From the Power Point Presentation I found it helpful to know how the Readers Advisory has changed over the years. Once upon a time, librarians understood themselves as educators and recommended books that were part of the classical heritage. Librarians sought to educate the patrons. Now, librarians develop reader advisories in order to serve as a link. Librarians provide opportunities for readers to be connected with books they want to read.
From Chapter 1 of Sarick's Genre Fiction I was struck by the clever insight to organize a reader's advisory around elements of appeal. On page 7 she lists the six elements of appeal: "pacing, characterization, story line, frame and setting, tone and mood, and language and style." Then on page 4 she groups the genres in four appeal groups: Adrenaline Genres, Emotions Genres, Intellect Genres, and Landscape Genres.
The brilliance of organizing the readers advisory around appeal is that the person who likes the fast paced book, can be encouraged to approach book titles that are listed as adventure, romantic suspense, suspense, and thrillers. This way readers get to meet new authors and characters and expand their reading experiences beyond the genre they are used to. It's the appeal, not the category.
I enjoyed your insight of the readings. It is definitely interesting to see how readers advisory has changed through the years. Using the elements of appeal is a great way to think outside of the box and connect reader's with books based on their tastes. Great post!
ReplyDelete