Readers' Advisory Matrix

The Readers’ Advisory Matrix for When God Doesn’t Fix it, by Laura Story

1.     Where is the book on the narrative continuum? Highly narrative (reads like fiction)

2.     What is the subject of the book?  Learning to rely on Jesus in order to live through situations that might not ever change or get better

3.     What type of book is it? Christian book about Christian life and suffering.

4.     Articulate appeal:

a.     What is the pacing of the book?  The reader is immediately pulled into the story from the first sentence.  Laura begins the book with a life changing phone call from Martin.

b.    Describe the characters of the book.  Laura is a full time music minister and her husband Martin who is a full time college student and campus director of college ministry.  Both characters are young and just beginning their careers when Laura and Martin decide to move to Atlanta for Laura’s new job. 

c.      How does the story feel?  Laura’s fairy tale life is no longer possible.  Through Martin’s medical issues Laura finds humor in their sad situation and is able to learn to lean on others for help. 

d.    What is the intent of the author?  The author examines heroes of the Bible and is able to show that God is able to use them despite their flaws. 

e.      What is the focus of the story? Laura’s husband, Martin is diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He loses his short term memory.  Laura and Martin’s lives are changed forever. 

f.      Does the language matter?  The writer uses a conversational tone mixed with humor to draw the reader into the story. 

g.     Is the setting important and well described?  Yes, the setting is in Atlanta Georgia and the characters are often at the church or around church goers.

h.    Are there details and, if so, of what?  Details are provided about Biblical characters.  The author provides quotes from scriptures to back up her points. 

i.       Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials?  Are they useful and clear? No charts or graphic materials are present.  They are not needed. 

j.       Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience Throughout the novel, the author learns to rely on God and the Bible. 

5.     Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?

1.      Learning/Experience

2.      Tone

3.      Detail 

Western

Alone Yet Not Alone

By, Tracy Leininger Craven

Synopsis

Two German sisters are taken captive near their log cabin home after the Allegheny warriors storm through Buffalo valley.  The sisters make a promise to one another that they would not separate from each other.  Days after being kidnapped, the promise is broken and the girls are taken to two different places.  Barbara is taken into the wilderness with hope that she will be reunited with her sister.  Barbra is adopted into the Allegheny Indian Tribe with plans to escape and is eventually is successful.  This is the story of two Christian sisters who must rely on their love and strength of God to survive.  Ten years later, the girls are reunited with their family.  It is based on the true story of Barbara and Regina Leininger. 

Elements of Westerns

Tone/Mood - Offers a wide range mood and tone, sometimes within the same novel

The book is conservative and Christian.  It has a very simple tone and often keeps the reader hopeful that the sisters will be reunited.  This optimistic tone is entwined with many suspenseful moments as Barbara tries to find a way escape.

Characterization – The hero is similar to the medieval knight-errant as a champion of justice

The story focuses on Barbara who is trying to find a way to escape with three other young people who were also kidnapped.  The Indians are cruel and do not believe in God.  Barbara tries to proselytize the Allegheny Indians but is unsuccessful in her attempts.  The point of view is from Barbara so the descriptions of the Indians are very biased and unflattering. 

Frame/Setting – Landscape dominates and is often is a character itselft

The American frontier and its vast openness is an important aspect of this novel.  Throughout the novel, the landscape is an obstacle that Barbara must overcome to escape.  She is unfamiliar with the landscape and the trails. 

Pacing – May be breakneck that features action packed stories

          The first chapter of the novel is very brief and provides background information.  By the second chapter the girls are taken captive and Barbara’s story begins.  Once Barbara settles into the Indian camp the story’s pace slows and then picks back up during the escape. 

Read-A-Likes

·         I am Regina, Sally M. Keehn

·         Slave of the Sioux: The fanny Kelly Captivity Narrative, 1864, Fanny Kelly

·         Lottie Moon: Giving her all for China, Janet Benge

·         To Have and To Hold: A Tale of Providence and Perseverance in Jamestown, Mary Johnston

·         Thick as Thieves, Susan K. Marlow

·         Where the Trail Ends, Melanie Dobson

·        Left by the Indians: Story of My Life, Ethan E. Harris

Week 11 Prompt: E-books and Audiobooks

E-books and audiobooks are appealing because a user can access books from anywhere they can connect to the Internet.  Some e-books are available for free through a local libraries, but not all newly released books can be accessed (at least that has been my experience) and many e-books are never published.  Many people enjoy the atmosphere at the library and the services they offer.  Ebooks and audiobooks do take away library users.  Instead free up space in the library so it can be used for other materials or activities that will attract patrons.

I don’t think a person’s knowledge of a genre is dependent upon being able to physically hold a book.  Knowledge about a genre would come from the reader’s experience of reading and following along with the plot and their ability to reason.  I think some genres like romance are growing in popularity because there is some anonymity with Ebooks and audiobooks.   

