I have been a voracious reader since childhood and enjoy many different types of books. One of my greatest joys is teaching the Popular Materials course because it gives me a wonderful excuse to read (and talk about) books that I would like to read anyway.
Most of the UNC-Chapel Hill students who want to work in Readers' Advisory services enroll in the Popular Materials course. This course was begun by Dr. Haynes McMullen in the early 1970s; and when I came to Chapel Hill in the 1980s, I began to teach it. Since then, the course has evolved from being one that focused almost entirely on popular materials to one that blends an introduction to the various types of genre literature with a growing emphasis on reader's advisory work in libraries.
The challenge I wish to meet is, how can I best prepare future librarians for the workplace? LIS education, like all professional education, is a blend of theory and practice. The theoretical underpinnings are crucial to prepare new librarians for the careers they will experience in the ever-changing library environment, but the practice element is also important to ensure that new librarians will have the skills and knowledge necessary for their first professional positions.
Since the students who enroll in the class are almost always enthusiastic readers, I am assured that they already have one of the most important attributes they will need to be good RA librarians—a love of books and reading. Our conversations in class are far-ranging and stimulating. We all read voraciously, and we enjoy discussing what we have read and what we plan to read next. We passionately share information about new authors and exciting new books. I can say without a doubt that my students uniformly like to read and to talk about books. They definitely do not need to be convinced of the joy of reading or of discussing books.
To familiarize students with the wide range of fiction currently available, a large part of our class is spent in reading from and learning about various genres including both fiction and nonfiction. Because most students have not read much romance or inspirational fiction, I always invite outside speakers who are experts on those two genres to class to discuss those genres and their popularity.
In an effort to show changing tastes in popular fiction, I usually have the students read two bestselling novels -one from 1920-1950 and one from the last five years; and then we talk about how popular materials reflect the age in which they are created. Obviously, a student does not emerge from this class with an encyclopedic knowledge of popular material, but they come out with a broader knowledge of the wide range of popular material adults enjoy, and perhaps, more important, with a respect for readers of all types of genres. But reading and discussing books is just the beginning-these days, RA is whole lot more.
Today new online resources are available to broaden our knowledge of the materials. At UNC, the students practice using tools such as the and NoveList and Reader's Advisor Online to find books to recommend to readers. These tools can positively enhance the RA interview, giving RAs access to thorough book reviews and expert guidance (respectively). There are other resources for RAs as well-for example, social cataloging sites, like Shelfari and goodreads.com. Of course, using simulations, case studies, observations in libraries, and other "real life" techniques also allow students to experience some of the problems they may encounter.
Familiarizing students with popular material is the easy part of teaching the class. The harder part is preparing them to be good RA librarians after graduation. I have drawn inspiration and received help from other faculty members who teach similar courses- Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Wayne Wiegand, Connie Van Fleet, David Carr, and Mary K. Chelton; and with their permission, I have adapted and used some of the techniques they use in their classes. I have also invited practicing RA librarians to class to describe what they do and how they made the transition from the classroom to the workforce
My students do thematic books talks in class. In addition, we stage mock reader's advisory sessions and (gently) critique one another. I have even asked the students to interview avid readers about what they read and why. Last semester, one assignment required them to go to a public library and interview a librarian actively involved in RA about what s/he encounters on the job and the challenges of running an effective RA program. All of these are useful activities, but I know they do not fully prepare a student for that first time in a library when a patron approaches for help with finding a "good" book to read. In the end, the expertise involved in being an effective RA librarian can only be obtained by practice with real patrons in real libraries with real collections. That's where the real "aha" moments occur.
I'd like to hear how you have made the transition. What has been your greatest experience? Do you have any thoughts about how to more effectively bring the "practical" aspects of RA into the classroom? I would be eager to hear your ideas. You are the ones working with the patrons and the collections. What can LIS faculty members do to ensure that our graduates arrive at their first positions better prepared to be effective reader's advisors? Send your suggestions to me at moran@ils.unc.edu
BARBARA B. MORAN
is Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she teaches a class on Popular Materials.