting to the purpose of a book club.

The concept of a book club being a facilitated through the library is unfamiliar to me. I love this idea. Our village library was, up until 3 years ago, run under a regime of sorts that was built on “shushing” and overdue fines to fund its budgetary requirements. Our new librarian is excellent. While she has changed the culture and pioneered a new structure over her short tenure with us, she has focused most of her RA intentions on noninteractive services. That said, she has this on her list of to-dos this coming year. The most appealing notion of a book club organized through the library is that it is at a neutral facility - void of distractions – and that the facilitator could be a trained individual. Aside from that you don’t have to know someone to be part of it.

The ah-ha moment for me in this chapter was in the section titled "Face to Face Readers Advisory Encounter" (Chelton, 2008). In an effort to avoid the egregious pitfalls of OPAC dependency and author association I've latched on to Chelton's suggestion for our patrons: "ask them either to describe a title they've loved and enjoyed, or if not that, one they've loathed." It has become my latest mantra in a series of many from this book.

Spring,

Kate

Chelton, Mary, K., (2008). Reader Advisory Services: How to help Users Find a "Good Book" . In K. Haycock & B. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS (pp. 159-167). Westport, CT:Libraries Unlimited.

Notes for personal future reference: Joyce Saricks (fiction), Neal Wyatt (non-fiction) intrinsic characteristics, www.bookletters.com, www.nextreads.com