Readers' advisory


Readers' advisory is a service which involves suggesting fiction and nonfiction titles to a reader through direct or indirect means. This service is a fundamental library service; however, readers' advisory also occurs in commercial contexts such as bookstores. Currently, almost all North American public libraries offer some form of readers' advisory.

History

North America

"Setting a date for the start of what we now call readers advisory service, particularly readers advisory in the public library, is at best a frustrating, almost arbitrary exercise. Efforts at historical precision can founder on such basic issues as the absence of common definitions. For example, answers to such questions as 'What exactly is a public library?" or "What really is readers advisory?" have long been disputed."

The historical period divisions and merits of different types of readers' advisory services is an often-debated topic among librarians.
Bill Crowley, in his 2005 article, "Rediscovering the History of Readers Advisory Service," breaks down the historical period divisions of the service into four eras:
  • 1876 to 1920 – "Inventing" Readers' Advisory
  • 1920 to 1940 – "Privileging Nonfiction" in Readers' Advisory
  • 1940 to 1984 – Readers' Advisory "'Lost' in Adult Services"
  • 1984 to 2005 – "Reviving Readers' Advisory"
Juris Dilevko and Candice Magowan question the merits of the current readers' advisory emphasis on popular fiction materials in their book "Readers' Advisory Service in North American Public Libraries, 1870–2005". They subdivide the history into three eras:
  • 1870 to 1916 – "The Formative Years"
  • 1917 to 1962 – "The Commitment to Systematic Adult Education"
  • 1963 to 2005 – "The Devolution into Entertainment"
Dilevko and Mogowan write about "readers' advisory systematically committ itself to meaningful adult education through serious and purposeful reading" up until the 1960s, when emphasis on "popular culture resulted in the 'Give 'Em What They Want' approach" and "The Devolution into Entertainment."

1897–1920

In 1897, the American Library Association President stated that "the personal influence of librarians who assisted and advised readers was the most potent force in molding community reading."

1920–1980

Organized readers' advisory programs have been documented dating back to the 1920s. Between 1922 and 1926, readers' advisory programs were experimentally introduced into seven urban libraries.
The Adult Education Movement emerged in the 1920s in public libraries and was frequently discussed in American Library Association professional publications.
The 1924 report The American Public Library and the Diffusion of Knowledge by William Learned to the Carnegie Corporation sought to establish adult education as the focus of the public library, with personalized readers' advisory service to adult readers by "reference experts" who would make up a "community intelligence service."
The 1926 American Library Association commission report Libraries and Adult Education placed high importance on readers' advisory services in Adult Education. Judson T. Jennings provided a summary of the work, observing that the "library's contribution to adult education resolved itself into three major activities:"

1. Service regarding local opportunities for adult students.
2. Service to other agencies engaged in adult education.
3. Service to individual readers and students.

This new professional interest during the 1920s spurred the creation of specialized full-time readers' advisory positions in major public libraries. By 1936, an estimated, 50 public libraries had established readers' advisory services.
Until the early 1960s, readers' advisory focused on non-fiction materials and continuing adult education.

1980s–2000s

Some librarians consider the early 1980s to be the beginning of a revival in readers' advisory and rise in the inclusion of fiction, noting write that readers' advisory was historically biased in favor of nonfiction.
Others disapproved of the new approaches to the service. Dilevko and Magowan write that "post-1980 readers' advisory thus became an opportunity to converse with patrons about 'light, quick, escapist' books -- popular and ephemeral fiction and nonfiction for entertainment, pleasure, and recreation -- because such conversations were not 'too burdensome'."
In 1982, the term "genreflecting" was first coined by Betty Rosenberg, who authored Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction.
Another major influence on the spread and revival of readers' advisory was the Adult Reading Round Table, founded by a group of Chicago public librarians in 1984. The group organized workshops, seminars, and genre-study groups.

2000s–

's Genreflecting Advisory Series has grown to 32 titles as of 2025. Beyond traditional genres, some of the diverse offerings now include guides to LGBT literature, guides to graphic novels, and Christian fiction.
"... contemporary readers advisory service is best understood as an organized program promoting both fiction and nonfiction discretionary reading for the dual purposes of satisfying reader needs and advancing a culture's goal of a literate population."

