Readers' Advisory

First of all, I’ve loved to read ever since I can remember. One of my first memories is my dad reading me a bed time story every night and me asking for more. I was always reading in school and took my books with me in the car whenever my parents dragged me around on errands. I lived in a township where the farmers voted to not pay taxes toward libraries so I did not have access to a library except for my school library (which I remember not being able to check very many books out at a time). This fueled my longing to work in a library so that I could have access to these resources any time I wanted and to help push for the importance of reading and having libraries be equal access for all community members. I grew away from reading for fun once I hit college, simply because I did not have time to read as I was always studying or reading books for college courses (I made time for my favorite authors, of course). I received a nook and found the wonders of eBooks and mostly read on the

  I think some of the better ways to market our fiction collection is to have displays everywhere throughout the floor and by the circulation desk when patrons are checking out. I would chose to have book displays at the end of the book aisles that rotate to different genres and topics every week or so. This is great for catching patron’s eyes-the cover sometimes really does make or break the book. If the cover is too plain, a patron might not pick it up to read the synopsis (I’ve been guilty of doing that).   I also liked Saricks’ recommendation at displaying “Titles You May Have Missed” that rotate on a weekly basis and constantly changing. At the beginning of the year, I did a “Best of 2017” book display and placed the books that were best-sellers or that Library Reads recommended and it was very popular, I can see this also being popular. Another way I would market the book collection would be to have bookmarks or small signs posted around the collection and circulation desk re

Some of the things that I would consider if I was faced with this decision are: Do we already have some books separated by genre? Are there spine labels that depict types of genre or subject matter?  Do our patrons want the books to be separate, or would they rather they all be in one big collection? Also, are we separating children, teens, adult, or all three? If our collection is not currently separated into genres and we decide to only separate LGBTQ and African American Fiction, then I would say no, we should not separate them and keep them integrated with the rest of the fiction collection. However, if we have some of our collection separated (for instances at the library where I work our Mystery, Paperbacks, and Inspirational books are separated) then it may be more acceptable to separate both LGBTQ and African American Fiction. But does that make it right? With that being said, if I were faced with this decision, I would not separate the LGBTQ and African American Fi

Author: Jodi Picoult Title: Sing You Home Genre: Fiction/LGBTQ Publication Date: 2011 Number of Pages: 466 Geographical Setting: Rhode Island Time Period: Contemporary Series (If applicable): None Plot Summary : Picoult’s story begins with the lives of Zoe and Max Baxter, told from Zoe’s perspective. Zoe is pregnant and the two couldn’t be happier. This was their 5th and last attempt at IVF so that Zoe could have a baby and they could start their family. After tragedy strikes and causes a rift between Zoe and Max, they both turn in different ways to cope. Zoe reunites with her friend Vanessa and they form a special friendship that turns into something much more. Max, turns to drinking and when he finds himself in a serious accident, gives his life over to God. Zoe and Vanessa start to make a life with each other and must work against everyone to prove that their relationship is love and will last a lifetime. A greater part of the book focuses on a court case b

YA and Graphic Novels My thoughts on those who think that YA literature or graphic novels are not legitimate literary choices, then they have not read those genres and are assuming they read like children’s books (which are geared for children of the appropriate age level). YA books (and new adult) often have many lessons within the story and often deal with legitimate emotions and events such as mental illness, death, divorce, and more. Before there was YA and graphic novels (which many have just as much dialogue as a novel), many readers were stuck in between novels. They felt too old for the children’s books, but didn’t quite understand the adult literature that was available to them. Sometimes they were even told the book was too mature for them. This became discouraging and many readers felt lost without a book to read, learn from, and enjoy. We, as librarians, can work to educate the public about the importance of these genres and how there is a genre for every person a

Author: Karen Kingsbury Title: Leaving Genre: New Adult/ Inspirational Publication Date: 2011 Number of Pages: 316 Geographical Setting: Bloomington, Indiana Time Period: Contemporary Series (If applicable): 1st book Plot Summary: Karen Kingsbury’s story follows the lives of Bailey Flannigan (daughter of the Colts head football coach) and her dreams to work and live in New York City on Broadway. Bailey’s story continues from one of Karen Kingsbury’s other works- Above the Line series. In this series, Bailey is about to graduate from college, has wrapped up filming the movie, Unlocked , and gets her big break to be a cast dancer in the broadway production of Hairspray. We read about Bailey’s day to day life as she struggles to find her path in life and what God has in store for her-whether that is in New York, California, or in Indiana. Leaving also focuses on Bailey’s long time crush, Cody Coleman as he deals with PTSD from being on active duty in Iraq, his m