Reader's Advisory Secret Shopper

When I visited a nearby town’s library this week to check out their Reader’s Advisory services, I spent some time wandering around to get acclimated.  I had never been to this library before (there’s a huge number of local libraries within thirty minutes of my home), and it had been recently redesigned.  It has three levels, and adult fiction is located on the entire top level of the library.  At the top of the stairs/elevators, there is a large desk that seats two staff members.  This desk isn’t labeled, but it is the only logical place to ask a question.  

As I walked around, I did notice various handouts and pamphlets.  Most of them were for other library services, but I did find three brochures that were designed to aid in Reader’s Advisory.  One was entitled, “Mash-Ups and Sequels, Oh My!” and it focused on classic books that have been retooled, such as Wicked or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Others focused on zombie horror books or Amish fiction.  These were all positioned on the outside edges of the shelves, so that they were in the main aisles for patrons to find.  

Once I felt comfortable in the library space, I approached the desk to ask for a book recommendation.  I had made up my mind beforehand that I wouldn’t answer any questions other than the ones that were asked of me by the staff members, since I thought it was unlikely that everyday patrons would volunteer information that was tailor-made for an RA interview.  

There was one younger woman at the desk, who seemed rather intimidated by my question, but willing to help.  She demonstrated that she had received some RA training; though she didn’t feel comfortable, she did ask questions that were straight out of an RA training manual.  She did ask me a few questions, starting with what kind of book that I was looking for, which I answered vaguely – I told her I liked fiction, and that I had just read a book called Juliet by Anne Fortier.  She immediately opened up NoveList and brought up the book and named most appropriate readalikes on the sidebar (The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt and Voyager by Diana Gabaldon).  I responded that the first one might sound interesting, but I’d like to look for something else as well.  She asked a few more questions to clarify what it was that I liked about the original book, where I indicated that the romance plot wasn’t what I enjoyed about the book, but that I liked the was that it was similar to The DaVinci Code.  The appeal factors that I really enjoyed, however, (parallel narratives, fast-paced, intricately plotted) were not discussed during our conversation.  

It was at this point that another librarian joined her coworker at the desk, which caused the first woman quite a bit of relief.  She handed off the conversation to this supervisor, giving her all the details that we had already discussed.  This new woman took the information given and simply started naming books she’d read recently that were historical fiction.  She was rather intimidating, and simply rattled off a few books that she was going to show me in the shelves.  Once we got there, however, most of the books she had named weren’t on the shelf, as she didn’t check the catalog before taking me to the shelves.  Instead, she simply found books on the shelf that were labeled with “Historical Fiction” spine labels, handed me a couple that she thought looked good, and concluded the interview.  

Overall, I had a favorable impression of the first, younger woman that I talked to.  It may have taken a bit more time, but I felt confident that she could have found a great book to suggest if she’d had a bit more confidence.  After handing off the interview to the “expert,” the interview quickly declined.  She failed to listen to ask questions about what I wanted, did not use any RA tools, and was dismissive of any input I gave, as well as me personally.  When she saw that I was under thirty, she made a series of condescending comments about how anything could be “historical” to me because I was so young.  I would have preferred to finish up the RA interview with her subordinate, since at least she was courteous and considerate.  I hope that the library continues to train their new staff in RA techniques, as well as retraining their current staff in better ways to engage patrons in RA interviews.