Reader's Advisory: The Big Question

Earlier this week, I had a library patron ask for a particular title, but then she asked me what my favorite book was.  I said that was a hard question, and she then rephrased it to who my favorite author was.  Also a hard question, but I told her a few of my favorites and Maggie Stiefvater caught her attention.  She asked if there was a book by Maggie that I would recommend to her, and I immediately suggested The Scorpio Races since it is a standalone and a great book (in my humble opinion).  The patron was amazed by the brief description I gave of the story, and she took one of our copies, thanking me for making her day. 

While this is a good example of reader's advisory, I wanted to discuss the idea of reader's advisory in an unfamiliar area.  One of the main reasons I am a blogger is to stay in the know about various titles, but what happens if a patron is looking for a book suggestion in a genre I'm not familiar?  I do try to read in different genres so I can offer advice when patrons ask, but there are times I'm just at a loss on what to tell the patron.  Case in point, a patron came in and asked for a book suggestion.  I immediately pointed out the new bookshelves which had a copy of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo front and center.  However, the patron said, "Oh, I don't like fantasy" at which point, I asked what genres she did enjoy.  Needless to say, the patron was not very forthcoming in what type of book(s) she wanted.  This might have been a specialized case, but they do happen on occasion.

Sometimes, I also find myself recommending books that I have heard good reviews but haven't had the chance to read it myself.  I usually prefer to recommend titles I've read, but there's only so much I can offer that others have yet to read as well.  When that happens, I will inform the patron that while I haven't read it, I have heard friends speak well of the title in question.  My main question is would you (a librarian) recommend only books that you have read or would you suggest unread titles that are within the same genre as what the patron is asking for?  And would you (a patron) prefer recommendations read by the librarian you're asking for book suggestions? 

How do you handle reader's advisory?

A Day in the Life of a Reference Librarian

Some days are calmer than others (as are some weeks at times), but yesterday seemed to move in a tornado formation while at work leaving me utterly exhausted after getting home. I'm sure the rest of the week will be smooth-sailing from here.

9:00 am - Programming Meeting/Brainstorming session with Adult Services, representative of Youth Services, representative of Circulation, and Branch Manager. Happy to report we're pretty set with ideas for the rest of the year.
10:00 am - Prep computer lab for Library Orientation.
10:30 am - Present Library Orientation to attendees regarding services for our community and to the students of the university campus.
11:30 am - Coffee Break, though I was unable to sit with said coffee as my fellow Supervising Librarian needed to speak with me about our audiovisual materials order.
12:00 pm - Reference Desk in which I observe one of my library assistants in her customer service and offer assistance where needed.
1:00 pm - Lunch with beau.
2:00 pm - Impromptu meeting with Colleague regarding a matter that occurred earlier in the week. The matter was resolved on Monday, and I explained the situation to my Colleague.
3:00 pm - Reference Desk in which we assist several college students with a project to locate full-text, scholarly articles regarding human development and social patterns.
4:00 pm - Revise reference and information desk schedule for following week. (It will be rather gnarly.)
4:30 pm - Snack Break and conversation with Academic Librarian regarding next week's schedule and events.
5:00 pm - Reference Desk in which I did a reader's advisory for a student who had checked out a book I'd recommended to her before though she had been unable to read it due to time constraints. Makes me happy when they return for the same book when they do have time to read. ^_^
5:30 pm - Begin closing procedures in which Desk Partner and I informed two young students of other study areas for after the library closes at 6:00 pm. Some have difficulty paying attention to the closing announcements and choose to pack up their belongs at 5 minutes til closing. And be advised, if a reference question is asked after the final closing announcement, we will give the short answer and recommend coming to the library the following day for a more detailed answer. ^_^
6:05 pm - Close the library after a patron with several children finishes checking out materials.

2013 Resolutions Bookish and Non-Bookish

It's always nice to start out the year with some goals in mind.  But first we must reflect on the previous year at hand.  One of my personal goals was to become more involved in the blogging community, and I believe I managed to do that on a local scale.  With all of the amazing bloggers in town, I always look forward to bookish events going on around the city.  

