Reader's Advisory: Who Wants What?

Visitors to the library may arrive knowing, more or less, what they want to read but not exactly where to find it. For example: a curious individual may be interested in discovering how and why murders happen. This may seem like a straight-forward question for the 'Psychiatry' shelves except that he or she is headed for 'Fiction' instead. A few simple questions may lead to sending them to 'Psychological Profiles' and similar studies or over to Agatha Christie.

What do you ask? If you have already established the requirement of murder, how and why, then you still need to know where to find literature that satisfies.

Well, try: 'What kind of book do you want?'

This might be answered with 'Don't know', a reply that requires more digging.

A better question might be: 'What do you want from the book?'

Options such as 'Entertainment' leads to fiction while 'Education' leads to non-fiction.

Once you have established where in the library to look, you still have to narrow the field.

Open-ended questions such as 'Do you have a preferred time (year/date/era) in mind?' or 'What kind of murders are you interested in?' tell you if it's 'Victorian Jack-the-Ripper analyzed' or 'Ghost Detective series' that fill the need.

Closed questions such as 'Is this what you needed?' will tell you if you are headed in the right direction.

Be polite and keep trying until you succeed. A happy visitor is one that will come back again and again.

Why good readers advisory matters is a lovely site that explains in detail what kind of questions are effective, helpful, legal and kind. The writer speaks from personal experience with humor and compassion. There are links to other advisory lists as well.

Readers advisor online is another helpful site that, while not so focused on the questions to ask side of things, does cover the theory behind areas to ask about in depth. Put out by Libraries Unlimited, this site is a good one for reference and training.

Events and Displays

 When planning Events you must consider what kind of Displays will enhance them.
This is a picture of a display I put together for an event at the Galt Museum and Archive for an event focused on the history of sports in the Lethbridge area.
Events at the Galt is a quick link to see what events are upcoming at that institution and thus determine if you are interested in attending them.

Displays for events need to be tidy and well presented, but they also may need to be made of items that can be handled by the attendees. Books that can be opened and read, reproductions of pictures that can be picked up and passed around, properly packaged or protected items that can be examined without needing to worry about damage. That way the people who come to the event can literally 'get a feel' for the history, or topic, without making you cringe as your collection is ruined by curious fingers.

Libraries of all types have events. The points they have in common are:

Advertising. You have to let people know there is an event happening. This doesn't have to be expensive, it could be no more than an announcement on your library's web page or poster hanging in the main hall, but you do have to let people know what-when-where for any event you host.

 

Crowds. People attending the event are one way to determine if you actually reached anyone with your advertising. Besides, it's pointless and boring to try to host an event where you are the only person there... not much clean-up, but no fun either.




Chairs. People will need somewhere to sit. Regardless of what your event is about, whether you are showing a movie or publicizing a new book, there will need to be chairs for the weary at the very least. Lots of chairs if you are showing a movie, rather less if your guests are going to stand or walk around a lot.

Tables. The displays will occupy table space. If there will be refreshments you need tables for that as well. Regardless of the event, some tables will be needed. Tables come in many shapes and sizes. There are nesting tables, like the ones shown here, and many others. Each type of table has its own specific uses. End-tables are small and intended to hold displays or single trays of food. Banquet tables are large and intended to seat dozens of people at one time. Choose your tables to suit your event and you will find everything flows more smoothly.

Room. Indoors or out, no event takes place in no-space-at-all. You will need a three-dimensional-space large enough to hold all the chairs, all the tables, and the expected crowd without being too full for people to move and breathe.

Otherwise your guests will miss the point of the event in the crush. They will either be unable to attend because the room is full, or succumb to the pressure and faint. Medical emergencies put a real damper on any event... avoid them.

Displays, on the other hand, vary by event and are limited by two things - your imagination and your budget.

Some ideas can be found on Window Display Tips and Tabletop Display Tips. Although these are aimed at retail, these are applicable in library settings.

Have fun. Be imaginative. It will be work, but very much worth it.