RA Secret Shopper Assignment

For this Reader's Advisory Secret Shopper assignment, I decided to visit a library fairly close to me that I rarely visit because it is neither my home library nor the library where I work.  Since I have been to this library previously, I knew which desk was the "Reference" or "Information" desk, and I believe it is marked accordingly. 

Welcoming Atmosphere

The desk I approached was situated across from the Adult Fiction section and in a centralized location so the librarians could view other areas of the library, such as the computer lab, Friends of the Library Book Sale area, and the new materials section.  However, I did not see any specific signs specifically mentioning Reader's Advisory service when I approached the desk.  The Reference desk was relatively free of clutter and signs, so I did not see any booklists on this desk.  The desk had one librarian working, and she is the one I approached with my "good book" inquiry.  Because the library was relatively quiet that day and not many patrons were around, the librarian was working on her computer, but she greeted me when I approached and asked how she could help me.

The Interview

In response to the librarian, I said I was looking for "a good book," and she chuckled a bit at my question, though I was smiling a bit, too.  The librarian asked what kind of book I was looking for, and I told her I was looking for science fiction or fantasy with some romance thrown in, but not what the story revolves around, like most plain "Romance" genre novels.  After I told her this, she latched onto this information and immediately took me over to the stacks to show me some authors and titles that matched my genre description. 

The librarian first took me over to the new book section and recommended one author that had a book there, then she proceeded to take me through the stacks and told me about some authors that wrote paranormal/fantasy fiction that included romantic elements.  Pretty much all of the authors she recommended she said she had read herself, although a few were authors she was planning to read works from and a couple were books she knew were in the genres I inquired about, but she had not read them.  The librarian also suggested the "Game of Thrones" series and showed me where those would be, although the first book was not available currently.  She did offer to place it on hold for me.

After she showed me around the stacks, she said she would make me a list of more authors and titles in my requested genres if I wanted it.  Because we moved somewhat quickly through the stacks, it was a bit difficult to remember all of the authors she suggested, although this issue probably would have been remedied if I had taken the librarian up on her offer of a list.

The Practice

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to give the librarian any further information about what I was looking for, and she did not ask about the last book I read, the authors I like, or what I like about the books or authors.  Also, I was a bit surprised the librarian did not use any online or print tools or resources, such as NoveList or Booklist, before showing me the materials her library physically had available.  This library is one of the numerous libraries in the Evergreen Indiana Consortium, so I was also a bit surprised this librarian never mentioned how I could get materials from other libraries in the consortium if their library did not have what I was looking for.

I did end up selecting two books from the authors and titles the librarian suggested, the first of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, and The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick, an Arcane Society novel.  They both match the somewhat limited genre information I was able to give to the librarian, which was science fiction or fantasy with romance thrown in, although I did had limited options using only what the librarian showed me.  As I was leaving with my selections, the librarian did say she hoped I enjoyed the books and said I should let her know next time I came into the library.

When walking though the stacks, I did notice there were numerous reading suggestion cards sticking out between the books.  These 4x6 notecards had author suggestions, like if a patron liked this specific author, they might like these other ones, and book suggestions, such as if a patron likes books with these book appeals, they might enjoy this book or this series.  I could tell someone had worked hard to make these cards appealing and accurate, and I believe they are an effective "passive strategy" for the library's reader's advisory services, since there is not a direct interaction between the librarian who made the suggestion cards and the patrons that use them (Ross, Nilsen, & Dewdney, 2002, p. 162).

Feelings

Overall, the transaction felt a bit rushed.  I was not asked very many questions, and the librarian took what little information I was able to give her and ran with it.  She could have listened a bit more to what I was looking for and wanted during the interview.  I think the librarian thought the transaction was worthwhile since I did end up checking out two books from the authors and titles she recommended.  She also seemed to genuinely want me to tell her if I enjoyed the books I selected.  During the reference interview, I never felt condescended to or judged in any way, especially since the librarian said she had read some of the books she suggested herself.  While I do not believe this librarian has had much reader's advisory training, at least recently, she seems to know her library's collection quite thoroughly and has likely assisted many patrons in finding materials while working at this library.

When I was selecting the books to check out, I noticed both were part of series, but the books were not labeled by series or number in the series.  I was going to go back and ask the librarian if she could tell me which titles were the first in each series, but the thought passed through my mind that I "didn't want to bother her" again.  I sadly did not feel like my "reader's advisory transaction [became] a shared exploration of books" as described in Ross, Nilsen, and Dewdney's book, In Conducting the Reference Interview (2002, p. 163). 

Reference:

Ross, C. S., Nilsen, K., & Dewdney, P. (2002). The readers’ advisory interview. In Conducting the Reference Interview (pp. 162-175). New York: Neal-Schuman.