Reading challenge-wise, I wanted to read 10 books for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.

I only managed to read 9 books on my 2012 TBR pile, but I still count that as a victory.  Here's what I read for this challenge:

- Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

- Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

- The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegan

- Anew by Chelsea Fine

- Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

- A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

- Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

***

Originally, I had planned to read 10 YA Mythology books for the 2012 YA Mythology Challenge.

I managed to read 5 books for this challenge, and I think it was due to being burned out on Greek mythology.  Still, I have quite a few more on my shelves so I'll have time to read more this year.  Here's what I read for this challenge:

- Everneath by Brodi Ashton

- Underworld by Meg Cabot

- Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

- Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

- Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

***

On the bright side, I met my Goodreads 2012 Challenge by reading 55 books in 2012, 5 more than my projected amount of 50 books.  I know I'd said I didn't want to count graphic novels, but I love them so much!  And there were quite a few good series that I found and just had to read.  

***

For the new year, I plan to read 75 books for the Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge and I won't exclude any type of book whether it's a novel, graphic novel, or a picture book.  Books are meant to be enjoyed after all.  And because I plan on focusing on growing as a librarian, I won't participate in other reading challenges for 2013.  

This year my resolutions are to:

1) Attend TLA conference and gain as much insight from panels hosted by my colleagues.  

2) Give my library assistants opportunities that will help them grow as professionals.

3) Help my library become more active in the community through volunteering our time.

4) Spread more word about Texas authors, especially those in my city.

5) Start and stick with a proper exercise regiment with my trainer (my beau).

6) Write every day even if it's just a couple of sentences.

I hope all of these will be possible to achieve this year, and I look forward to seeing more of my bookish friends at future events held in 2013.  Good luck this year, everyone! ^_^

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2013?

Thought for Thursday: Different Jackets

Disclaimer: This post will be mostly me discussing the job of a librarian II, or supervising librarian, just to get it out in the open.  In other words, very librarian-centric, dear readers. 

Now, judging by the title, you might think about the near arsenal of jackets present in my closet (and yes, one of them is an actual denim jacket).  However, I'm not referring to those jackets that I wear to the library depending on the weather or building temperature.  I'm talking about the "wearing of different jackets" in the same sense of "wearing different hats" in which I have to act in accordance to a particular situation, typically at work. 

When I first started my job, I was a librarian I, basically a reference librarian that assists patrons with reference questions, maintaining a clean and neat collection, and working together within the Adult Reference Department to keep the library running smoothly.  Being the meeting room coordinator, I had to wear the "inquisitor/negotiation jacket" when outside organizations and groups needed to use the library's meeting rooms or conference rooms.  There was a lot of information to have on hand with each group, and if something was left out, I had to find out the information even if it meant hunting down the contact person.  I found that I often wore the "enforcer jacket" when working with some groups that required meeting rooms or even library audiovisual equipment.  And believe me, enforcing the library's policy wasn't always easy, but luckily I was backed by my branch manager.

Over the summer, I received a promotion to a librarian II, or a supervising librarian, position, but I didn't really start feeling like a supervisor until these past few months.  The number of jackets I've worn in the latter half of the year has grown exponentially.  I've worn the "interviewing jacket" when finding suitable candidates to work with the department, the "arbitration jacket" when deciding on candidates to fill open positions in the department, the "instructor jacket" when training and informing the new library assistants, and the "mediator jacket" when smoothing out snafus.  And that's just for starters. 

When it concerns my new library assistants, my most-oft worn jacket is that of the supervising librarian.  For the most part, I try to act as their confidant and the instructor that they can come to with any questions that might arise throughout the time they are scheduled at the library.  Presenting a warm personality definitely helps with giving them the confidence that they can visit me without thinking they are "bothering" me, even though they usually start their questions off with, "I'm sorry to bother you with this question, but..."  It's the fact that there is a "but" in that opening statement that makes me feel I've been training them right. 

Although I've started my climb up the biblioladder, I still maintain my student's jacket.  This jacket has definitely helped me grow as a supervisor in more times than I can recall.  I think it's due to the librarians that I look up to as I continue down the path of library and information science.  My branch manager is a wellspring of information and is always teaching me new means of addressing concerns, guiding my coworkers, and helping my library assistants to succeed.  I'm not sure where I'd be without my branch manager as a mentor, and I plan on keeping my student's jacket as there is always much to learn even as I climb higher on the biblioladder. 

