Building on a Firm Foundation: Readers’ Advisory over the Next Twenty-Five Years

Finally, the continued success of readers’ advisory services depends on the continued cooperation between practitioners in the field and researchers and theorists in the academy. At times these groups have progressed on parallel courses that do not intersect, resulting in loss of opportunities for useful and fruitful collaboration. Bringing practitioners and theorists together to explore the response of readers, listeners, and viewers to their chosen materials and then applying that knowledge to the practice of readers’ advisory will result in a more reflective practice, as described by Schon, and will ensure the continued success and expansion of readers’ advisory services in the coming years.

Correspondence concerning this column should be addressed to Barry Trott, Adult Services Director, Williamsburg Regional Library, 7770 Croaker Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188; e-mail: btrott@mail.wr.org.

References and Notes

1. Donald Schon, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (New York: Basic Books, 1983): 68.
2. Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends (San Francisco: McSweeney’s, 2008): 67.
3. “Queens Library Facts,” www.queenslibrary.org (accessed Aug. 21, 2008).
4. Pat Alter, personal communication to the author, Aug. 21, 2008.
5. Ibid.
6. Julie Elliott, “Academic Libraries and Extracurricular Reading Promotion,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 46, no. 3 (Spring 2007): 34–43.
7. Ibid., 42.
8. See Barbara Fister, “‘Reading as a Contact Sport’: Online Books Groups and the Social Dimensions of Reading,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 44, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 303–309.
9. See Neil Hollands, “Improving the Model for Interactive Readers’ Advisory Service,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 45, no. 3 (Spring 2006): 205–212.
10. Neal Wyatt, “An RA Big Think,” Library Journal 132, no. 12 (July 1, 2007): 40.
11. S. R. Ranganathan, The Five Laws of Library Science (Madras, India: Madras Library Association, 1931), http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/1220/08/fivelawsch6.pdf (accessed Aug. 22, 2008).

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