What strategies would you recommend for the evaluation of the usefulness or
success of the reading and literature promotional activities run by either a
school library or a public library?
A lot would depend on the type of promotional activity undertaken. Some activities could be evaluated by a simple headcount, while other activities might require a more detailed analysis.
Strategies to evaluate the success or otherwise of an author talk could be a headcount and observation of audience interest and participation in question time and book signing. Activities like children's story times could be evaluated by a headcount of children and adults attending. For ongoing activities like story times, statistics could be compared over a period of time to gauge continuing interest and any growth in attendance.
The effectiveness of promotional activities like themed displays is not always easy to measure and could rely a lot on circulation reports and staff observation of borrowings and returns. Reports would need to be tailored to reflects statistics for the specific genre/author/subject and for a defined time period.
Useful information about the effectiveness of the promotion could be gleaned by reporting statistics for a time frame spanning from before the promotion to a period after the promotion. As well, anecdotal evidence from staff will form a large part of feedback on what strategies prove more effective than others.
Thursday 31 October 2013
Thursday 17 October 2013
Task 6 - Assisting people with their reading & literary queries
Write about your views on reader advisory roles in libraries and what competencies would be essential to work well in that role.
I don't think many Australian libraries have specific positions for reader advisory roles - it is usually left to the staff on the information desk. But to properly help a patron with a reader advisory question, staff do need some basic skills. Questions from patrons about what else has this author writen who writes like this author or what can I read next are fairly common at the information or reference desk, and librarians working on these desks need to be fairly knowledgeable about authors and genres and need to know where to source such information.
The website of the Arrowhead Library Service in USA has a quite detailed page about the various aspects of reader advisory work and the skill levels required. At a basic level, staff should be aware of current culture, formats and publishing trends. They need to be willing to read books in all genres and should have a thorough knowledge of their library's collection. Staff would also need to have some knowledge of the different genres and which authors write in those genres, and should be aware of new books due soon and even know a bit about those new books.
More advanced or specialised skills would include being able to develop reading lists, do book talks, write reviews or annotations, and help develop reading plans. Anyone taking on a reader advisory question needs to be able to conduct an effective interview to determine reading requirements (genre, reading level, etc) and then needs the research skills to find suggestions for the reader.
Personally, I think that a willingness to read books in a variety of genres and age groups is probably the most important skill, as it gives you a grounding in what is being written at the moment - and writing styles and topics change all the time. Not all books within a genre are the same type of writing either. Advisers need to know who writes the comedic detection fiction and who writes the forensic procedurals, because a reader of one may not necessarily like to read the other. Taking on a reader advisory role is much more than knowing your way around your library's collection - it's knowing who is writing what sort of fiction, what are the current hot topics; and it's knowing this for kids, teens and adults because they are all your customers.
Reading list:
http://www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/renewal/readers.htm
http://www.bookbitch.com/READERS%20ADVISORY.htm
http://www.olc.org/ore/2readers.htm
http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/CUL50111
I don't think many Australian libraries have specific positions for reader advisory roles - it is usually left to the staff on the information desk. But to properly help a patron with a reader advisory question, staff do need some basic skills. Questions from patrons about what else has this author writen who writes like this author or what can I read next are fairly common at the information or reference desk, and librarians working on these desks need to be fairly knowledgeable about authors and genres and need to know where to source such information.
The website of the Arrowhead Library Service in USA has a quite detailed page about the various aspects of reader advisory work and the skill levels required. At a basic level, staff should be aware of current culture, formats and publishing trends. They need to be willing to read books in all genres and should have a thorough knowledge of their library's collection. Staff would also need to have some knowledge of the different genres and which authors write in those genres, and should be aware of new books due soon and even know a bit about those new books.
More advanced or specialised skills would include being able to develop reading lists, do book talks, write reviews or annotations, and help develop reading plans. Anyone taking on a reader advisory question needs to be able to conduct an effective interview to determine reading requirements (genre, reading level, etc) and then needs the research skills to find suggestions for the reader.
Personally, I think that a willingness to read books in a variety of genres and age groups is probably the most important skill, as it gives you a grounding in what is being written at the moment - and writing styles and topics change all the time. Not all books within a genre are the same type of writing either. Advisers need to know who writes the comedic detection fiction and who writes the forensic procedurals, because a reader of one may not necessarily like to read the other. Taking on a reader advisory role is much more than knowing your way around your library's collection - it's knowing who is writing what sort of fiction, what are the current hot topics; and it's knowing this for kids, teens and adults because they are all your customers.
Reading list:
http://www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/renewal/readers.htm
http://www.bookbitch.com/READERS%20ADVISORY.htm
http://www.olc.org/ore/2readers.htm
http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/CUL50111
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