Readers Advisory On the Web (distance learning course)

Readers Advisory On the Web (a distance learning course)

The public has high expectations that the library can recommend appropriate reading materials, but few library employees have received explicit reader's advisory education. This workshop will provide practical tools and techniques for assisting readers who are looking for "good" books, read-alikes, or genre selections. The course will include tips for responding to a wide variety of reader's advisory situations, including what to do when the user's request is vague or unfocused.

Workshop Description: This four-week workshop will be taught via distance education using the Web. It consists of four one-and-a-half to two-hour modules. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to login to the course each week to do that week's assignment.

This distance education course will cover effective reference interviewing techniques to better understand readers' tastes and needs; exploration of Web resources to further your knowledge and understanding of contemporary and classic literature; evaluation of online sources to expand reader help offerings to your community; and consideration of various means and methods of connecting readers with books through local library services.

During the course you will be doing exercises and taking quizzes. You will also participate in online discussion forums as part of the distance learning process.

When you register, you will receive the URL to get to the course and a username and password in your registration confirmation. Readers Advisory on the Web will commence on June 25 and run through July 23.

Highlights: Using your Web browser and your Internet connection you will login to the Infopeople Blackboard distance education site and learn in the following areas:

Module One:

Effective interviewing methods comprise the most important--and most often neglected--aspect of skillful reader's advisory work. We'll study and discuss how to help readers talk about what they like and want in their reading, experiment with different styles of interviewing techniques, and consider extra-literary venues that inform contemporary readers' tastes in stories.

Module Two:

A broad base of reader's help knowledge is required when responding to diverse inquiries from the reading public. We'll examine genre elements, reading group discussion prompts, and venues for gathering up to date information your readers are using to formulate their desires for specific types of books.

Module Three:

Online resources that fit your patrons' reading interests can help you prepare to meet their questions. It's important to know what different resources offer, and the manner in which they work, before you try to utilize them while working with a patron. In this module, you will get to know these resources' strengths, weaknesses, slants, and quirks, so they won't surprise you while the reader waits for your advice.

Module Four:

Reader's advisory work is a strong way to promote the library and to promote reading. In this final module of the course, you'll begin to design elements of a reader's advisory service that fits your library's staffing patterns, collections, and audience.

Who Should Attend: Library staff who are called upon to assist users with selecting personal reading material.

Note: Infopeople's grant funding restricts participation in distance education courses to individuals currently working in California libraries.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the Web. You must:

• have an Internet connection and either Internet Explorer (preferably IE 5) or Netscape (version 4 or higher – NOT 6).
• be able to save a file to your computer and print it out using Microsoft Word or a compatible Word processing program.
• be comfortable navigating on the Web and going back and forward in a Web site that uses frames.

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a buddy who does meet these requirements.

Please note: There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop.