Appendix C: Librarian Networking and Training

  • Librarians network with publishers, reviewers and other librarians through NetGalley and Edelweiss (Above the Treeline), free online services that connect to publishers’ catalogs and provide librarians with advance reading copies of some titles. These services provide librarians with the opportunity to submit reviews, annotations, or blurb comments that publishers can use for promoting their titles to readers. They also allow librarians to build their knowledge of upcoming titles so they can share them with patrons.

  • Librarians can also use these services for submitting votes to LibraryReads, the monthly nationwide library staff picks list for adult fiction and non-fiction. LibraryReads’ goal is to help connect librarians’ favorite books to as many readers as possible, while drawing upon the incredible power that public library staff has in helping to build word-of-mouth for new books, and the important role that libraries play in creating audiences for all kinds of authors.

  • Librarians use Twitter to connect with readers, publishers and other librarians by participating in open EarlyWord Galley chat sessions using hashtag #ewgc (Adult galley chat) and #ewgcya (YA galley chat). Each month, librarians and publishers tweet about forthcoming titles, and as the sessions take place on Twitter, readers can follow the posts to discover information about new titles.

  • Librarians request funding to bring in outside experts to provide staff training in readers’ advisory.

  • Many librarians submit proposals for readers’ advisory presentations at local, state and national conferences in order to share their knowledge with others across the profession. Even if a proposal is not accepted for one conference, it could be used again as a proposal for another one. The act of creating the proposal itself is a learning process as is the presentation. Presenting provides the speaker the opportunity to learn from those who attend their program. This joint give and take is a primary means of sharing readers’ advisory knowledge with co-workers and library staff at other systems. And librarians excel at sharing knowledge.

  • Libraries host publisher book buzz events as a means for staff and customers to learn about forthcoming titles that will be available in their collections.

  • Industry publication sponsored webcasts focused on genre fiction, debut fiction, spring/fall announcements and are very valuable for showcasing booktalks, reviews, summaries, etc.

  • Participation in industry association conference programs, workshops and trainings such as StokerCon, RWA, and BookExpo to deepen genre-specific knowledge.

  • Participation in local, state and national professional readers’ advisory interest groups such as the CO Readers Advisory Interest Group, RAILS RAIG, and RUSA CODES.

  • Readers’ Advisory Conversation (Ontario Library Association). 

  • Librarians volunteer to act as judges for book and audiobook awards sponsored by industry publications, organizations, and associations. 

  • Librarians can learn about the voices of various narrators by listening to clips in NoveList, Audiofile, and Amazon.