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**Readers Advisory Services meeting minutes**

 11 October, 2012,  Penrith Library


====1.  Present==== 

  * Monique Akauola
  * Natasha Ayaz 
  * Jacqui Barney 
  * Elizabeth Barry 
  * Maureen Breckell 
  * Lee Burgoyne
  * Kate Campion 
  * Vincenza Cigolini
  * Heidi Colquhoun
  *  Helen Cowen
  *  Juliette Curl
  *  Carole Dent 
  * Annette Dumars
  *  Marie Duncan
  *  Juliana Glumac
  *  Lim Goodarzi
  *  Sarah Hajjar
  *  Kathy Hall,
  *  Merilyn Hills
  *  Elissa James
  *  Janice Johnson
  *  Barjinder Kaur
  * Samantha Li
  *  Jenn Martin
  *  Trish McLeod
  *  Suzanne Micallef
  *  Sue Millmore
  *  Patricia Nguyen
  *  Naomi Oliver
  * Kerry-Ann Prideaux
  *  Therese Scott
  *  Joan Suckling
  *  Amy Swan
  *  Ruth Taylor 
  *  *  Megan Tolnay
  *  Rebeccah Vick
  *  Vassiliki Veros
  *  Grant White

====2. Apologies:====

  * Carolyn Bourke
  * Will Coombe
  *  Amy Heap
  *  Ken Klippel
  *  Sharon Tollard
  *  Justin Yeomans
  *  Jane Broadbere
  *  Ellen Forsyth
  *  Margaret Penson

====3. Twitter reading group/themes reading group 2013====

For the last two years themed reading discussions have been held online through Twitter.
The themes for 2013 were selected at the Readers Advisory regional meeting, held at Wagga Wagga library in June, and monthly themes with descriptions, can be found at readwatchplay. These themes are open to interpretation, and libraries are welcome to use these for blogs, displays, book group themes etc.
The twitter reading group has gone international , with partners in Denmark, Jan Holmquist joins us for each month’s twitterchat, getting up at unearthly hours to join in, that’s devotion!! Singapore: Public Library of Singapore.

====4. Readwatchplay====

Every year, the adaptation of themes gets wider and wider. Its not just books, it’s also phones, Television, Internet and computer games, being used to engage people.

====5. Twitter reading group====

A demonstration of Twitter was shown. Everyone is invited to join in the twitter reading group chat. You can become a follower, like Anita Heiss, and find out new ideas for reading. This can act as a reminder that the chat is on, the last Tuesday of each month, from 8pm AEST. You can also keep in touch with what’s happening, find book suggestions to read and when the next twitter discussion is on via the readwatchplayblog.
You can link your library to the readwatchplay twitter, allowing your readers to find some great reads, and maybe join in the twitter chat themselves.

If you miss the discussion, or would like to review it, you can find a transcript in readwatchplay storify. There is also a Twitterchat wrap up, summarising the books, games, websites etc mentioned in the discussion posted on the blog each month. For 2012 this can be found at love2read2012 and from next year onwards, readwatchplay.

You can join in the discussion on 30 October on the last Tuesday of this month from 8pm. The theme is“explore”. Stay connected to the discussion by using the hashtags #explore, #nyr12.
The November theme for the twitter discussion is Mo reads- This theme is used every November, with different male librarians writing blog posts featuring famous moustached, or even clean shaven authors. The 2012 theme is “Mo and son”.

====6. Pinterest====

Readwatchplay has pinterest! As you may know, pinterest is tagging things, such as images and quotes, pulling them together in one place. It is organising information from all over the web and placing in together in one place for easy viewing.

The readwatchplay pinterest has a board for each month/theme of the year, along with a readwatchplayboard. It provides ideas of books you may like to read relating to each month’s themes, including non-fiction.
Anyone who wants to pin to this will be able to do this. The images selected and posted on pinterest follow back to the source, linking back to the website where they were found, providing providence. If pinning book covers, providing a link back to Trove, would show which Australian Libraries hold these books in their collections.

**How can you use these themes in your library?**

Hear what Blue Mountains library have been doing and be inspired.

