The Readers' Advisor's Companion

326 Pages·2002·0.92 MB·English

by  Kenneth D. Shearer

The Readers’ Advisor’s Companion
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
The Readers’ Advisor’s Companion
Kenneth D. Shearer
and
Robert Burgin
Editors
2001
LibrariesUnlimited
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Copyright©2001LibrariesUnlimited
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LIBRARIESUNLIMITED
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ISBN:1-56308-880-0
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:6)
CCoonntteennttss
Preface.........................................................................................................xi
Contributors.............................................................................................xvii
Part I: The Education of Advisors and the
Foundations for Professional Practice
Introduction to Part I....................................................................................3
Chapter 1—Missing the Real Story: Where Library and Information
Science Fails the Library Profession (Wayne A. Wiegand)....................7
The Act and Social Nature of Reading.........................................................8
How the Oversight Evolved.........................................................................9
References..................................................................................................14
Chapter 2—Partly Out of Sight; Not Much in Mind: Master’s Level
EducationforAdultReaders’AdvisoryServices(KennethD.Shearer
and Robert Burgin)................................................................................15
Background................................................................................................15
The Study...................................................................................................18
The Findings...............................................................................................19
Conclusions................................................................................................23
Notes...........................................................................................................24
References..................................................................................................24
Chapter3—“TaughtattheUniversityonaHigherPlaneThanElsewhere”:
TheGraduate Education of Readers’ Advisors (Bill Crowley)..............27
Overview....................................................................................................27
What Kinds of Students Study RA?...................................................28
A Few Words About the Chapter Author...........................................29
Adding Adult Readers’ Advisory Services to the Curriculum...................31
Planning the RA Course.....................................................................33
Conflicting Cultures...................................................................................35
Understanding the Research and Publication Imperative..................36
Further Obstacles to Creating RA Courses........................................37
Technique and Theory in the University and RA..............................37
Readers’ Advisory and the Faculty Rewards System........................40
Tactics for Securing RA-Relevant Education............................................40
A “Basic” Readers’ Advisory Syllabus......................................................42
v
vi Contents
Chapter 3 (cont.)
Conclusions................................................................................................42
Notes...........................................................................................................42
References..................................................................................................43
Attachment: “Core” RA Syllabus..............................................................45
Chapter 4—Reinventing Readers’ Advisory (Duncan Smith).........................59
Research Findings......................................................................................60
The Roles of the Readers’ Advisor............................................................63
Best Practices.............................................................................................65
The Importance of Appeal..........................................................................67
Reinventing Readers’ Advisory.................................................................69
The Promise of Electronic Resources........................................................70
Readers’ Advisory in Cyberspace..............................................................73
Conclusions................................................................................................74
References..................................................................................................74
Chapter5—WhatWeKnowfromReadersAbouttheExperienceofReading
(CatherineSheldrickRoss)......................................................................77
From Series Book to Genres of Fiction .....................................................80
Guilty Reading...........................................................................................82
Value of Reading in Their Lives................................................................83
Choosing Books.........................................................................................84
The “Perfect Book”....................................................................................87
Pacing.................................................................................................90
Kind of Action Represented...............................................................90
Characters...........................................................................................91
The Nature of the World Represented................................................92
Emotional Impact on the Reader........................................................93
Demands Placed on the Reader..........................................................93
References..................................................................................................94
Chapter 6—The Reader’s Altered State of Consciousness (Brian Sturm)......97
The Experience of Story.............................................................................98
The Neurobiology of Trance....................................................................100
The Experience of Trance........................................................................106
The Induction of Trance...........................................................................111
Conclusions..............................................................................................113
References................................................................................................113
Contents vii
Part II: Advisory Services in Public and School
Libraries Today: The State of the Art
Introduction to Part II...............................................................................121
Chapter 7—Readers’ Advisory Service: Explorations of the Transaction
(Anne K. May).....................................................................................123
Historical Backdrop..................................................................................124
Research Into the Readers’ Advisory Transaction...................................125
Nassau County Study...............................................................................126
Methodology....................................................................................126
Findings............................................................................................134
Conclusions..............................................................................................145
References................................................................................................146
Chapter 8—Advisory Services in the School Library Media Center
(Carol A. Doll).....................................................................................149
Introduction..............................................................................................149
Characteristics of Readers’ Advisory in Schools.....................................150
Readers’ Advisory Techniques................................................................152
Reading Aloud..................................................................................152
Storytelling.......................................................................................153
Readers’ Theater..............................................................................154
Booktalks..........................................................................................155
Author Visits....................................................................................156
Book Clubs.......................................................................................157
Creating Bibliographies....................................................................158