Types

Direct readers' advisory

Direct readers' advisory is based on a non-judgmental assessment of the personal preferences of the reader through a series of questions, called a readers' advisory conversation. The assessment focuses on reader likes and dislikes with regard to a number of factors, including subject, reading level, genre, writing style, the level of characterization, plot elements, storyline, pace, tone, frame, and setting. The hoped-for outcome of this interview is the identification of three or more appropriate suggestions. In identifying suitable suggestions, a readers' advisor combines personal knowledge of material with a variety of specialized print and online resources to come up with appropriate suggestions.
The readers' advisor might ask the reader to describe a book they have previously enjoyed. The focus of the conversation is not on specific plots, but on the appeal elements. Once the appeal elements have been identified, the readers' advisor will suggest appropriate titles in the collection by drawing on personal knowledge and consulting appropriate print and online resources. A skilled readers' advisor will often offer a suggestion or two that point the reader outside of a mentioned genre.
Readers' advisory can be performed across media. For example, a patron who likes a certain movie might be unaware that it is based on a book they can read, and patrons who enjoy audio books may be introduced to other titles read by the same person.

Indirect readers' advisory

Indirect readers' advisory involves the creation of displays, bookmarks, and annotated book lists that a reader can peruse on their own without actively engaging a readers' advisor. Indirect readers' advisory aids, particularly annotated book lists, focus on appeal elements rather than providing extensive plot summaries. Some public libraries have implemented form-based readers' advisory, which allows for a richer indirect readers' advisory experience.
Maintaining a Staff Recommendations display is another way to improve a library's readers' advisory service. Since many readers are browsers, staff recommendations make it easier to select a book.
In their 2001 article "Reader's Advisory: Matching Mood and Material," Ross and Chelton recommend placing books at the entrance, the ends of stacks, high traffic areas, and the circulation desk.

Readers' advisory resources

Print

Popular print resources include the What Do I Read Next? series of reference books, the Genreflecting series, and the Readers' Advisory Guides. Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl achieved broad recognition for her reader's guides, Book Lust and More Book Lust. She also wrote guides to contemporary fiction: Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, 1978–1998 and Now Read This II: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, 1990–2001.
BookPage is a periodical available at many public libraries, containing book reviews, recommended reading lists, and author interviews.

Internet resources

  • Booklist is a magazine by the ALA providing reviews and recommendations.
  • NoveList is a database of reading recommendations, available through libraries around the world. It includes read-alikes, expert recommendations, recommended reads lists, professional reviews, feature articles, author bios, and complete series information.
  • * NextReads is an email newsletter service from NoveList that offers 20 themed book recommendation newsletters to readers.
  • BookBrowse offers a customized subscription service for libraries. Its readers' advisory database includes read-alikes, browsing by themes, reviews, previews, back-stories, book club advice, author bios, interviews, pronunciation guides, and e-zines.
  • The American Library Association compiles different reading lists for all ages.
  • LibraryReads is a monthly staff-picks list of ten newly published titles, as nominated and voted on by public library workers from around the United States.
  • * Similar services in other countries include Loan Stars list in Canada, and the Librarians Choice list in Australia.
  • LibraryThing is a social networking website for cataloging and sharing personal and institutional library collections. The site contains a "BookSuggester" feature which provides book recommendations based on user catalogs with similar books.
  • Wowbrary is a weekly email newsletter showing new books, movies, and music selected by the user's local library in the previous week.
  • What's Next is the Kent District Library's database for series fiction.
  • Whichbook is a site where users search by story characteristics using sliders. The results can be limited by specific formats.
  • Fantastic Fiction is a book information website that maintains bibliographies for over 60,000 authors.
  • Goodreads is the world's largest site for book recommendations. Users can join groups, track books, and receive book recommendations. Goodreads launched in January 2007 and was acquired by Amazon in 2013.
  • What Should I Read Next is a readers' advisory website where a reader can type in a book or author they enjoy and get recommendations of similar books.
  • Literature Map is a website which offers read-alike author suggestions.
  • Better Reading is a book recommendation website for Australian readers. The site focuses on helping people discover new books and authors.
  • The ALA's Public Library Association has a page of professional tools for readers' advisory.