Heidi Colquhoun discussed the Readers in the mist blog. “Its not rocket science” Heidi assures us, “Its shameless plagarism” of readit2011, love2read2012 etc. Some content has been copied, other material for the blog has been written by Heidi, and all book titles are linked back to the Library catalogue. The blog has been personalised to suit the blue Mountain customers. Where possible, Heidi tries to educate readers about the Library, examples include: offering suggestions available from the Library, as well as Dewey number locations for non fiction subjects, explaining what steampunk is, or entering “science fiction” as a keyword in the catalogue to discover new reads. I In November, 2011, feeling particularly creative, Heidi created a slideshow of moustached authorsto celebrate Moreads!

There are four regular blog posts posted on Monday of each week to ensure content is continuously updated.

  * First Monday of the month: Carolyn’s Books of the month. A customer emails her list of reads for the month to be posted.

  * Second Monday of the month: Carolyn provides a review of one of the books featured in her monthly book list. A plot summary is provided from Fantastic Fiction.

  * Third Monday of the month: Alison’s Picks. A Staff member creates a list of suggested reading. These lists are also made into bookmarks.

  * Fourth Monday of the month: Staff picks, what staff are reading. An email is sent at the beginning of the month. Some staffers provide just a title, others a short (or long) review of the book. A great incentive is chocolate prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the book reviews.

On the staff blog, “What our library staff are reading; uncovered” is posted each month.
You can do this too...Readwatchplay has been started, and you can schedule the blog posts describing the book themes at the beginning of each month. Schedule the twitter reading group reminders, the last Tuesday of the month. You need 3-4 staff whom are willing to post regularly to provide variety and different ideas and viewpoints.

Please note, although the site gets plenty of hits they do not often get comments from the readers.
But there’s more! The Blue Mountains have added “Listeners in the mist’, a pod-bean where the local studies Librarian hosts interviews with people, including staff, on the monthly themes. The winner of the month book review competition, book industry people such as authors, book shop owners, etc. They are asked questions adapted from “ten terrifying questions”.

Bookcases in the mist- you tube videos, andfilmed events.

Facebook: a recent addition to the social media repertoire, there are 3 senior staff who have permission to post. At this stage, there is mainly copy and pasting of blog links.

Twitter: This is set up, but more training and experimentation is required. More staff expertise and interest will keep the communication varied and interesting for the reader.

All this can be replicated.

//To get more activity on the blog try://

      * Include a question to engage readers.
  *     Link to facebook.
  *     If you have are using a council blog, this may be to your advantage as you may grab some non library users, drawing their attention to the library events and activities.
  *     At the end of a podcast, or blog, add what are you thinking of reading question, inviting readers to share this on the blog or facebook, add the link to your facebook or blog. 

An example of this being well done is NPR podcasts.

====How to use the themes for 2013====

//To use the themes://

  * The themes were a crowd sourced idea, as they were gathered together on the Readers Advisory wiki by librarians from all over NSW, and twelve themes were selected by attendee’s of the Readers Advisory meeting in Wagga Wagga in June. Feel free to use these themes, build or add to them as you see fit.
  * Use the themes in displays, on notice boards, on wall displays. Advertise the themes in your newsletters, use them as themes for book groups or book reviews.
  * The themes have been set early to allow you to prepare for 2013 now.
  * Everyone is invited to join the NSW readers Advisory Wiki, as a member and add ideas.

//Examples of using the themes://

  * Wagga Wagga has a very good facebook page
  * Parramatta chinese book discussion group“Parra Reads”, written in chinese script on a blog.

====8. Non book related Readers Advisory====

- Jenn

  * PCHH -Pop Culture Happy hour,a podcast about movies, games, comic books is released every Saturday, with staff from MPR, chatting for about 45 minutes about different topics.
They finish the chat with What’s making me happy? Similar to the Readers Advisory wrap up, What are you reading?. They also have twitter, facebook and a blog that you can follow them on.

