I am happy to talk about readers' advisory with anybody who comes within ten feet of me and seems barely interested.
However, I try to contain myself to situations in which I've actually been invited.
In the last few years, I've led several panels, staff days, and webinars. Some of the titles are more creative than others:
- "Why RA?"
- "What is RA?"
- "Everyone's a Readers' Advisor: Training & Merchandising Strategies for Public & School Library Staff"
- "Visual Merchandising in the Library"
- "But Did YOU Like It? Great Answers to Tough RA Questions"
I've done 45 minute presentations as well as a full day of lectures and hands-on training. I customize each presentation to meet the needs of the library or group that hosts me. You can contact me using the form on the About page to inquire about references, pricing, and content.
If you invite me, I can assure you that I will say, over and over again, even bringing in serious research as needed:
- Readers' advisory is a core public library service for adults.
- RA can (and should) be provided by any trained staff member.
- Any person working in a library can learn the basics of RA quickly.
- Library staff trained in RA are happier in their work and provide consistently better service of all types to patrons.
- Leisure reading is an important function in adult life that libraries should support.
- Books are not a luxury, readers' advisory is not a luxury, stories are not a luxury. Stories are how humans define their lives and learn about the world and themselves. As a result, all adults deserve access to well-trained RA in their public libraries.
You can get a rough sense for my presentations by looking at this selection of slides. (By the by, the slides are posted here under a CC BY-NC-SA license, which is to say that you are welcome to borrow them for your own use, so long as you credit me and don't try to make money on them.)