1 / 26

Talking About Reading with Patrons, Coworkers & Friends

Talking About Reading with Patrons, Coworkers & Friends. October 8, 2012 St. Louis County Library Kaite Mediatore Stover Director of Readers’ Services Kansas City Public Library. Rosenberg’s First Law of Reading:. Never apologize for your reading tastes. Kaite’s mother’s corollary:

keisha
Download Presentation

Talking About Reading with Patrons, Coworkers & Friends

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Talking About Reading with Patrons, Coworkers & Friends October 8, 2012 St. Louis County Library Kaite Mediatore Stover Director of Readers’ Services Kansas City Public Library

  2. Rosenberg’s First Law of Reading: Never apologize for your reading tastes. Kaite’s mother’s corollary: Life’s too short to read bad books.

  3. The Readers’ Bill of Rights • The right Not to Read. • The right to Skip Pages. • The right to Not Finish. • The right to Reread. • The right to Read Anything. • The right to Escapism. • The right to Read Anywhere. • The right to Browse • The right to Read Out Loud. • The right Not to Defend Your Tastes.

  4. RA Knowledge & Service • Understanding a book’s appeal • The Readers’ Advisory conversation • Keeping current in the book world

  5. Book Appeal • Pacing • Characterization • Story Line • Frame • Other

  6. Pacing • How quickly are character/plot revealed? • Dialogue vs. Description • Short sentences, short paragraphs, short chapters? • Multiple plotlines, flashbacks, different points of view, straight line plot? • Is the ending open or closed?

  7. Characterization • Are characters developed over time or are they stereotypes? • Is focus on a single character or several who intertwine? • Is characterization most important aspect of story? • Is character developed during the course of aseries of books? • Are they memorable?

  8. Story Line • Does the story emphasize people or situations/events • Is the focus interior/psychological or exterior/action • What is the author’s intent? Serious v. light; comedy v. drama?

  9. Frame • How prominent is the setting or time period? • How does the book make the reader feel? What mood does the book evoke in the reader? • Is a special background integral to the story?

  10. Other • Cover art • Jacket blurb • Book size • Title

  11. Annotations • The core of articulating appeal • Basics • Adjectives • Perceptions • Plot vs. Appeals

  12. How to read a book in 15 minutes With the book in front of you, look at: 1. Cover 2. Jacket blurb 3. Typeface 4. Heft 5. Read a sampling 6. Evaluate--genre/type; pace; clarity 7. What is the format? 8. Connect this book to other books. 9. Who will enjoy this book?

  13. Identifying a Book’s Appeal Now you do it! Using the book you brought with you, examine the cover, read the flyleaf and flip through the first couple of pages of each book. Quickly jot down some key thoughts about the book that would help you to suggest it to a reader.

  14. Libraries Are Still About Reading: The Readers’ Advisory Interview • Conversation • Suggest v. Recommend • Encourage returns

  15. Book Appeal • Pacing • Characterization • Story Line • Frame

  16. Grouping books • Keep a list of what you read • Consult Amazon or NoveList • Ask Fiction-L

  17. Talk about books • With coworkers, friends, family, etc. • Practice using the elements of book appeal • Take notes on what others are reading

  18. Self-prep • Check the new book shelf regularly • Check Fiction displays if available • Check current Best Seller lists • Check Amazon’s front page • Check the SLCL webpage & blog

  19. The Reader Arrives • Readers’ Advisory is NOT like Reference • Authors you don’t know or like • Genres you don’t know or like • Drawing a blank

  20. You’re ready, where’s the reader? • Most are afraid to ask for help • Travel the Fiction stacks when you have time or watch it from the reference desk if possible. • Don’t be afraid to offer suggestions. • Don’t ask “What do you like to read?”

  21. Questions that will help • Tell me about a book you enjoyed. • Do you have an author you never miss? • Have you read anything you disliked lately? • Do you like a book with a fast plot or strong characters? • What kind of book are you in the mood for?

  22. The Interview • Be approachable • Get reader preferences and paraphrase • Remember the goal is frequency and quality

  23. Keeping Current • Twitter Feeds • Blogs: RA For All, Blogging for a Good Book • Other websites: Early Word, Book Group Buzz, MGPL Fiction-L, Indiebound

  24. Want further information? Go here: http://kaitestover.pbworks.com

  25. Afterword • Read • Talk • Share

More Related