NSW Readers Advisory Working Group meeting minutes
Friday 3 July 2009, Liverpool Library
10am-12.15pm
Chair: Jenn Martin
Minutes: Therese Scott
Jenn gave us a run through on the ra wiki and created a new boo group questions page ready for people to add content.
Wiki members are encouraged to add lists and photos to flickr account to get some more images for the blog. We should promote this idea to our library readers ie: adding photos of themselves reading. Jenn gave a demo of flickr photo accounts, photostreams and how to send photos to other groups.
RISG wiki gives you a different perspective on reference and ra work.
RA Training: Fairfield recently completed the rewarding reading training and then many staff at Fairfield were trained. Expressions of interest were sought to be on the readers’ advisory team. Staff from: housebound, books clubs, branch staff were interested. Ended up with more than needed so will train again next year. They created a blog on wordpress: ‘reading Fairfield’. Staff had to do homework and read outside their zone, and then they had to be in a book group to see what it was like to be in one. Blog could become a RA online training tool. Fairfield trying to implement readers’ advisory thinking in the work of all staff.
Displays:
Jenn from Auburn has written an article about bibliotherapy on the ALIA website: http://www.alia.org.au/governance/committees/public.libraries/summit09/pdfs/bibliotheraphy.Recommendation.pdf
Bibliotherapy includes producing prescription pamphlet for books, reading lists, etc. Ellen and Jenn have been asking are there partnerships between libraries and health services?
Maybe make connections with local doctors, psychiatrists, hospitals, cancer council, beyond blue, Alzheimer’s, local relevant government departments, Patrons often come to library to ask for medical advice and help as it is seen as non threatening. Good for libraries as it increases customer base and good for health care as they are overloaded anyway. Perhaps we could go to the organizations en masse and propose that various public libraries want to create bibliotherapy lists, how can you help?
Bibliotherapy is also about escapism as is generally though fiction reading. We could talk to our book group members to see if they use the meetings as their bibliotherapy.
Will from Lane Cove said Council has a Men’s Shed (as does Ashfield) and the want to try to get the members to visit the library.
Auburn has a Living Library, Balmain branch libraries have baby health care nurses giving talks, Lane Cove living library book is a cancer survivor and is a keen ‘book’ who wants to talk about the experience : all of these are aspects of bibliotherapy.
Sometimes it is best to encourage patrons to go elsewhere if they just can’t find something they want to borrow. This can be successfully achieved after rapport has been built. Create a cheat sheet of staff reading preferences to assist with helping hard to please readers.
Patrons fill in a review card and a winner is drawn each week. There are prizes, free reserves, book vouchers etc. Review is published on Mosman Library website. Bingo sheets at Lane Cove: Xmas hampers for kids and adults (food, wine, biscuits) : borrow and enter as many times as you borrow, usually there are 500 entries in each box. The theme for a large scale summer reading club for adults could fit in with the summer reading challenge theme for children.
We decided to celebrate Readers Day /Readers Week during 26 October-3 November. Vassiliki is checking the copyright of a possible fantastic theme called : “drop everything and read” as it is already being used. In some ways we are preaching to the converted with readers day etc. Some possible strategies include: a reading in public promotion (put the pics on flickr!) a reader in residence or a series of readers in residence positioned in a chair in the library. There is already a readers’ week page on the RA wiki and we will create a new flickr group. Please update lists on wiki if you have ideas!
Has everyone registered for both promotions?
Fran congratulated Mosman on their information challenge between librarians and search engines.
Friday November 27 2009 10am
Tomaree Library and Community Centre Town Centre Circuit Salamander NSW 2317 Ph 4982 0670 Fax 4982 0930 Email: sue.leverington@portstephens.nsw.gov.au
Please rsvp to Sue and contact her for directions.