Are you up for the Slupree challenge? (Heather Booth)
My library is in the process of examining our services and revamping our marketing strategy. We’ve done surveys and focus groups and had lots and lots and lots of meetings. It can be an interesting process to take a close look at why we’re doing what we’re doing, how to do it better. I’ve been especially interested in the intersection between underutilized services and unmet needs, and it’s at this crossroads that my summer pet project was born.
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| Are you up for the Slurpee challenge? |
I love Reader’s Advisory (see how I capitalize it? I love it that much). It’s my favorite part about being a librarian and I think I’m pretty good at it. I’ll be bold and say it – I think my RA skills are an underutilized service, and my Slurpee Challenge is my gamble that there is an as-yet unmet need for good book suggestions in this town, especially for reluctant readers.
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Filed under: Reader's Advisory
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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I can't wait to see how this goes! Very clever way to both engage teens in a playful way and boost the necessary statistics to please the higher-ups. Best of luck to you!
Genius! What a great enticement. I just hope they don't break your bank. But, no doubt about it, you're going to create new readers. 🙂
Brilliant! I can't wait to see what happens. Do you have a list of books that you like to recommend or sites that you use to help? Thanks!
@Ardith, that's a great question. I do have some go-to lists, but for this project I'm trying not to rely on them and instead really trying to listen to what the kids are asking for… or not asking for. I think that if they're willing to make the effort on their end and are exasperated enough to do it I should really work to break out of my sure-bet recommendations. Novelist is the tool I've been using most heavily for requests for specific things, and I'm digging deep to pull out things that these kids might not have tried before.
-Heather