Topics Paper

Daniel Thacker

Special Topics Paper

My special topics paper is to be a literature review of non-fiction RA appeal terms.  I am prepping myself to do exploratory research in this field.  The majority of literature review is done on fiction RA which will guide me somewhat on the topic of non-fiction RA.  As part of my introduction I want to explain what my research is and is not.  I am attempting to learn and do qualitative research as opposed to quantitative research.  I am trying to understand rather than explain non-fiction appeal terms.  If I am trying to prove something then I have stepped outside the bounds of my goals and abilities at the present time.  Describing and expressing are the important goals for now.  My guiding research question is this: what do readers like about non-fiction?  I am dealing with attitudes, opinions and emotions that influence people's choices in their non-fiction.  I will try to be aware of the gaps in my knowledge and relay them to you, dear reader.  I am hoping to generate hypothesizes, not prove them.  I also hope to generate ideas for your own research or generate thoughts to aid you in your future RA services that you will provide to patrons.  

Review of the literature:

Ross, Catherine. (1998) "Making Choices: What Readers say about Choosing Books to Read for Pleasure" CAIS/ASCI: 107-124.

This article was from our readings for week 2.  Dr. Copeland redirected me to this paper because of it being a good example of its qualitative methods.  However, it must be noted that the author employed her grad students that were currently taking her Genres of Fiction and Reading class to do the research in this study.  This is a no-no because of the power dynamic in the student/professor relationship.  Nevertheless, it did yield some interesting findings.  Data was collected from 194 open-ended interviews that started with two questions:  How do you choose a book to read for pleasure and are there types of books that you do not enjoy and would not choose?  The rest of the interview came from the discussion of these two questions.  The people who were picked for the interviews were "heavy readers" as described in Cole, John and Carol S. 1979, Reading in America: Selected Findings of the Book Industry Study Group's 1978 Study.  65% were female and 45% were between the ages of 21 to 30.  Thus, I assume these were fellow LIS students or LIS sympathizers.  In summary there are five categories that readers use to choice books for pleasure: What mood am I in?, Alerting sources that the reader uses to find out about new books (i.e. recommendations, reviews, lists), elements of a book that readers take into account in order to match book choices  to the reading experience desired (size of books, endings, settings), Clues on the book itself used to determine the reading experience being offered (author, title, genre, cover) and Cost in time or money involved for the reader in getting intellectual or physical access to a particular book (physical access, cognitive and emotional commitment, etc.).

Hooper, Brad. (2010) "Food and Travel Twin Readers' Advisory Pleasures.”  References & User Services Quarterly 50( 2), 122-125.

This was a really awesome article!  I was very skeptical of people wanting to read food and travel for pleasure but I was very wrong.  One thing that I re-learned with this article was this, what makes non-fiction awesome is the author's passion.  For instance, there is a true story of a New York Times writer that becomes a "kitchen slave" so he can serve at the feet of a master chef.  His self-sacrifice and dedication to learn from a master can be extremely fascinating.  When the story is good it doesn't matter if it is fiction or non-fiction.  It's just about the story and if that story is non-fiction it gives said story an extra level of awe (at least for me).  The adage of truth being stranger than fiction is a great experience.  It's like the universe is showing off it's literally skills.  Another thing I learned from this article is that it doesn't matter what the topic is, if there is passion and love behind it, it is compelling and pleasurable reading.  I wrote a letter to the editor because I was so stirred up by this article.  The editor responded within the hour and I had made a friend.

Yesha, Naik. (2012) “Reads on Goodreads Readers Take RA into Their Own Hands.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 51(4), 319-323.

This may seem like a “no kidding, I already knew that” article but this also a sign of good research.  It is another lesson that given the right environment such as: anonymity, convenience and freedom to come and go as they please can foster rich discussion on any target.  And Goodreads definitely creates this environment.   The main thing I took from this article is that RA is alive and well.  However, how Goodreads discussion forums influence people's book choices is still unclear.    

Trott, Barry. (2012) “Reference, Readers' Advisory, and Relevance” The Reference Librarian, 53(1), 60-66.

Barry is a pretty cool and down to earth guy that I can understand.  He suggests we (reference librarians) can use stereotypes to our advantage.  For example, the library offers more than books but over two thirds of the public still equate libraries with books.  Therefore, in the quest to remain relevant and useful, RA can be used as a service we offer; rather than being just a warehouse for books.  Also that active RA leads to both librarian and patron satisfaction reaffirming the importance of the future success of the library profession.

Elliott, Julie. “Academic Libraries and Extracurricular Reading Promotion” Reference & User Services Quarterly,46(3), 34-43.

It gives a history of how libraries have dropped the ball in the past with RA and where we have improved as a profession.  The article also has a questionnaire at the end that evaluates RA in your library.  This article is a good food for thought on RA being a skill that most librarians do not have.  Mainly because librarians don't engage the patron in it.  I did the survey and I see how the library that I work does not put (in my opinion) enough time into RA.  This article also gives suggestions on how to demonstrate the value of RA via programs.   

Saricks, J. (2011). “At Leisure: Recognizing What's Popular”. Booklist, 107(11), 29.

This article confirms the importance of talking to people to get the best information in improving your RA skills.  Talking to shelvers, the circulation desk, patrons, etc.  is where it's at.  I have found this to be true.  Asking open-ended questions about patrons book choices are useful and usually fruitful discussions.  For example, a woman wanted a list of all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  A quick talk of the tv series leads to a discovery of a sub-culture that has fans of LHOTP taking trips and visiting the historical sites of Laura Ingalls that spreads over 6 states.  I hated the TV show and I always got pissed off when my sisters insisted on watching it but the conversation with the patron was great.  I still can stand Michael Landon to this day!

Saricks, J. (2005). Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library. (3^rd edition). Chicago : American Library Association

This book reinforces the idea that librarians and librarians from other libraries are on the same team.  Also reading Saricks gave me the idea that I don't have to section off the library collection in fiction and non-fiction.  There is a middle ground that fuses the two.  For example, Donald Goines, the Godfather of African-American Pulp Fiction, wrote a book called Whoreson.  This is a loosely auto-biographical story that is technically fiction but is something I would consider as a mixture of the two.  Another example would be historical fiction (not alternative history fiction) like Jeff Shaara.   All the dates, events and characters are real and I have used his works of fiction as a history book.  Finding interesting events and using them later to do follow-up research (for example Joseph Goebbels had his wife poison their six children and then he shot her and himself.  This lead me to further investigate him and I came across his personal journal.  It was fascinating.  As a boy he was bullied horribly and didn't have any friends.  He was physically handicapped.  He was a time bomb that went off) ; of course all of dialogue between historical characters are dramatized but there is a wealth of knowledge that is blended into his fiction.  All this meaning that I would bring up this type of fiction in  a non-fiction RA interview if the patron was receptive to it. 

            In summation, this beginning of a literature review has been interesting.  One of the underlying themes is talking and listening to other people about their experience with books.   RA is a team sport so no matter how much I can read on my own, building a rapport with colleagues and patrons seems to be at the root of a successful RA, whether it is in non-fiction, fiction or somewhere in-between.