Special Topics Paper: History of Readers' Advisory

How Far We’ve Come: A History of Readers’ Advisory

            A patron walks into the library and asks the dreaded question: “Can you recommend a good book?” In modern day, librarians do not need to panic (although some still do) because there is a plethora of Readers’ Advisory tools at their fingertips.  Almost every library subscribes to NoveList, which is an online resource that allows the librarians to do a quick search to find lists of read-a-likes for patrons. It allows searches by title, author, series, and characteristics and it immediately pulls up suggestions. Many libraries even provide this database, as well as others, for patrons to use themselves.  In a world where online tools like this exist, RA requires little knowledge of genres on the librarian’s part. Even if a patron inquires about a genre that the librarian has never read, as long as she has a knowledge of RA databases, the patron can still leave feeling completely satisfied.  Using these databases paired with friendliness and a thorough RA interview to find out what the patron really wants, the librarian can help any patron.  What if it were not that easy?  Imagine a time before these tools were created, before the internet was at our disposal.  How would RA questions have been handled then?  People have been wanting an answer to the question “Can you recommend a good book?” for a long time.  How was it handled by librarians before the gift of technology?  This paper provides a look at how RA has developed over the years and how it got to where it is today.

            When did RA services officially begin?  It is hard to put an exact date on it, but in his article “Rediscovering the History of Readers’ Advisory,” Crowley (2005) says that as long as librarians have talked to patrons about books, RA has existed, even if not formally.  Crowley (2005) puts the dates 1876-1920 as the invention of RA (p. 38).  Saricks (2005) gives similar dates in Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library, saying RA’s roots go back to the 19^th century, but that it became big in public libraries in the United States in the 1920s-1940s (p. 4). 

            Before Readers’ Advisory was known as Readers’ Advisory, an essay was published in 1876 by F.B. Perkins of the Boston Public Library titled “How to Make Town Libraries Successful.”  In it, he argued against RA, saying that it is “unreasonable” for patrons to “plague the librarian by trying to make him pick out books” (Crowley, 2005, p. 37).  In the same year, Samuel Green, a founder of the American Library Association (ALA) published “Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers.” In this essay, Green gives advice for librarians about the best way to work with patrons. His advice is to 1) earn the respect and confidence of patrons, for it will be easier to help them if they find you agreeable, 2) discover what the patron likes to read to be better able to judge what to suggest, and 3) mingle and talk to users, and help them in every way you can so that word about the library will spread (Green, 1993, p. 85).  He also has advice about RA services.  He says that to accommodate for patrons who ask for recommendations for “stories,” a woman should be placed in the circulation department who enjoys fiction “but whose taste is educated” (1993, p. 85).  This service “should not be her whole work; for work of this kind is best done when it has the appearance of being performed incidentally” (Green, 1993, 85).  In other words, this should not be a main service offered by the library, but librarians should take these opportunities to provide patrons with books of “educated taste” (Green, 1993, p. 85).

            Readers’ Advisory formally began in libraries around the year 1920.  This is when libraries started to embrace the service.  According to Saricks (2005), Robert Ellis Lee describes three phases of reader guidance. The first phase was between 1922-26, where structured RA services were started in seven public libraries: Chicago,Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Portland (Saricks, 2005, p. 4). Saricks (2005) explains that in the new RA services, an advisor met privately with patrons to develop a reading plan for them (p. 4).  These reading plans are described as “individualized reading courses for persons who wished to read systematically to meet the practical needs of daily living” (Saricks, 2005, p. 4).  This statement shows how differently reading was viewed at this time.  In modern time, many people read to escape the “practical needs of daily living,” which is the exact opposite of why librarians wanted people to read.  It was not supposed to be for fun and entertainment, but rather for instruction.

            The second phase that Robert Ellis Lee described was from 1927-35.  The RA services became broader and more effective services were developed.  Libraries provided patrons with the ALA’s Reading with a Purpose courses.  According to Crowley (2005), this program offered 67 bibliographic essays on an array of subjects that gave book recommendations, both fiction and nonfiction, depending on the subject sought (p. 39).  By 1935, 44 public libraries offered RA services to patrons (Saricks, 2005, p. 5).  Patrons were interviewed thoroughly about their lives and reading interests, which helped to determine lists of books and patron reading level (Saricks, 2005, p. 5).  There was more judgment at the time based on reading interests than there is today.  Certain things were considered less sophisticated and things were still suggested based on their considered appropriateness.  After the interview, patrons were mailed list of books to their home, and from there they would return to the library to read these books (Saricks, 2005, p. 5).  In his article “Regulating Readers,” Luyt (2001) explains that after the in depth interview and after the patron read the books suggested, there would be a follow up interview to find out how successful the list was at meeting the patron’s needs and possibly set up another reading plan (451).

