Nicole's Readers' Advisory Blog

How have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically? I remember both of my parents reading to me as a child. My favorites were The Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, and Dr. Seuss. In middle school, I enjoyed reading R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, R. L. Stine’s Fear Street series, as well as Christopher Pike novels. In high school, I honestly didn’t read much on my own at all. I was assigned several “classics” in school such as Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and various Shakespeare plays, and I didn’t read those either. The extensive discussion and analysis that went along with each assigned book just ruined it for me. There were clearly very specific elements and ideas that my teachers wanted me to glean from the texts, so I felt like I wasn’t permitted to engage with the texts on my own terms. My attitude was kind of like, “What’s the point in reading? Just tell me what I need to know for the test.”  Working in a library now, I am able to regu...

  3 Ways to Market Fiction in Your Library Book Displays: At my library, we have three large book displays near the Information Desk and one small counter display space, all of which are always utilized. The reference librarians create book displays on a rotating monthly basis so no one person, or group of people, is always responsible for coming up with ideas for book displays. Most of us currently use Canva to create an attractive sign with a title for each display. The displays usually stay up between two to four weeks, depending on how fast the materials are going. We get a lot of interaction and positive feedback on these displays; people look forward to seeing what is next. The last month I was responsible for was February, and we had displays such as: “Sweet Reads,” “Better with Friends,” and “Find Us on Libby and OverDrive.” For the Libby/OverDrive display, I printed out on cardstock, book covers of popular titles currently being offered as ebooks or audiobooks. The cardst...

Do you separate LGBTQ fiction and Urban Fiction from the general collection to its own special place? No Reason 1: Carting and shelving would be more complicated and difficult. As a former library assistant who was responsible for carting and shelving returned items, I am familiar with how materials on library carts are divided by section and then organized by call number. A single adult cart at our library, for example, may contain large print, mystery, graphic novels, fiction, and biography. To add two additional sections such as LGBTQ fiction and Urban Fiction would slow down the carting and shelving process and potentially lead to an increase in items being shelved in the wrong area.  Reason 2: Choosing which books belong in these areas is subjective. Certainly, there are many resources librarians can use to help determine the genre and/or subject area of books, but ultimately, setting criteria and deciding which books should be shelved in LGBTQ fiction and Urban Fiction is a ...

Written in the Stars (2020) By Alexandria Bellefleur 366 pages LGBTQ contemporary romance Synopsis Blond-haired and quirky, Elle Jones is a starry-eyed social media astrologer, intent on finding her soulmate. Red-haired and intense, Darcy Lowell is a practically-minded actuary with a broken heart. After being set up by Brendon, who is Darcy’s brother and Elle’s business partner, the two women share an abysmal blind date; it seems immediately clear that Elle and Darcy have little to nothing in common. Neither expects to see the other again. Darcy, however, takes the opportunity to lead her overly-concerned younger brother to believe that she had a nice time and looks forward to seeing Elle again. When Brendon runs into Elle and her mother during a brunch and lets slip that Darcy told him they were dating, Elle’s mother seems pleased with the news, and Elle gets an idea: her and Darcy could create a fake relationship. They can tell their family members that they have a steady relationsh...

Recently, the children’s department in my library created a small “Tween” section of print materials, meant to serve youth experiencing the transition period between children and teen materials. For some children, this period can be frustrating as they feel they have outgrown the children’s room, but are not quite comfortable enough yet venturing into the teen room. This period of transition makes me think of this week’s prompt and the emergence of the New Adult genre and how it can serve our new adult patrons. I had not heard of the New Adult genre before this class, but it makes sense to have a genre that appeals to this particular demographic. Adults in their twenties are often adjusting to a new found freedom to live as they please, a responsibility to provide for themselves, and the pressure to pursue a career and/or a steady romantic relationship. It’s important for libraries to make available books which feature these themes as well as protagonists who are navigating these exper...

The Readers’ Advisory Matrix The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Where is the book on the narrative continuum? Highly narrative (reads like fiction) What is the subject of the book? Extreme poverty -- the book is about author Jeannette Walls growing up very poor, and often homeless, with an alcoholic father, a distant mother, and three siblings.  What type of book is it? Memoir Articulate appeal What is the pacing of the book? The narrative jumps back-and-forth between Jeannette’s childhood and her present-day life. Describe the characters of the book. Jeannette Walls is an intelligent, independent, outspoken child with a tenacious spirit which eventually gives her the strength and the know-how to escape the life she experienced with her parents growing up. Rex Walls (Jeannette’s father) is an intelligent, adventurous, and passionate man with big dreams for himself and his family, but his drinking makes him impulsive and volatile. Rose Mary Walls (Jeannette’s mother) is a free-spi...