Special Topics Paper: Passive Reader's Advisory

     So often when thinking about readers’ advisory, the first place our mind goes to is the readers’ advisory interview. When a patron approaches the desk and asks you for a good book to read and then you attempt to get a little more out of them to find something they would think is good. Besides this active form of readers’ advisory is another type that can be blended with traditional readers advisory interviews, or shier patrons can use as they peruse the library: passive readers’ advisory. 

Passive readers’ advisory takes a more hands-off approach, providing tools to patrons, consciously or subconsciously on their part, to allow them to find new books to read. As stated in an article from Panorama Project, “the focus is on discovery, providing opportunities for readers to encounter new titles and authors through lists, displays, browsing aids, and other tools...This discovery can happen whether or not the librarian is present” (para. 1). The big word here is “discovery,” allowing patrons opportunities to find a good book to read on their own and using the environment around them. Beth Saxton (2013), differentiates the two types of readers’ advisory by saying, “We can provide passive readers’ advisory with booklists, displays, and programming or active readers’ advisory at the desk or in the stacks” (para. 2). 

    It is no question that readers' advisory is a valuable and important part of the library experience, but the article by Kaite Mediatore Stover (2005) acknowledges that it can be a challenge for staff to provide quality readers’ advisory services, especially in small public libraries: 

“Taking the time to engage in a revealing and enriching conversation about books in order to guide a reader to the next best book match is a luxury that "one-man-band" public service desks would love to indulge, but can ill afford when dealing with a ringing telephone, jammed photocopier, and a bustling line of patrons” (para. 7).  

While it may be challenging, having a great set of passive tools can make readers’ advisory much easier. Stover suggests a myriad of tools such as comment cards for patrons to leave book suggestions or current reads, having a featured “Book of the Day” near checkout, and having read-alike lists ready for those books you know are going to be blockbusters. A particularly fun initiative Stover suggested is a "Good Reading You May Have Missed" basket that staff curates for patrons to pick through. She astutely states, “Patrons enjoy making their own choices, but they also appreciate having the choices whittled down to the best material” (para. 17). 

It is important to note that the point of passive readers’ advisory is not to keep patrons away from the reference desk and stop them from asking questions. Some patrons are shy, might fear judgement on the type of book they want to read, or simply do not want to ask. But by providing fundamental components of passive readers’ advisory and creating innovative new forms useful to a library’s unique patronage, librarians are able to ensure those patrons are being assisted if they desire it as well as building their own toolbox for traditional face-to-face readers’ advisory. These techniques assist in creating opportunities for readers’ advisory, and moments for patrons perusing the stacks for their next favorite book. 

References

Panorama Project. (n.d.). Indirect Activities. https://www.panoramaproject.org/directory-of-readers-advisory-activities-indirect 

Saxton, Beth. (2013, October 31). Getting started with readers’ advisory. Letters to a Young Librarian. https://letterstoayounglibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/10/getting-started-with-readers-advisory.html 

Stover, K. M. (2005). Working without a net: Readers’ advisory in the small public library. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(2), 122–125.