A dream job is something that everyone wants; for me my dream job began when I was offered the opportunity to develop readers' advisory service at my library. Over the course of the last decade, the opportunities that have resulted from this have been beyond my wildest expectations; and have taken me to places I could never have anticipated. And along the way, what I discovered was my passion - who knew?!
So what is my passion? I love to talk about books, help readers find books they will enjoy, and share my joy of doing RA with others. One of the best parts of my job is that I now do a lot of community outreach, working with book clubs and giving book talks. My "I'll go anywhere, anytime to share my passion" attitude has led me to my most recent "opportunity".
During a conversation with Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, The University of Western Ontario, I mentioned my RA "crusade". The result of our conversation was an offer to teach a course at UWO on readers' advisory service in the public library.
Although RA has been covered in other courses available to MLIS students at Western, a course specifically devoted to the topic wasn't on the list of offerings; so my immediate response was "Yes!". Of course, my euphoria was followed by overwhelming panic-where to begin?
If done well, RA can seem a simple service. After all, if a reader enjoys the mystery genre, point them toward more mysteries; and job well done! Ah, if only it was that simple. The interaction to discover possible reading suggestions is actually complex-it involves knowledge of genres, appeal features, reading interests, and so much more. As I work on developing the course, I constantly remind myself how important it is for me to strike a balance that allows students to learn about the complexity of the service while also sharing the joy of working with readers to discover their next read.
One of my other goals is to help students understand that readers' advisors must also be marketers; if we are to meet the needs of the readers who visit our libraries, we must be willing to move beyond the desk and, like reference librarians, rove, engaging with readers in the stacks, creating displays, and finding aids. I will also teach my students to become advocates within their future organizations for the service, for the collections, and for the tools needed to serve readers of both for fiction and non-fiction. Finally, I hope my students learn how important it is to move beyond the walls of the public library and engage with readers in their communities, in conference speeches and during RA workshops. I call this my "taking it to the street" approach, taking our service to the readers wherever they are.
An ambitious undertaking? Perhaps. However, I expect that the rewards will be enormous. And isn't that what anyone who wants to share their passion hopes for-the opportunity to pass on what they know and by mentoring a new generation of librarians, help someone else to find their passion, and just maybe their dream job?
Sharron Smith, Manager, Readers' Advisory Services, Kitchener Public Library, Ontario, has coordinated staff training in RA, and developed a virtual readers' advisory service for the library-"Ask a Librarian". She is co-author of Canadian Fiction: A Guide to Reading Interests (Libraries Unlimited, 2005), and will be teaching a course on Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library at University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada.