Regardless of what kind of library you work in, you’ll likely have to provide readers’ advisory (RA), a task that can be as daunting as it is fun. It can feel like a gamble to suggest books you haven’t read yourself or in an unfamiliar genre, especially when there’s so much out there. Here are a few books that will help level up your skills.
LGBTQIA+ Books for Children and Teens, 2nd edition
By Kathleen Breitenbach and Liz Deskins
This resource text provides suggestions for librarians wanting to choose a variety of titles across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, while contextualizing the significance of these collections. It includes an overview of the history of LGBTQIA+ children’s and YA literature with perspectives from authors and intellectuals. This new edition focuses on titles published since 2020, including many that feature both queer and multicultural representation, and provides updated information on recent book challenges and how librarians can respond.
ALA Editions, 2023. 224 p. $49.99. PBK. 978-0-8389-3857-7.
Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks
By William Ottens
William Ottens, who runs the popular blog Librarian Problems, has worked across many library departments and amassed many tales from the field. This collection of essays offers realistic snapshots of public library work, including RA and reference services. Though the section on RA is a small part of the text, it has clear examples of what a librarian in public service deals with daily. Stories include muddling through confusing reference interviews involving misheard titles, locating books based purely on a cover image, and weathering prank phone calls, which readers may find validating as well as enlightening.
Skyhorse Publishing, 2020. 240 p. $16.99. PBK. 978-1-5107-5588-8. (Also available as an ebook.)
The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Street Literature, 2nd edition
By Vanessa Irvin
This guide focuses on street literature (also known as urban fiction) and offers fantastic recommendations. It also serves as an example of how to provide strong, succinct readers’ advisory overall. Irvin writes that “readers’ advisory for street lit requires the librarian to care about the genre, but more importantly, to care about the patron.” Starting with a brief history of Black art forms and how street lit became popular, Irvin examines the topic in depth, exploring motifs, characteristics, tropes, and setting. This new edition updates the 2011 original with more recent recommendations and research.
ALA Editions, 2024. 176 p. $54.99. PBK. 979-8-89255-569-2.
Crash Course in Readers’ Advisory
By Cynthia Orr
This masterclass helps library staffers by digging into the fundamentals. There are sections on understanding readers and what makes reading enjoyable, and explanations of concepts like appeal and doorways. Orr has specific tips that will stick with readers, like important keywords in reviews that can offer information about a book’s pacing or style, or how a page’s formatting can tell readers what to expect. Though Crash Course was published more than a decade ago, many of the insights are evergreen.
Bloomsbury, 2014. 190 p. $51.95. PBK. 978-1-61069825-2. (Also available as an ebook.)
