Libraries are always evolving to meet the changing world and needs around them; however, helping readers is a constant, essential service. Does your library offer a readers’ advisory (RA) service? Have your RA efforts changed over the last year during COVID? Do you ever wonder how your RA service compares to that of libraries across the US?
In this session, we’ll explore the findings of the State of Readers' Advisory 2021 survey, conducted by Library Journal and sponsored by RUSA CODES, ARRT, LibraryReads, and NoveList. Join Danielle Borasky (NoveList), Amy Dittmeier (Blue Island Public Library), Michelle Morris (Fort Worth Public Library), Carolina Saldivar (Denver Public Library), Barry Trott (Williamsburg Regional Library), and Jessica Trotter (Capital Area District Libraries), as they share insights, trends, and inspiration from the survey.
Watch the webinar recording
Panelists
Danielle Borasky is the Vice President of NoveList, where she leads a team that creates solutions for connecting readers, books, and libraries. Their goal for the last 25+ years has been to help readers discover their next favorite book. Prior to her current role, she was the Director of Sales & Marketing for NoveList. And before that, she worked in several different kinds of libraries. When she’s away from NoveList, Danielle spends her time planning trips with her family. In the meantime, Danielle satisfies her travel bug by reading travel memoirs.
Amy Dittmeier (she/they) is a librarian at the Blue Island Public Library, where they enjoy finding the perfect book (or movie!) for people. Amy has contributed articles to Library Journal and is a regular reviewer for Booklist and Shelf Awareness. In her spare time, she can be found parked on the couch playing video games, in her tiny patio garden hanging out with plants, or exploring one of the hundreds of breweries in Chicago. You can follow them on Twitter and Instagram @roboticdinos.
Michelle Morris is a Collection Development Librarian at Fort Worth Public Library. Her role is to select books in English and Spanish, analyze the collections, and provide reader’s advisory assistance to staff. She is currently on the Library Reads Board of Directors. She graduated from UNT with her Bachelor’s degree in English in 2004 and her MLIS in 2010. In addition to her passion for reading a wide variety of books, she enjoys picking up crafting hobbies for 3 months and then moving on to something else.
Carolina Saldivar is a bilingual librarian at the Hadley Branch of the Denver Public Library and is originally from Mexico. She provides a broad range of library services, including reference and Readers Advisory services in Spanish. Carolina is currently working with other librarians across her library system on a Spanish Picture Book Core Collection project. She attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution. While living in Texas, Carolina volunteered at El Paso Public Library and fell in love with the library profession. In 2015 she received her MLS from Texas Woman’s University. She is the current president of the REFORMA Colorado chapter; REFORMA CO is a non-profit organization committed to supporting library and information services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking.
Barry Trott is Special Projects and Technical Services Director at the Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library, where he coordinates the library’s communications and marketing, statistical analysis, digital collections, services, and programs, including the library website, and acquisitions and cataloging. Barry is past-president of the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Barry has presented programs on books, readers, and reading for the American Library Association annual conference, the Public Library Association conference, and the Virginia Library Association conference and for library systems throughout the country. In 2007, he was awarded both the Public Library Association’s Allie Beth Martin Award and the ALA Reference and User Services Association’s Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award in recognition for his work in readers’ advisory services.
Jessica Trotter is an archivist by training but now works as a Collection Development Specialist for Capital Area District Libraries in Lansing, Michigan, Digital Selector for the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services OverDrive Consortium, serves on the Board for LibraryReads, and advocates for thoughtful and inclusive Readers Advisory. She presents regularly on Collections Maintenance, Readers Advisory, and Genealogy topics.
Moderator: Halle Eisenman leads the Editorial Content Team which oversees the creation of the lists, articles, book discussion guides, and all the other amazing and informative content you can find in NoveList. Prior to working at NoveList, she spent a dozen years working for a public library system in a variety of roles, but no matter what her job title, her favorite part of any day was suggesting books to patrons.
Molly Wyand is a Communications Specialist at NoveList. She is currently reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh.
