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Readers' Advisory 101

Next session: Summer 2010

Course Objectives and Description

Learn how to become more comfortable in providing readers' advisory (RA) services. Through practice sessions, learn how to use RA tools, craft annotations, read in genres, articulate appeal, and experiment with methods to offer RA services. Readers' Advisory 101 is tailored for support staff, library technicians, newly hired reference librarians, and those librarians who want to brush up on their skills. The topics covered are introductory in nature. Class segments are geared to cover issues of interest to staff in all types of libraries.

Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library by Joyce Saricks will be the course textbook. This well-regarded textbook is published by the American Library Association and available for sale online.

At the start of the class, students will be asked questions about one genre book from the list below (they are welcome to read more than one). It goes without saying that if you register, proceed to read the book well before the class begins! The four books will be used as examples during the class to illustrate many of the subjects and be used in the book discussion session.

  • Romance - The Viscount who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
  • Mystery - Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
  • Speculative Fiction - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
  • Action/Thriller/Suspense - Ice Station by Matt Reilly

Course Outline

  • Module 1: Introduction
  • Module 2: Basic Elements of Appeal
  • Module 3: Basic RA Tools
  • Module 4: Annotations
  • Module 5: The RA Conversation
  • Module 6: Marketing RA and Book Discussions
  • Module 7: Conclusion

Course Format

Beginning in 2008, ALA will use Moodle for all online educational courses. Learn more about Moodle at www.moodle.org.

The course site will open one week prior to the start date for students to access Moodle instructions and set their browsers appropriately. The course site will remain open one week after the end date for students to complete any assignments and submit the course evaluation survey.

Instructor

A librarian since 1977, Joyce Saricks worked exclusively at the Downers Grove Public Library in Illinois until her retirement in 2004. In 1983 she developed and directed a readers’ advisory department there. She has written Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library (3rd ed., ALA, 2005) and Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (2nd ed., ALA, 2009). She currently presents workshops on readers’ advisory, serves as NoveList’s Readalike coordinator (and author), and writes a monthly column on RA for Booklist. She also teaches Readers’ Advisory at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library Science.

Registration Information

Registration limit for each session: 30

Registrations for this session will no longer be accepted once the 30 student limit is reached.

Registration Fees:

  • $130 for RUSA members
  • $160 for ALA members
  • $190 for non-ALA members
  • $100 for students/retirees