All in all, while I wear a colorful variety of jackets in the library, it's those that aren't visible to the naked eye that I try to maintain and strengthen over my career as a librarian.

Reviewing Books You Did Not Finish Reading

I'm going to speak freely and frankly as a librarian here: it's okay to not finish a book and still have an opinion on what content you did read.  

Sometimes, we feel the obligation to read and finish each and every book we start.  If that's the case, then perhaps some of us wouldn't be as avid readers as we are simply because of books that might have really disappointed us in some way or prevented us from reading a title we might have actually enjoyed.  I do believe in finishing what I start, however, there is a limited amount of time given in order to do the things I love, which includes reading.  If I am not enjoying a book or if there is some aspect about a book that makes me furious, melancholy, befuddled, or at the worst bored, I will stop reading and sometimes give the book away.  

Off-hand, I can only think of one title that I had to put away (and I did this 2 times) before finally saying I just couldn't read it and had to give it away.  If I had forced myself to sit through the entirety of the book, would I have been any better off?  Possibly but in my honest opinion, I felt no need to continue reading that particular title.  It just wasn't my cup of tea, and I will leave it at that.  

There are some bloggers who post either "non-reviews" or "semi-reviews" of books they were unable to finish for one reason or another.  I actually like the idea because they can still get their opinions out in regards to the book they were attempting to read.  Maybe it was the pacing, the characters, the overall story, or perhaps even the sub-story (which might have had more page-time than the actual story), who knows?  But that doesn't mean their voices should not be heard as long as it is done constructively.  

The bottom line is:

1) If you're not enjoying a book or do not feel compelled to continue reading a book, you don't have to.  

2) If you want to express your thoughts on why you couldn't finish the book, that's perfectly reasonable.

3) Remember, when you do "review" the book, inform your readers that you did not finish the book.

4) If you could recommend the book to readers of a certain applicable genre, feel free to do so.

And most important of all:

5) Move on and start reading the next title on your TBR list.

A Reference Librarian's Day

Being a full-time librarian, I have my busy days and not-so-busy days, and with new staff to train, most of my days are busy.  Sometimes, I have the feeling that some still believe the stereotype that librarians sit at the Reference Desk and read, which actually is against policy unless reading through professional review journals.  Here's a brief schedule of what my Monday was like. ^_^

12:00-1:00 pm: Arrive at the library, updating and printing copies of the weekly meeting schedule to distribute to all departments.  Update meeting log to include applications accepted over the weekend.

1:00-1:30 pm: Prepare the conference room for the Adult Services Book Club meeting, printing out reading guides and handing out the title for next month.

1:30-2:30 pm: Have a rousing and enlightening talk on current month's Book Club title.  Help direct the discussion along the reading guide's questions.

2:30-3:00 pm: Take down and close conference room, taking a 15 minute break afterward to check out next month's Book Club title and discuss possible titles for next year with coworkers.

3:00-4:00 pm: Review and contact patrons' requesting the use of the library's meeting/conference rooms if clarification is needed.  Take meeting room applications down to branch manager for approval.

4:00-5:00 pm: Lunch/dinner

5:00-7:00 pm: Cover Information Desk and Reference Desk, answering patrons' questions, directing patrons to titles and/or research materials, and opening meeting/conference rooms for tonight's outside organization meetings.

7:00-8:00 pm: Start planning out Reference Desk Schedule for following week and update Shelf-Reading Schedule to reflect new full-time and part-time employees.  Clean staff kitchen.

8:00-8:30 pm: Cover Reference Desk and train new full-time paraprofessional in closing procedures.

8:30-9:00 pm: Prepare the branch for closing, checking technical closets, straightening out the bookshelves, tidying the desks and tables, vacating the study rooms and meeting rooms, and closing the computer lab.

If you're a librarian, tell me how your day goes!  And if you're a library patron, tell me how your librarians help you! ^_^