Individual Guidance.........................................................................158
Identifying Specific Titles........................................................................159
General Bibliographies.....................................................................159
Specialized Bibliographies...............................................................160
Electronic Sources............................................................................161
Conclusions..............................................................................................162
References................................................................................................162
Chapter 9—The Best Tools for Advisors and How to Integrate
Them into Successful Transactions (Joyce G. Saricks).......................165
What Are Readers’ Advisory Reference Resources?...............................166
Why Are Readers’ Advisory Tools Important?.......................................168
How Do We Use Tools in the Readers’ Advisory Interview?.................169
What Problems Do We Encounter Using Tools?.....................................173
What Strategies Easily Increase the Use of Tools?..................................174
What Are the Best Tools?........................................................................175
Notes.........................................................................................................177
References................................................................................................177
viii Contents
Chapter 10—“No, Thanks—I’d Rather Do It Myself”:
Indirect Advisory Services (Nora M. Armstrong)...............................179
Booklists and Bookmarks.........................................................................182
Programs Centered on Books and Reading..............................................185
Challenges................................................................................................188
References................................................................................................189
Chapter 11—The Global Conversation About Books, Readers,
and Reading on the Internet (Roberta S. Johnson)..............................191
Definitions and Differences.....................................................................193
Web Sites..........................................................................................193
Usenet Groups..................................................................................193
Electronic Mailing Lists...................................................................194
Treasure Hunts.................................................................................197
Authors.............................................................................................199
Publishers.........................................................................................200
Collection Development...........................................................................202
Reference Works..............................................................................202
BibliographiesandBooklists...........................................................203
Reviews............................................................................................204
Goals for Reader’s Advisory Librarians..................................................204
The Library’s Internet Presence...............................................................205
References................................................................................................206
Part III:Envisioning an Expanded Advisory
Services Role in Libraries
Introduction to Part III..............................................................................209
Chapter 12—Readers’ Advisory and Nonfiction (Robert Burgin)................213
Introduction..............................................................................................213
Recreational Nonfiction Readers.............................................................214
Readers’ Advisory: Fiction and Nonfiction.............................................215
Traditional Tools......................................................................................219
Nontraditional Tools................................................................................220
Lessons for Readers’ Advisory................................................................222
References................................................................................................226
Chapter 13—Viewers’ Advisory: Handling Audiovisual
Advisory Questions (Randy Pitman)...................................................229
Web Resources.........................................................................................230
Audiovisual Resources and Reference.....................................................232
The Limitations of Audiovisual Resources..............................................233
Nontheatrical Video.................................................................................235
References................................................................................................236
Contents ix
Chapter 14—Leading the Horse to Water: Keeping Young
People Reading in the Information Age (Angelina Benedetti)............237
Teen Readers............................................................................................238
Reading for Readers’ Advisory................................................................239
Setting Up Your Collection......................................................................240
Reaching Out............................................................................................241
Talking With Teen Readers......................................................................242
The Virtual Library and the Virtual Librarian.........................................244
Conclusions..............................................................................................246
Note..........................................................................................................246
Selected Resources for Young Adult Readers’ Advisory........................247
References................................................................................................248
Chapter 15—The Future of Readers’ Advisory in a Multicultural Society
(Alma Dawson and Connie Van Fleet)................................................249
Introduction..............................................................................................249
Defining Multicultural Literature.............................................................250
Trends in Multicultural Literature............................................................251
Impact of Social and Political Change.............................................251
Thematic Patterns.............................................................................252
RewritingGenre...............................................................................253
Publishing.................................................................................................256
Problems and Progress.....................................................................256
Good Business..................................................................................258
Advisory Sources.............................................................................259
Professional Response..............................................................................260
The Trajectory..........................................................................................262
Conclusions..............................................................................................264
References................................................................................................264
Chapter 16—Conceptualizing a Center for the Reader (Glen Holt)..............269
The Transformation of Reader Culture....................................................269
The Changeable Book......................................................................270
The Shifting Reader Culture............................................................270
Books in Library Story Culture........................................................271
The Center for the Reader........................................................................271
The Center for the Reader As a Place..............................................272
Library Outreach......................................................................................279
Partner with Those Who Promote Reading and Stories...................279
Readers’ Advisory Training.....................................................................280
Applied Research in the Center for the Reader........................................282
Conclusions..............................................................................................284
References................................................................................................285