            The third and final phase described by Robert Ellis Lee was from 1936-1940.  At this point, along with a readers’ advisor, a subject specialist helped to create a list of books for patrons (Saricks, 2005, p. 5).  Librarians needed a comprehensive reading background in order to provide annotated books lists for these patrons.  During this time, there were many articles and books being published describing the RA process to help librarians with this service.  Possibly more important than the difference in how the service was provided is the reason behind the suggestions.  There was a “moralistic, didactic tone” not seen today (Saricks, 2005, p. 6).  Librarians would make judgments about a person’s character, and then suggest books that they thought the person would benefit from.  The overall goal was to improve the patron in some way (Saricks, 2005, p. 6).  Eventually, librarians were not able to keep up with the increasing demand for RA services.  They became unable to spend so much time with patrons individually and they created more standardized book lists (Saricks, 2005, p. 6).  After this final phase, WWII saw a decrease in the need for RA services due to less leisure time than they had before, and many public libraries stopped offering these RA services (Saricks, 2005, p. 6).  Crowley (2005) says that from 1984-present is considered the reviving of RA (p. 39).  This is the time that interest in RA services picked back up again and began progressing to where it is today.

            According to Luyt (2001), “Fundamental to the relationship between the readers’ advisor and patron was the belief that people needed help both in choosing what to read and how to read it” (p. 451).  That is perhaps the biggest difference between past and present RA services.  The goal for librarians today is not to find books for patrons that you want them to read, but books that they want to read.  Patrons tell the librarian exactly what they want, and the librarian tries to find it for them.  Today, it would be hard for a librarian to get away with telling a patron that they should read something more morally sophisticated.  However, back then, librarians felt it was their duty to provide books that would improve the patrons in some way.  Book lists were given for education, not recreation.  Adult continuing education was considered important by librarians; hence, their feeling that they knew what was best for patrons to read (Saricks, 2005, p. 6).    

            Despite the differences in RA services today, Saricks (2005) acknowledges that there are still several fundamental aspects that remain the same.  Librarians must still perform a thorough RA interview to discover exactly what a patron is looking for to be able to find them appropriate titles and authors (p. 7).  Librarians need a general knowledge of the collection, both fiction and nonfiction, to be able to locate appropriate books (p 7).  It is important to have the ability to describe books well and to evaluate the quality of books (p. 7).  Finally, Saricks (2005) acknowledges the importance of the personal relationship between librarians and patrons (p. 7).  This connection will help build trust and it will help the librarian to get to know more about the patron, allowing them to choose books to the best of their ability.

            Of course, it does also help that librarians now have the use of RA tools on the internet.  Instead of taking information about the patron’s reading interests and spending a few days putting a book list together, the librarian can now find immediate results to the patron’s questions.  With everything from read-a-like sources (NoveList, NextReads, What Should I Read Next?) to book review websites (Kirkus, GoodReads, Amazon.com), it is much easier to find books for patrons quickly and more accurately.  It is important to have an understanding of the history of Readers’ Advisory, because we can learn valuable lessons and appreciate how far we have come.  The next step is to make sure all librarians are familiar with online RA tools.  Many librarians are still blindsided by requests for recommendations.  This need not be the case, with so many valuable tools at our disposal.  If all librarians are given a course in RA services, libraries will be able to help patrons in ways that they have never been able to do before.

           

References

Crowley, B. (2005). Rediscovering the history of readers advisory service. Public Libraries, 44(1), 37-41

Green, S. (1993). Personal relations between librarians and readers; originally published in October 1, 1876. Library Journal, 118S5.

Luyt, B. (2001). Regulating readers: The social origins of the readers’ advisor in the United States. Library Quarterly, 71(4), 443.

Saricks, J. (2005) History and introduction. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. Pp. 1-13.