Readers' Advisory for the Adult Reader

Dates: September 14 - November 6, 2009
Location: Online
Fee: $230
CEUs & LEUs**: 2.4 CEUs / 24 LEUs
Course login information will be emailed to students a few days before the course begins.

Effective Readers' Advisory includes a broad knowledge of literary genres; the ability to access information on books; an awareness of what constitutes a truly effective patron interaction; and a sincere interest in helping patrons find something to read that meets their needs at that moment.

Topics covered:

  • The philosophy of Readers' Advisory
  • Readers' Advisory tools
  • Reading genres including: mysteries, science fiction & fantasy, romance, literary fiction, nonfiction, and multicultural literature.

Required reading:

  • Dog on It: a Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn
  • One of these two nonfiction titles: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann or In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
  • One short story from one of these collections: Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie; When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris; or Unaccustomed Earth: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Expectations:

To earn CEUs for this course, participants are required to submit two assignments (an RA bookmark & a final paper) and to post to the course discussion module a minimum of once per week.

Instructor:

Liz Dannenbaum is the Head of Adult Services at the Middleton Public Library, Middleton WI. She has been speaking and consulting on the importance of readers' advisory for over 20 years.

To register:

  • ONLINE registration - Fill out a form on the Web, pay by credit card, or have your institution billed
  • Call the Pyle Center Registration Office: (608) 262-2451
  • Print out a registration form and return by fax or mail - instructions on form

**Library Education Units (LEUs) for Indiana State Library Certification