The Readers' Advisory Handbook (ALA Readers' Advisory)
As readers’ advisory matures, it involves much more than the act of matching a reader with a book. It encompasses a broader range of materials and library users and also informs the way materials are reviewed, selected, promoted, and used. There are books that lay out the core principles of reader’s advisory or that address a particular genre or the needs of a particular audience. This compilation fills a gap by presenting the full range of “skills, techniques, and practices” that now make up readers’-advisory service. It is divided into five parts: “Getting to Know Your Materials”; “Reviewing and Evaluating Materials”; “Marketing, Promoting, and Sharing Materials”; “Programming”; and “Expanding Readers’ Advisory Services.” Chapters authored by a number of familiar names (among others, Sue-Ellen Beauregard on reviewing audiobooks, Heather Booth on working with teens, Sarah Statz Cords on getting to know nonfiction, Lynne Welch on creating read-alikes, and David Wright on providing storytime for adults) join chapters by editors Moyer and Stover in providing a comprehensive guide. Several of the chapters contain samples and worksheets. A valuable addition to the growing readers’-advisory shelf. --Mary Ellen Quinn