[kids-lib] Readers advisory via book displays

[Katie Anderson]

Another great blog post from ALA's Association of Library Services to Children!


Creative Reader's Advisory<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AlscBlog/~3/aE8g_Q6kxoM/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>
Posted on March 7, 2014<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2014/03/creative-readers-advisory/> by Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/author/elisabeth-gattullo/>

There are kids who walk into the Children's Library, walk right up to the desk, and tell you exactly what they're looking for. There are kids with definite opinions and kids whose taste is harder to suss out. All these kids are a part of the joy of Reader's Advisory - the easy ones make you feel like you're aces at your job, while the difficult ones make you feel like a superhero when you find the perfect book for them to read.

But there is another group of kids that we noticed we were not reaching - the ones who won't approach the librarian for suggestions, even when coaxed. At the same time, we noted our new fiction displays were not emptying out as quickly as they once had. In an effort to reach those children who don't like to come to the librarian for RA and to help kids realize that there were worthy options among the new fiction, we started adding a simple and effective bit of hands-off RA to our displays.
[ab5]<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ab5.jpg>

Sneaky RA!
photo provided by the author

What we did was simple and not groundbreaking, but it has amped up our new fiction turnaround to the point where are there are days that we run out of new books in the library! I used the die-cut machine to punch out roughly 1 zillion (a real number) bright yellow medallions, on which we wrote "For Kids Who Love...." and then inserted the title of a similar book that kids will know. The thing that makes this so effective is we exclusively link the new books to massively popular titles and authors. This lets both kids and parents who might not be familiar with popular but mid-list titles recognize books they may want to read. Does the book have family issues or emotional plot beats? For kids who love Wonder<http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog/record/152776>. Are there animals who talk/have feelings? For kids who love The One and Only Ivan<http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog/record/171248>. Is there any magic? For kids who love Harry Potter<http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog/record/179886>.
[What's your favorite book's soulmate?  photo provided by the author]<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ab3.jpg>

What's your favorite book's soulmate?
photo provided by the author

We started applying this to our themed fiction displays as well. For example, in February, we had a Book Soulmates display. We invited kids to discover the soulmate to their favorite book and then linked massively popular titles to older books that need a new audience. This allowed me to FINALLY convince a child to check out Good Night, Mr. Tom<http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog/record/8837>, a book with some of the worst cover art I have ever seen, but which I love so much I wrote about it here<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2013/05/book-to-film-good-night-mr-tom/>. I advertised its soulmate as Number the Stars<http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog/record/8655>, since they're both about children's experiences during WWII. And Mr. Tom hasn't been checked in since!
[The author's favorite tiara and everyone's favorite song.  photo provided by the author]<http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ab1.jpg>

The author's favorite tiara and everyone's favorite song.
photo provided by the author

We plan to keep this up for as long as it's effective. Patron feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Both parents and kids have remarked that they love the new displays, and our only questions have been about whether or not it's ok to disturb the display and/or take a book with a medallion on it.
Now I just need to figure out how to tie together princesses, RA, and like titles for this display, and I'll be golden!
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