====9. Good reads and Novelist====

-presented by Vassiliki Veros

In 2011 EBSCOhost databases partnered with Goodreads. There is a button located at the bottom right hand corner of Novelist, which allows you to link with the reviews.
Novelist does tend to have an American bias, rather than containing Australian titles.

**Using Goodreads as a library service**

- Vassiliki

  * Online reading groups: For isolated communities.
  * Childrens services can upload their lists of story time books onto a good reads list. Using Listopia, you can create a record of books used for story time at your library, and customers can view this list from home, finding a list of suitable books to read to their children, available from your library. The list can be tagged to indicate suitability for one on one reading, read alone, its popularity at story time.
  * Events and home library service, allows connection between library members with other readers.



**Language groups**

“It all sounds Greek to me”

Like all good reads groups, events, photos, discussions and book lists can be added. This can be in any language, not just English. It is an opportunity for like minded readers from different groups and cultures to connect and share their reading, information about events and news online.

//Positives://

  * Book group reads; Find lists of recommended book club reads.
  *     Book group kits: List the book kits you have available for loan from your library.
  *     Staff recommendations.
  *     Linking borrowers to like minded readers.
  *     Expanding language other than english speaking, allowing readers of other languages to find books, in their own language. 

//Negatives://

      * Taking people away from your catalogue, when you may prefer to keep people on the homepage. (The logo and name of your library are still present and linked).
  *     Kerfuffles!- sock puppeting and authors behaving badly impact on reader reviewing.
  *     Fake reviews being written under pseudonyms, to “talk up” the book.

====10. General Business====

  * Four Reader Advisory meetings are held each year. Two of these are regional, being held in different parts of NSW, to allow different attendees the opportunity to attend. If you would like to like to host a RA meeting, please advise Helen Cowen. email: helen.cowen@wsc.nsw.gov.au

  * The next meeting is being held in Ashfield Library in February.
  * The Readers Advisory Seminar for 2013 is being held on 6th March, at the NSW State Library.
  * Note this in your diary now!

====11. What is everyone reading?====
No names of readers for this meeting, just books, due to the outstanding number of attendees.
  * Retro romances- “Desires” series by Charlotte Lamb
  * The art of hearing heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  * Donna Leon mysteries
  * If you’re reading this by Sian Price
  * Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
  * Red dirt talking by Jacqueline Wright
  * A private life by Michael Kirby
  * Thirty something and over it by Kasey Edwards
  * Making and creating art for journals
  * What makes us tick by Hugh MacKay
  * The age of miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
  * 99 flavours of suck by Tania Hutley
  * Rev it up by Julie Anne Walker
  * Last stand by Suzanne Brockmann
  * Creation in death by J D Robb
  * William Keats poetry
  * The Lincoln lawyer by Michael Connelly
  * The chateau by William Faulkner
  * Careless in red by Elizabeth George
  * P. D. James - retro crime
  * Donna Leon mysteries
  * 50 shades of grey by E.L James
  * Wolf hall by Hilary Mantel
  * Enduring love by Ian McEwan
  * Sweet tooth by Ian McEwan
  * The secret race by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
  * The hydrogen sonata by Iain M. Banks
  * The red star by Jo Nesbo
  * Children of liberty by Paullina Simmons
  * The beautiful mysteryby Louise Penny
  * Gone girl by Gillian Flynn
  * Chaos walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
  * Belief by Sylvan Dorney- unpublished novel
  * Born of fire Sherrilyn Kenyon
  * Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
  * The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
  * Birdsong by Sebastian Fox
  * Driving with Plato by Robert Roland Smith (follow on from Breakfast with Socrates
  * Theblade itself (The first Law trilogy, Book one) by Jo Abercrombie
  * Gaysia by Benjamin Law
  * Unnatural habits by Kerry Greenwood
  * The happiest refugee by Ahn doh
  * The improbable pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
  * Heritage by Judy Nunn
  * Good to a fault by Marina Endacott
  * Daniel Seidel
  * Erebos by Ursual Poznanski
  * Gone girl by Gillian Flynn
  * The dirty life: On farming, food and love by Kristin Kimball
  * An unsuitable job for a woman, by P. D. James.