Content area

Abstract

I have been a student of readers’ advisory (RA) for more than 25 years. Librarianship is a second career for me, and I had no exposure to the practices of RA until I took a class in my second year of library school. It was there that I met the late Dr. Connie Van Fleet, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic professor who encouraged me to parley my previous customer service experience into public librarianship. Her RA class was the most entertaining and eye-opening course I attended in my two years at Kent State University because it was there that I embraced two of S. R. Ranganathan’s laws: every reader his or her book and every book its reader. I went on to work in Cleveland Public Library’s Popular Library, a room that held new fiction and popular nonfiction. The staff in Popular Library created booklists, led a book discussion, curated the various genre shelves, and shared their knowledge of reading subjects in an organic way working directly with patrons. Although it has been many years since I worked at CPL, I will always be grateful to the library staff for fueling my interest in RA services.

Details

Title
Readers’ Advisory: Thinking About Books
Publication title
Volume
60
Issue
1
Pages
8-9
Number of pages
3
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Section
Columns
Publisher
American Library Association
Place of publication
Chicago
Country of publication
United States
ISSN
10949054
e-ISSN
21635242
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
Document type
Editorial
Publication history
 
 
Milestone dates
2024-10-29 (Submitted); 2024-10-29 (Issued); 2024-10-29 (Created); 2024-10-29 (Modified)
ProQuest document ID
3171882210
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/readers-advisory-thinking-about-books/docview/3171882210/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
Copyright American Library Association 2024
Last updated
2025-11-14
Database
ProQuest One Academic