“Choose an author as you would a friend.”
~Wentworth Dillon~
The above quote speaks to the value that we place in our literature. We give it the intrinsic power of entertaining, soothing, and inspiring our souls, yet the problem remains how to find each individual’s suitable book companions for his or herself. If we can help readers find new and interesting materials to read both on their own and with the help of other readers, then we will create more empowered readers with a greater sense of accomplishment and self.
The problem with finding the right book for the right person stems from two sources. First, every reader is different and even the same reader can differ in his or her tastes depending on mood and general growth in personality over time. The chapter points out that it is a mistake to assume that someone is “in the mood for an identical reading experience” (Chelton, 2008, p. 161). In addition, there are many aspects of books that appeal to readers and any combination of those aspects could be attracting a specific reader. Those aspects include plot, storyline, characterization, theme, and genre (Chelton, 2008, p. 161). For example, one reader may be drawn to strong characters so he or she may skip around the different fiction genres to find the characters he or she likes to read about best. Another reader may find a certain theme so intriguing that he or she looks for everything from non-fiction to fiction to absorb whatever he or she can on that theme. Whatever combination of factors attracts a specific reader to specific titles will always remain somewhat of a mystery, even to that reader. It is our job to equip readers with the tools to discover more of what inspires them.
The second source of conflict in finding the right book is the nature of books, themselves. Books, like people, are all different and can even grow to be different works over time with new editions and reviews. They come in multiple formats for those who prefer words, or pictures, or sound bites (books, graphic novels, audio books). Even generally accepted categories to sort books into—genres—have subcategories that fail to classify every book accurately due to the common practice of blending genres (Chelton, 2008, p. 159-161). Unfortunately, there is no way to enter every individual factor that describes a given book into a catalogue and there are no magic algorithms by which to find the perfect book for an individual (Chelton, 2008, p. 159). Thus, finding the right book is more of an art than a science.
The art of helping readers find the right book involves a combination of many kinds of resources, including author/ works websites, special social networking sites, and face-to-face encounters. The most personable of the above methods is obviously face-to-face conversations, but is important to note that the conversation does not have to flow one way or the other from librarian to patron or vice versa; rather the best conversation is one where ideas flow both ways and every participant learns something he or she can pass on to others. Websites and databases can also be linked to a library’s homepage to aid readers (Chelton, 2008, p. 163 & 166). I use a website to find other works by authors and which titles in a series someone is interested in called "fantasticfiction.co.uk" (see links). For some authors’ entries it even lists books by other authors that they recommend—a useful tool when you run out of books by that author to read. Social networks that create unique communities of readers can also be useful. I just joined “goodreads.com” (see links) in order to see for myself how valuable it is to learn from other readers who stock their own online library catalogues. How empowering can creating your own catalogue of favorite books be?
The significance of empowering readers to help themselves and others is not only for the immediate satisfaction of their literary needs, but to increase the value of libraries in our society. If we help to inspire people who are already readers, then they will in turn inspire others to become readers. Even if we never see some of those new readers enter our libraries, we have still influenced them remotely and increased their respect for the resources we house and the value those resources represent to our society. Thus, in the process of helping one reader, remotely or in person, we help many others and ourselves.
Chelton, Mary K. (2008). Readers Advisory Services: How to Help Users Find a “Good Book.” In Ken Haycook & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.) The Portable MLIS: Insights from the experts. (pp. 159-167). Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
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