            According to the Dunneback and Trott article, “with audiobooks, as long as the patron had a device that played the physical format, it didn’t matter what the device was because the device itself contributed minimally to the reading experience.  With e-book readers, this is not the case” (2011, p. 327).  The author goes on to explain users with different scenarios and how it could affect the reader.  I think for most people the device being used to listen to an audiobook or read e-books will not take away from the reading experience, but enhance it.  Many struggling readers or users who have vision problems have many tools on the e-reader available to make their reading experience more enjoyable. 

            As a teacher, I love having audiobooks and e-readers available for my students.  My struggling readers can listen to audiobooks and read popular age appropriate books that their peers are reading.  Students with disabilities can also enhance the text to help with comprehension.  I don’t think e-books and audiobooks are tools that negatively affect the library and its users.  

Book Club

            I participate in a book club every spring at the school where I work.  This is my third year participating in the book club during our morning staff meeting in the teacher’s lounge.  We sit around a large rectangular table so we are facing one another.  The books selected are Christian books related to teaching or group Bible studies.

The book club occurs three days a week.  On Tuesdays, a video is shown to support the book.  On Wednesdays the book club discusses the assigned reading.  Thursday is set aside to preview the next reading assignment.  All the teachers participate so they can use this time as professional development since it is a private Christian school.  This year we are reading Answers Academy Biblical Apologetics for Real Life, by Ken Ham and Jason Lisle. 

The atmosphere of the book club is somewhat serious since the book club is led by the school principal and the school’s history teacher when she is unavailable.  When the principal is not present the atmosphere changes drastically.  People are more willing to participate and have side conversations.  It is much more enjoyable when the principal is not present since people seem to relax and be themselves.  Occasionally, the principal will bring a breakfast pastry or snack to share.

During the discussion time the leaders use a set of questions that accompany the book.  The questions are open ended and are thought provoking.  Typically, as people engage in the discussion more questions get raised as the discussion progresses.  When the principal is present she will ask a question from the leader’s guide and wait for a response.  There is always awkward silence after she asks a question and waits on a response.  People are afraid to speak up and often look down at their laps until one of the braver teachers speak up.  This does not occur when the principal is not present.

There are three teachers who tend to steal the spotlight.  The history teacher is a part time pastor when he is not teaching, so he is more knowledgeable than most people.  He will often answer questions that the principal is unable to or provide.  The other two teachers are ladies who often are very opinionated.  I often chose not participate because I do not feel comfortable. 

In my opinion, the book club would be more successful if the principal would step back and allow a teacher to lead.  The principal also selects books that participants are not interested in reading.  Selecting a handful of books and allowing the group to vote on one would allow participants to take more ownership and they would engage in conversation more often.  It is also very hard to disagree with your boss during discussion time.  

Special Topics: Conducting a Successful Reference Interview

Reference work is considered “both an art and a science requiring both responsiveness to the individual user and a structure within which to work” (Cassell & Hiremath, 2013, p. 15). It is a way for the library user to seek and understand information, and the library staff member to understand the user’s question so they may seek and find an answer (The Reference Interview).  A reference interview can be conducted in a variety of ways which may include: in-person, chat, instant messaging, email, SMS/text, and telephone.  For my paper, I focused on the in-person reference service and how a successful in-person reference interview should be conducted. 

In 2009, Reference and Adult Services (RUSA) created a set of behavioral guidelines for reference and information services (Guidelines for Behavioral Performance, 2008).  It is important to note that these guidelines were written to serve adult patrons.  The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) had created their own set of guidelines for teens.  The purpose of these guidelines to help librarians conduct reference interviews.  There are five main areas that RUSA identifies in order to conduct a positive reference interview.  These areas include: visibility/approachability, interest, listening/inquiring, searching, and follow-up (Guidelines for Behavioral Performance, 2008).  Each of the five areas include general guidelines.  These guidelines emphasize the need for good communication skills, no matter the form in which they are asked. 

The reference interview is composed of six parts.  These parts include: establishing rapport with the user, negotiating the question, searching and sharing what was found, locating information and evaluating it, following up, and closing the interview.  Of these parts of the reference interview.  The RUSA guidelines should be integrated into these parts of the reference interview for it to be successful.

References

Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2013). Reference and information services: an introduction (3^rd

ed.). London: Facet Publishing.

The Reference Interview. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2017, from

http://www.library.illinois.edu/training/resources/graduate_assistants/trainingmanual_fall2012/refinterview.html

Ross, C. S., Nilsen, K., & Dewdney, P. (2009). Conducting the reference interview: a how-to-do

it manual for librarians. London: Neal-Schuman Pub.

"Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers.

(2008). Retrieved March 06, 20017 from http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesbehavioral