Three Ideas for Marketing Readers' Advisory
1. Shelf Talkers - A strategy recommended by Carrol (n.d.) in which books are placed with their covers facing out for passing readers to see, and accompany them with brief reviews, blurbs, or recommendations from library staff. I have seen this strategy used to great effect in bookstores, and I think the concept is even more appealing in a context like a library in which you don't have to be wary about being advertised to so you will buy something! Saricks (2005) points out that the majority of readers looking for a good book in the library are browsers, roaming the shelves for something that looks appealing, and Shelf Talkers are designed to engage with them.
2. Online Readers' Advisory Service - Just as many libraries have "Ask a Librarian" chat applications embedded in their web pages, Burke and Strothmann (2015) recommend that having a chat box marked "Looking for a Good Book?" or something similar can engage with readers who might never set foot in the library or who might be anxious about having a face-to-face conversation with a readers' advisory librarian. Librarians doing readers' advisory work can feel a little more at ease as they take their time trying to find the best possible recommendations for the patron rather than feeling rushed by the need to produce a fast result.
3. Themed Social Media Posts - At the library where I work, we create displays of books that fit certain themes, and then I create daily social media posts that give either a sample sentence, a brief blurb, or a short review of one of the books in the display posted with a picture of the book's cover. This has worked extremely well, both as a tool for making patrons aware of the library's books for, say, Black History Month, as well as for making me more aware of the library's collection. As I spend time with the books I post about, I learn more about the range of materials we have in our various collections and I feel more confident about recommending books to patrons in the future.
Works Cited
Burke, S. K., & Strothmann, M. (2015). Adult Readers' Advisory Services through Public Library Websites. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(2), 132-143.
Carrol, Bill. (n.d.) Don’t Talk to Me: Passive Readers’ Advisory. Retrieved from https://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/c-d/continuing-ed/iloc/copy_of_iloc-2016/handouts/dont-talk-to-me/donttalktome.pdf
Saricks, J. (2005) Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160.
I have always been a fan of shelf-talkers. One of the first things I did when I started library work was create shelf-talkers for the adult fiction. I think it's a great way to reach people who aren't ready to have a conversation about books but also opens up the possibility to chat if you are helping someone in the stacks. And that's very cool that you get to do themed social media posts for your work. This is something that I hope to get the opportunity to do in the future!
ReplyDeleteThe above comment was from me...signed in for work again instead of school!
DeleteEver since starting this class, I have wanted to find a good way to implement online readers' advisory. It will still take some time to perfect the process, but I plan to focus on it more in the near future.
ReplyDeleteWe have ZERO shelf talkers in my library. Our Director is pretty fussy about what she will allow. I keep a spreadsheet of things I may do one day and shelf talkers is on it! Thank you for discussing them and how they work for you! It really helps me with ides that will be "new to this library"... one day....
ReplyDeleteA town I used to live in has a great online staff recommends page: https://www.munciepubliclibrary.org/recommendations
ReplyDeleteI've always liked how you can see a staff members interests and seek them out for recs (except for Dennis).
I love how that is laid out! How neat!
DeleteI think the online reader's advisory is a great idea. As someone who is often too introverted to want to ask someone for help face to face, an online form allows me to engage in a much less draining way and still find books that I am looking for.
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points! Online RA will continue to grow and I think that is a wonderful way to promote a variety of books and reach a different audience then comes into the door. Full points!
ReplyDelete