Issues and Challenges in Teaching Readers’ Advisory
Grounding Readers’ Advisory in Reference
One indication of growing attention to readers’ advisory is the increased attention it is given in basic reference textbooks—Bopp and Smith’s Reference and Information Services: An Introduction includes a brief discussion in a section on “Interviews for Specific Situations.”7Ross, Nilsen, and Dewdney’s Conducting the Reference Interview provides a more developed introduction, and Cassell and Hiremath’s Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century includes an entire chapter on “Reader’s Advisory Work.”8 These discussions all serve to introduce readers’ advisory service to a broader audience of students. This is an especially positive development when programs offer second level electives in readers’ advisory that allow students to pursue interests that have been piqued by these brief introductions. There is, however, the possibility of an unintended consequence. If readers’ advisory service is seen merely as an add-on to basic reference that can be “covered” in a single class session, we have unintentionally undermined the unique conceptual framework, processes, and goals of readers’ advisory service.
Readers’ advisory service in the past twenty-five years has grown from an almost exclusive focus on genre fiction to include all forms of leisure reading. The inclusion of nonfiction in the catalog of items that readers choose certainly reflects practice and has been documented in the literature.9Research into the nature and motivation for reading fiction has always included the concept of fiction as educational, and recent studies of fiction readers have explored “incidental information acquisition.”10 These aspects enrich readers’ advisory service and more completely and accurately refl ect the activities of leisure readers.
The challenge here is to avoid the temptation to justify fiction or readers’ advisory in terms of purposeful reading or to unintentionally reinforce a hierarchy that values nonfiction reading or information acquisition more highly than other forms of leisure reading. Wiegand, attempting to explain the move of library and information curricula from reading to information, explores the growth of the concepts of “work” and “leisure” and the role of commoditization of information.11Chelton calls this the “entertainment vs. information” false dichotomy.12 However it is expressed, it implies that reading for fun, for escape, or for pure pleasure is not the same as, is not as valuable as, and does not overlap with nonfiction reading or fiction reading that results in some information acquisition.
Attitude Adjustment
Students new to readers’ advisory may be avid readers—with decided prejudices. It is not so much that they ascribe to the hierarchy of information over entertainment or useful reading as opposed to recreational reading. It is simply that they have learned to judge books in terms of objective literary standards rather than subjective individual taste—the “good book” vs. “good literature” dichotomy. One of the most difficult challenges is to get students to look at books’ appeal to readers and to speak in positive (or at least objective) terms of books that they do not personally enjoy. Some students, in fact, are resistant to genre reading at all and, until actually assigned, have never read a romance or a western. These students may retain their personal preferences, but after exploring the appeal of themes and archetypes within genres to various audiences, they come to understand the value of these books and the professional’s role in identifying them for readers. In addition to students who merely choose not to read certain genres are those who may not be able to deal with certain themes (sexual abuse, violence) or types of literature (horror). Individual accommodations are generally made for these students, but they nevertheless must learn to use tools in an effective way so they can offer professional service to readers. It is only when students understand that their personal preferences are no more valid in readers’ advisory service than their political (or religious) affiliations are in providing reference service that they can hope to provide effective guidance.
Coping with Ambiguity
As Saricks has pointed out, students may be overwhelmed by the multiplicity of factors involved in selecting a good book.13If working from multiple appeal factors can be overwhelming, how must an inexperienced readers’ advisor feel when confronted with Neal Wyatt’s (admittedly intriguing) “Whole Collection Readers’ Advisory Service” and its articulation as “reading map”?14 How do you teach someone to cope with the notion of offering suggestions rather than providing “correct” answers?
Instilling a Lifelong Learning Attitude
One aspect of the development of professionals is the need to instill a lifelong learning attitude and a commitment to continuous professional education. For degreed librarians, this attitude is especially important because they will serve as role models for those whom they will supervise. Readers’ advisory courses present a number of strategies to accomplish this: introducing students to the professional literature through assigned readings and papers; engaging them in professional networks such as Fiction_L; or encouraging attendance at professional conferences. In some courses, students will keep a personal reading log. In others, they will develop a reading plan for continued professional development beyond graduation.
Research
Readers’ advisory builds on a rich, interdisciplinary research base. We know that leisure reading affects people in many ways: intellectually, psychologically, emotionally, even physically.15 Yet we still seem to know more about readers as readers than about providing effective library service to them. Moyers’ study of readers’ advisory literature since 1995 finds that much of the research literature is published abroad and may be affected by cultural referants.16
Many studies of readers’ advisory services have been based on data gathered by MLIS students posing as library patrons. Our theories of adult behaviors may be based on research using MLIS students and reports may equate student reactions with those of the general public. In fact, we are not as fastidious about distinguishing students from other research subjects as we could be, nor do we often discuss the possible limitations the use of student surrogates might place on the meaning or application of our findings. It is appropriate to give assignments in which our students learn to empathize with their future patrons by acting in their roles. Our students can provide informed observations of librarian behavior; they can act as data-gatherers in the field. But as research on the reference interview has moved from studying librarian behavior to understanding user needs and communication patterns, use of student surrogates is declining.
Much of our practice is based on anecdotal evidence and observation of best practice rather than on empirical method. We have all benefited from Sharon Baker’s work on genre classification and arrangement.17 It would be useful to test some of the innovative readers’ advisory practices that have been proposed: Does welcoming signage increase readers’ advisory questions?18 Does a readers’ advisory form increase effective-ness?19 Do “reading maps” as suggested by Neal Wyatt result in more effective reader guidance?20