Readers' Advisory: Differing Mental Models and the Futures of Libraries, Librarians, and Readers’ Advisory

Bill Crowley

Abstract


Many of us struggle with determining the best way to represent our profession in libraries. How do we maintain our relevance and the value of our degreed professionals while managing increasing expectations from patrons, tax payers, and politicians? In RUSQ 54:4, Duncan Smith provided a thoughtful conversation on the future of readers’ advisory services in his article “Readers’ Advisory: The Who, the How, and the Why.” Smith decided to write the article after reading Bill Crowley’s 2014 article “Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education.” Smith and Crowley, while both highly respected professionals in the library industry, believe in two very different readers’ advisory paradigms and the role professionals and paraprofessionals play in this service. In an effort to provide insight into both mental models, Crowley agreed to provide his reflection on Smith’s article, expanding on his original article and introducing the RUSQ readership to an alternate readers’ advisory model. In particular, he wants us to ask the questions “is RA success determined by facts or perceptions?” and “is our current RA model the right model?” It’s an exciting opportunity for all of us to have two such notable professionals offering their expertise and opinion on the future of RA, providing deep reflection, solid arguments, and reflection on their differing RA paradigms.—Editor

Full Text:

HTML PDF

References


Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown, Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library (Chicago: American Library Association, 1997).

Bill Crowley, “Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education?” Public Libraries 53, no. 4 (July/August 2014): 37–43.

Laurel Tarulli and Duncan Smith, “Readers’ Advisory: The Who, the How, and the Why,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 54, no. 4 (Summer 2015): 11–16.

Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown, Reader’s Advisory Service in the Public Library (Chicago: American Library Association, 1989).

Henry E. Hale, “Civilizations Reframed: Toward a Theoretical Upgrade for a Stalled Paradigm,” Journal of Civilization Studies 1, no. 1 (January 2014): 1.

Roger C. Greer, Susan G. Fowler, and Robert J. Grover, Introduction to the Library and Information Professions (Santa Barbara: CA, 2013), 35–36.

Bill Crowley, Spanning the Theory-Practice Divide in Library and Information Science (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005), 204.

Craig Gerhart and Kira Hasbargen, “Check Out the New Library: A Vital, Multiservice Hub for All Generations,” Public Management 96, no. 4 (May 2014): 6–9.

“News: Check Out the New Library,” Urban Libraries Council, May 7, 2014, www.urbanlibraries.org/check-out-the-new-library-news-156.php.

Joyce G. Saricks, Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library 3rd ed. (Chicago: American Library Association, 2005), 1.

David R. Maines, Jeffrey C. Bridger, and Jeffrey T. Ulmer, “Mythic Facts and Park’s Pragmatism: On Predecessor-Selection and Theorizing in Human Ecology,” Sociological Quarterly 37, no. 3 (1996), 522.

Kathryn Zickuhr, Kristen Purcell, and Harrison Rainie, From Distant Admirers to Library Lovers—And Beyond: A Typology of Public Library Engagement in America (Pew Research Center, May 2014), www.pewinternet.org/files/2014/03/PIP-Library-Typology-Report.pdf.

Bill Crowley, “Know Your ROEI,” Library Journal 135, no. 3 (February 15, 2010): 34–35.

Don Hamerly and Bill Crowley, “Sustaining Professionalism in the Fields of Library and Information Studies,” Library Philosophy and Practice, paper 1231 (2014), http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1231

Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), 84.

Laurel Tarulli and Neal Wyatt, “We Owe Our Work to Theirs: Celebrating the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Reader’s Advisory Service in the Public Library,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 54, no. 2 (Winter 2014): 24–30.

Bill Crowley, “Tacit Knowledge, Tacit Ignorance, and the Future of Academic Librarianship,” College & Research Libraries 62, no. 6 (November 2001): 581.

Bill Crowley, “‘Taught At the University on A Higher Plane than Elsewhere’: The Graduate Education of Readers’ Advisors,” in Readers Advisors Companion, edited by Kenneth D. Shearer and Robert Burgin (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001),

Bill Crowley, “Rediscovering the History of Readers’ Advisory Service” Public Libraries 44, no. 1 (January/February 2005): 40.

Cheryl Stenström and Ken Haycock, “Influence and Increased Funding in Canadian Public Libraries: The Case of Alberta in Fiscal Year 2009–10,” Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 84, no. 1 (January 2014): 52

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think about Your Research While You’re Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), 50.

Nancy Shulock and Patrick M. Callan, Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving College Readiness through Coherent State Policy (San Jose, CA: National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2010), 1.

Noah Lukeman, The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 58.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.55n2.91

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ALA Privacy Policy

© 2024 RUSA