PART 1: The Thinky Part
Knowing Nonfiction
Wrap your mind around this: It's all about subject; subject has nothing to do with it.
Nonfiction is not contained by the stacks (Dewey Decimal). Think types; styles; genres and subgenres.
Knowing Nonfiction Readers
From Catherine Sheldrick Ross*: NF readers often read NF and F; exclusive NF readers like the "real'"; readers pick NF when they expect interruptions; they read to be entertained AND "to take something away"; they are avid readers in general
From Neal Wyatt**: "Reading nonfiction, even highly narrative nonfiction, is a different experience than reading fiction." She calls this the Learning/Experiencing appeal.
A personal definition: Not so much escapist readers as involvist readers
Part 2: The Action Part
Title awareness
Blogs: Bookslut, Citizen Reader, Daily Beast, Early Word, Huffington Post, Readers' Advisor Online Blog, RickLibrarian, Sophisticated Dorkiness
Media: Amazon and Powell's, Magazines, NPR, Stephen Colbert and/or The Daily Show, New York Times Book Review, the review journals (LJ, PW, Booklist, Kirkus)
Bestseller lists and publisher sites: Christian bestsellers; Thomas Nelson and Zondervan
Indirect RA
Working with Subjects/Genres You Don't Read
1. Get an author/title and mine the materials at hand: check indexes, bibliographies, jacket copy, blurbs
2. Make use of the big dog, Amazon: relational database picks, and "Listmania" lists (don't assume patrons know about those)
3. Do a bit of homework (bestseller lists; publisher pages) and start a journal or cheat sheet
4. Use the Reader's Advisor Online database--now free!
Nonfiction RA Tips
1. Consider both subject and "mood" cues. RESOURCES *Burgin, Robert, ed. Nonfiction Readers' Advisory. Libraries Unlimited, 2005. Cords, Sarah Statz. The Inside Scoop: A Guide to Nonfiction Investigative Writing and Exposes. Libraries Unlimited, 2009. Cords, Sarah Statz. The Real Story: A Guide to Nonfiction Reading Interests. Libraries Unlimited: 2006. Drew, Bernard A. 1000 Most Popular Nonfiction Authors. Libraries Unlimited: 2008. Reisner, Rosalind. Read On...Life Stories: Reading Lists for Every Taste. Libraries Unlimited: 2009. Roche, Rick. Real Lives Revealed: A Guide to Reading Interests in Biography. Libraries Unlimited: 2009. Saricks, Joyce. Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library. ALA: 2005. **Wyatt, Neal. The Readers' Advisory Guide to Nonfiction. ALA: 2007. Zellers, Jessica. Women's Nonfiction: A Guide to Reading Interests. Libraries Unlimited: 2009. QUESTIONS? Please email me any time at [email protected].
2. Wikipedia everything.
3. Watch for "deal breakers"--this stuff is real.
4. Try to keep up with current events and pop culture.
5. Don't be afraid to mix F and NF, especially on displays and booklists. (Always indicate which titles are NF.)
6. Find an RA buddy.
7. Write down everything you can, re-use it, and don't be afraid to find and use your own "gems."