“Can you help me find a book?”
It’s that moment we’ve been trained for. We’re ready for this. We have scoured the latest book lists, we read library journals, we make a point of reading as much as possible… we are librarians! So why is this so hard to do?
Reader’s advisory causes the most anxiety for most librarians I know. Reading is such a personal thing. Recommending a television show or even music is one thing. If you don’t like it, you change the channel… but books are a whole different animal. One person’s favorite may not line up with another. You may find a book that is absolutely fabulous but may challenge the values of the person you are recommending it for. There are so many fine lines.
“Tell me about a book that you liked.” This is the question Librarian extraordinaire Nancy Pearl suggests starting with. Not, “What was the last thing you read?”, or “What authors do you like?” These questions cause people to freeze up and feel like they are being tested, which is not the point. Our job is to find a book that they are going to enjoy. One that enriches their lives a little bit and one where they come back with a smile on their face, or at least a point of reference whether we were on the right track or not. It is a hard job but there are a lot of people who have created tools and resources to help us out. Some of the tools I use regularly are:
Young Adult Library Association