Readers' advisory tips & tricks

Readers' Advisory Tips & Tricks
Chris May
Tiffin-Seneca Public Library
maych@oplin.org

Basics of RA
Appeal factors- What did the patron like about the book?
• Characters- well developed or easy to identify, focus on one
or more characters, point of view, easy to identify with
characters
• Pacing- Quick or slow to develop, more dialogue or
description, short or long chapters/paragraphs, multiple
plot lines or single plot
• Storyline- Emphasis on people or events, is the focus
internal/psychological or more action oriented

Basics of RA
• Frame- Detailed background, does the setting effect the story,
anything special about the frame
• Writing Style (light, literary)
• Basically, how did the patron experience the book?
• Be careful! Don't make it too complicated for the patron. Some
people will simply want a title/author read-alike and you can give
them several possibilities. Get a feel for how in-depth the patron
wants to go.
Don't forget: This is the fun part of the job!

ORE on the Web
The Ohio Library Council offers Ohio Reference Excellence
on the Web.
Access the Readers' Advisory portion from
http://www.olc.org/ore/2readers.htm

Passive Readers' Advisory
• Booklists- These can be made available in print or online format
(Ideas: If you liked..., Cozy Mysteries, staff picks, movie tie-ins)
• Also: Don't forget to promote BookLetters (or NextReads)
• Best Seller Lists- Patrons love to see lists and this is one you simply
have to print out.
• Displays- No shortage of ideas! Try holiday-themes, hot news
topics, movie tie-ins, book awards, etc.
• Genre labels- Easy to identify.

Don't forget print resources!
These can be especially useful if a patron is just getting started into a genre.
Consider:
• Readers' Advisory Guide to (Mystery, Romance, Horror, etc.) from ALA
Editions
• Genreflecting by Diana Tixier Herald
• Read On series by Libraries Unlimited (Biography, Life Stories, Historical
Fiction, etc.)
• Now Read This by Nancy Pear and Sarah Statz Cords
• What Do I Read Next: A Readers' Guide to Current Genre Fiction by Neil
Barron
• Reader's Advisory: An Unshelved Collection by B. Barnes and G. Ambaum

Free online resources
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
• Browse by authors/titles. Includes lists of new authors/books.
Author information gives lists of every book written by a particular
author, including series lists.
• What's hot.
• Lists for most major book awards.
• One of the best resources for series information

http://www.openingthebook.com/whichbook
• Easy to use appeal terms and the ability to
create lists.
http://www.literature-map.com/
• Enter an author’s name- database will
return read-alikes.
http://www.fictiondb.com/
• New fiction titles/reviews and series
information.

http://whatshouldireadnext.com/
• Great resource for author/title read-alikes
• Crowdsourced suggestions from readers
http://www.readersadvice.com/
• Comprehensive lists of genre and sub-genre
(and even sub-sub genre) titles
http://www.readinggroupchoices.com/
• Recommendations for book groups. Includes
info on the author, summary, reviews.

• Book discussion guides
• Read-alikes by title or author
• "Find a book" tool- combine categories to find your next read
• Author bios- even an author pronunciation guide
• What's new
• Online magazine
http://www.bookbrowse.com/

NoveList
• Subscription database
• Title/author/series read-alikes for every title within the database.
Nine title/author/series (when applicable) read-alikes for each title
• NoveList Plus includes nonfiction!
• Includes book discussion guides

Genre-specific websites
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com
• Includes a character database!
http://www.theromancereader.com
http://www.locusmag.com
• Sci-fi and fantasy reviews, list, index
http://westernwriters.org

Readers' advisory tips & tricks

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