Week 9 Assignment 3

Wow!  What an amazing experience!  This training has been a wonderful resource in providing information on readers' advisory services.  I have actually been doing this for years, even before I became a librarian, scouring the catalog for titles that would be of interest to friends and family members.  For some reason, as a new librarian, I found this process to be a litle intimidating, especially having to suggest titles to customers in genres that I may not have been familiar with.  Thankfully, Be More Bookish has helped me to relax, realize that I know more than I think I do, and enter into the whole process with more of an open mind, knowing that there is no one perfect book, but a rnage of possibilities.  It is good to keep in mind the ultimate goal of connecting our customers to material that they find useful and enjoyable.  There is such a range of resources available to research and provide information in genres with which I am less familiar.

I have especially enjoyed using GoodReads.  A coworker turned me on to this shortly before Be More Bookish started.  This has been an excellent way to keep track of what I have read and what I want to read. I have recommended this to several customers who want to do the same.  The suggested titles and suggested authors read-a-likes is also very useful.

And EarlyWord is my new favorite thing!  I have signed up to receive their newsletter and now check the new releases section regularly so I know what customers will be asking for.  And as a lover of thrillers, I have discovered several new titles and have enjoyed sharing them with customers and staff.

The hardest part for me was the kind of hazy, undefined nature of posting my thoughts on a blog.  I am more comfortable with the academic type of learning that requires answering specific questions or writing an essay with an objective in mind.  At times it has been difficult to crystallize my thoughts and present them in a coherent way.  While challenging, I have also learned a great deal from the process.

Many thanks to all of your for being a part of this!  And many thanks to Patrick Fromm for presiding over it all!  Best wishes to all of you as you continue your readers' advisory journeys.