readers' advisory: research and trends in ra services tara bannon, senior librarian, denver...

Readers' Advisory: Research and Trends in RA Services

Tara Bannon, Senior Librarian, Denver Public LibraryJessi Barrientos, Librarian, High Plains Library DistrictJoanna Nelson, Teen Services Coordinator, Pikes Peak Library DistrictDodie Ownes, Adult Services Librarian, Douglas County LibrariesDuncan Smith, Vice President, NoveList

Creative Acts

By E

vent

orbo

t (O

wn

wor

k) [G

FDL

(htt

p://

ww

w.g

nu.o

rg/c

opyl

eft/f

dl.h

tml)

or C

C-BY

-SA-

3.0

(htt

p://

crea

tivec

omm

ons.

org/

licen

ses/

by-s

a/3.

0)],

via

Wik

imed

ia C

omm

ons

“ A new medium does not extinguish the old.

Becoming something new

The original maker space

http://com

mons.w

ikimedia.org/w

iki/File:Children%C2%

B4s_library_books.jpeg, via Wikim

edia Comm

ons

Embedded experiences

This image w

as made by Loadm

aster (David R. Tribble) via W

ikimedia Com

mons

Embedded reading

This image w

as made by Loadm

aster (David R. Tribble) via W

ikimedia Com

mons

Embedded reading

This image w

as made by Loadm

aster (David R. Tribble) via W

ikimedia Com

mons

Embedded reading

This image w

as made by Loadm

aster (David R. Tribble) via W

ikimedia Com

mons

Books = Our brand

Books Our business

Reading IS our business

1 Assess how we are doing today

2 Expand beyond the passionate few

3 Move out from behind the desk

Three steps to the future

By TaitaFkm (O

wn w

ork) [GFD

L (http://w

ww

.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.htm

l) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecom

mons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)],

via Wikim

edia Comm

ons

How are we doing today?

84%RA is important or very important to library mission

Mission control

By NASACjosefy at en.w

ikipedia Later version(s) were uploaded by TheDJ at en.w

ikipedia. [Public domain], from

Wikim

edia Comm

ons

What libraries are doing

Does this align with user expectations?

All staff

Certain staff

Full time RA staff

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Who Takes Responsibility for RA?

Is RA seen as a core duty?

RA Training Provided by Library

Self-d

irecte

d train

ing

Onsite st

aff tr

aining

Online tr

aining

Regional

meetingsOth

er

No train

ing0%

20%

40%

60%

Does this convey priority?

Evaluating RA Effectiveness

Very effectiveEffectiveSomewhat effec-tiveNot very effective

How are we measuring?

What Are Libraries Measuring?

0%15%30%45%

What gets measured, gets managed

1992: The Nature of the Readers’

Advisory Transaction (Kenneth Shearer)

Not much has changed

2013: Secret Shopper Study at

major urban library

2000: A Look at Readers’

Advisory Services (Anne May)

2014: Secret Shopper

experience (Mary K Chelton)

How should we define and measure success?

By http://w

ww

.flickr.com/photos/giovannijl-s_photohut/ G

io JL [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecom

mons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via

Wikim

edia Comm

ons

Moving beyond the passionate few

By jeshua.nace (Librarian) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecom

mons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via W

ikimedia Com

mons

High book knowledge

High commitment to customer service

Low commitment to customer service

Low book knowledge

A Model for RA Service Development

High book knowledge

High commitment to customer service

Low commitment to customer service

Low book knowledge

They know books and

know how to help people

A Model for RA Service Development

xHigh book knowledge

High commitment to customer service

Low commitment to customer service

Low book knowledge

They know books and

know how to help people

Don’t be here

A Model for RA Service Development

xHigh book knowledge

High commitment to customer service

Low commitment to customer service

Low book knowledge

They know books and

know how to help people

Opportunity:find tools to

enhanceknowledge

Don’t be here

A Model for RA Service Development

xHigh book knowledge

High commitment to customer service

Low commitment to customer service

Low book knowledge

They know books and

know how to help people

Opportunity:find tools to

enhanceknowledge

Opportunity: encourage customer

service skills

Don’t be here

A Model for RA Service Development

Moving out from behind the desk

Our RA priorities

Face-to-faceIn house,

self-directed

ProgramsDigital,

self-directed

Face-to-faceIn house,

self-directed

ProgramsDigital,

self-directed

Face-to-face In house, self-directedPrograms Digital, self-directed

Our RA priorities

vs. reader priorities

Lots of Time

High Touch

Low Touch

No Time

A Model for Meeting Reader Needs

Lots of Time

High Touch

Low Touch

No Time

Face-to-face RALibrary programs

A Model for Meeting Reader Needs

Lots of Time

High Touch

Low Touch

No Time

Face-to-face RALibrary programs

E-newslettersForm-based RA

Enriched catalog

A Model for Meeting Reader Needs

Lots of Time

High Touch

Low Touch

No Time

Face-to-face RALibrary programs

E-newslettersForm-based RA

Enriched catalog

PostersBrochuresSelf-check

A Model for Meeting Reader Needs

Lots of Time

High Touch

Low Touch

No Time

Face-to-face RALibrary programs

E-newslettersForm-based RA

Enriched catalog

PostersBrochuresSelf-check

Book displaysShelf talkers

A Model for Meeting Reader Needs

By Matt

hew G

ordon (Ow

n work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (htt

p://creativecomm

ons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikim

edia Comm

ons

By Matt

hew G

ordon (Ow

n work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (htt

p://creativecomm

ons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikim

edia Comm

ons

Be in the 1% inspiration business

I am now 16 and all I can say is thank you. Thank you for all the books that helped make me the person I am today. Don't worry, I turned out OK, or so they tell me. I would not be who I am today if it weren't for the inspiration you put in your books. They inspire me to do my best and when that isn't good enough, to push harder.

They motivate me to be loyal to my friends and to stand up for the truth. When someone tells me I can't do something because of some fault I have, your books inspire me to want to do it more, so thanks again for the inspiration and making us, your fans, realize that there is a hero in everyone of us, even an ADHD, dyslexic, annoying seaweed-brained kid. Sincerely, Lindsey

“…But when I was 12, a bookmobile came to the fields. And you have to understand that I wasn’t allowed to have books… So I told the bookmobile person that I was a little nervous about the mountain blowing up. And he said, “You know, the more you know about something, the less you will fear it.”

And then he gave me a book about volcanos. And then I saw a book about dinosaurs. I said “Oh, that looks neat.” So he gave me a book about dinosaurs. And I took them home, and I devoured them. I didn’t just read them, I devoured them. And I came back in two weeks and had more questions. And he gave me more books and that started it.

That taught me that hope was not just a word. And it gave me the courage to leave the camps. That’s where the books made the difference.

By the time I was 15, I knew there was a world outside of the camps. I believed I could find a place in it. And I did.”

--Storm Reyes, who grew up in migrant farm worker camps outside Tacoma, Washington during the early 1960s

Source: NPR StoryCorps http://storycorps.org/listen/storm-reyes/

And now words of wisdom from our active RA panelists!

Thank you!

Tara Bannon -- tbannon@denverlibrary.orgJessi Barrientos -- JBarrientos@highplains.us

Joanna Nelson -- jonelson@ppld.orgDodie Ownes -- downes@dclibraries.orgDuncan Smith -- duncan@ebscohost.com