"Secret Shopper" RA interview

I went to a branch library in a nearby city, early afternoon so that I could hopefully catch the librarians during a slow period.  And except for a couple patrons at the public computers, it was indeed pretty empty.  I took some time to wander the shelves and get familiar with the building.  There were some "new" shelves, some shelving for paperbacks, and then the regular fiction.  Other than some end cap displays of random books, there was an empty wire rack labeled HOT READS.  I found no best-seller signage or read-a-like pamphlets, nor was I approached by any staff.  But working in a branch library myself, I know it can be difficult to leave the desk when there are so few staff available.

I approached the main (and only) desk, where two librarians broke off their conversation to quickly ask if I needed help.  I acted a little embarrassed, as if I were asking a dumb question, but: "That's not a dumb question at all!  This is the fun part of the job."

I had the almost undivided attention (the male librarian got called away once to help with a computer question) of two librarians for my RA interview.  I was asked what was the most recent series I had finished.  I had answered the detective series by J.K. Rowling, so I was asked if I like mysteries.  The other librarian asked what the second-to-last series was that I had read...to which I had to answer was the fantasy trilogy Red Rising by Pierce Brown.  I wanted to avoid saying I liked fantasy, because that is often a niche interest.  But the male librarian perked right up and began asking me about several series, giving me facts about different authors and publishers.  Throughout this, the female librarian was on the computer to "see what we have."  She never shared what she was looking at, nor did either librarian ever consult a print resource.

Both librarians were concerned that I leave with multiple books by multiple authors, as I had originally told them I was leaving on vacation and needing reading material for the plane.  (A white lie--I will need reading material for a plane trip, but not for another six months.)  "We wouldn't want you to get twenty pages in, hate it, and then be stuck with it as your only option."  I felt like they were really concerned with finding me books I could love.  I'm not sure if either were formally trained in Reader's Advisory, as I was never asked about appeal factors.  The recommendations were good ones, but they were based solely on what genres I had said I enjoyed, and the librarian's personal experience of what he had enjoyed.

Overall, I felt the experience was a positive one.  I was reminded of the importance of customer service.  The reason I left feeling good about interview was because of how the two librarians put everything down to help, and the way the one librarian shared the history of the different series he recommended.  The only downside was that I was never introduced to any resources.  Were I a normal patron, the only thing I could do the next time I went to the library would be to approach the desk again.  So I was also reminded of the need to be transparent with my patrons about the process of finding book recommendations.  Not because I don't want patrons to approach me with questions, but because I don't want them to feel helpless whenever their 'to-read' stack hits empty.

Week Three prompt

Week 3 and it's time to play with NoveList...luckily, my library uses NoveList to help patrons find similar books as they look up their current favorites through our website.

1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

You just finished reading Circus of the Damned, so now you need The Lunatic Cafe!

2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.

You may try reading The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.  It also features women and focuses on their relationships, while being a "thought-provoking" mystery.

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

We have Memoirs of a Geisha, which is set in 1929.  We also have Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series which goes back to feudal Japan and features ninja clans, although it mixes in a little of the fantasy genre.  I can also track down a copy of Sho-gun by James Clavell if you still want to read about samurai, but do without the mystical powers.

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

George actually has a whole series based around the main character of Well-Schooled in Murder, if you'd like to keep reading her.  A similar book may be Nora Roberts' The Collector, which is one of her mysteries and she's not known for being creepy.

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

Your husband may enjoy the Autumn series by David Moody.  It's similar to those titles by focusing on the survivors rather than the zombies.  If he likes humor with his horror, he may try Scott Kenemore's books, each of which takes place in different US state during the zombie apocalypse.  (Example--Zombie, Ohio and Zombie, Indiana.)

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To be honest, I don't use NoveList that often.  Usually if I do, it's when a patron tells me a specific title and wants "something just like it."  But never for myself.  I often use Goodreads to look up series or to check on user ratings of interesting-looking books that pass the desk at work, or that I pass by in a bookstore.  If there's buzz about a book on Twitter, I might check it out...but again, I'll go through Goodreads to get more information!  Also, if I get a word-of-mouth recommendation from a "trusted" friend or co-worker, I'll usually check it out on that strength alone.

Reader profile

During my free time, I usually have a book in my hand.  I can not remember the last time I did not at least one book I was working my way through.  Due to the fact that I'm the youngest at the branch library I work at (by 30 years), I have become the de facto teen librarian so I've been trying to read more YA books in the past year.  I also read a good amount of middle-grade books,

What I'm currently reading

because most of the RA questions I usually get are from parents who want their young reluctant readers to grow.  (Also, it's just a good palette cleanser sometimes.)  I also read quite a bit of graphic novels.  That has nothing to do with my job, I just enjoy comics.

I like books that make me laugh.  I like books that make me think.  I love books that make me do both.  Sometimes I want to be creeped out.  Sometimes I want to learn more about something or some-when that I only know a little bit about.  I care about characters over plot.

There are, I admit, genres I tend stick to.  I read entirely too much fantasy.  I love the imagination that goes into those books, into that world-building.  I enjoy thrillers (especially psychological) for their pacing.  There's some horror that I enjoy, but I don't often read that genre because I just don't get creeped out from simply reading about creepy

My graphic novel bookcase has a blend of titles
from different genres, with different qualities that I like.

things.  (Thinking back, almost all the horror titles I do enjoy are graphic novels.)  I've also started branching out into non-fiction this past year.  I used to avoid anything non-fic like the plague, convinced it would be boring.  (Probably the after-effect of all that assigned reading in school!)  But I've begun to find quite a few interesting books on a range of topics from environmentalism, to pet culture, to food culture and of course the celebrity memoir.  As I was for some years an undergraduate history student, I enjoy both historical fiction and non-fiction.

But I can count on one hand the number of romance books I can remember reading.  While I usually enjoy romantic sub-plots in books of other genres, I just can't make it through a book devoted to that romance!  I find it's often too predictable.  And I don't think I've ever read a Western.

That's probably way too much on my general reading tastes, so here are some specific titles and authors that I like.  I took a picture of one of my bookshelves, to prove that I love Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett so much that I own both of the matching covers.  (I also own two copies of Dracula, not pictured.)  The Song of Ice and Fire series is just visible down there at the bottom, which is the only series capable of making me even consider that maybe, just maybe, Harry Potter isn't my favorite?  And to the top, you'll see Red Rising by Pierce Brown.  I absolutely can not wait on the last in that trilogy, Morning Star, to release in three weeks!

Intro post

Hey everyone!  I'm assuming you're my classmates.  If you're not in S524, then I am sure I don't know how you got here.  But maybe you'll discover a good book anyway.

My usual reading habits include a lot of fantasy (I have often joked that the best part of being a librarian is sometimes getting paid to talk about Game of Thrones with patrons), mysteries and thrillers.  I also enjoy historical non-fiction and interesting or comical memoirs.  I also read a lot of comics and graphic novels, which I know doesn't technically count as a genre.  But still.  I love the medium, so I feel the need to throw that out there.

Now that the blog is set up, the next thing will be choosing the five reading genres.  I feel an obvious choice for me will be fantasy.  I'm also thinking horror because while I do enjoy that genre in TV shows and movies, I've never been a big reader of horror novels.  And if I really wanted to push myself, I suppose I could read...a...a romance.

You know what, we have some time to choose.  No need to make drastic reading decisions yet.  :)