Booknote: Nonfiction Readers' Advisory

Title: Nonfiction Readers' Advisory
Various authors, edited by Robert Burgin
Publication Information: Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004
ISBN: 1-59158-115-X
Genre: Nonfiction
Subgenre: Library science, readers' advisory, reading

I got a lot out of this book, so my readers will find a couple of other posts referring to this book in the next week or so. Mostly some brief things I started thinking about from reading the book. I just saw this note was going to be very long, so I decided to split the draft into separate posts to make it easy on readers as well as help me see some things better. Now, on to the note.

The only thing I wish this book had was more book lists of good nonfiction. However, that aside, this book provides an excellent overview and guide to readers' advisory for nonfiction readers. I wanted to read this book for various reasons. First, I wanted to keep up my knowledge of RA. Second, I read a lot of nonfiction for pleasure. I especially enjoy history and microhistories, but I explore other areas as well. My third reason for reading this book is a bit more practical, and it has to do with some reading courses the university offers. I will be making a note on that next time.

The book is divided in four parts, and it contains a total of twelve chapters written by different contributors. The four parts look at history of RA and nonfiction, materials, readers, and practical advice. I found particularly valuable the discussions of appeal factors, the genres within nonfiction, and some of the practical advice. For those interested in librarianship history, , the historical sections may be interesting. I read them, but I could have skipped through those because a lot of the material is stuff I saw during my RA classes in library school. I do think they provide a good context overall.

I am going to make some specific notes from the book, some quotes and some of my ideas/responses to them. They are kind of reminders for me of things I would like to keep track of. For readers just wanting my conclusion, they can skip the bullet points and go to the end of the post. By the way, each chapter does include a list of references for further reading on the topic of nonfiction RA; these lists often include websites. However, with the exception of Chapter 10, there are no lists of the actual works.

• From Chapter 3, some broad nonfiction categories: biography, memoir, history, contemporary issues. Other categories are science writing, sports, food and travel.
  
• Nonfiction "shares with fiction the appeal factors that have been set forth in the library and information science literature, including Characterization, Pacing, Story Line, Setting, and Use of Language" (75). I had those four concepts practically drilled into me when I was taking my Adult RA class. Actually, they can be quite helpful to quickly evaluate a book.
  
• From Chapter 5, reasons that A/V materials are not fully utilized in libraries: unfamiliarity with formats, lack of reference sources about these materials, and some difficulties with access (use of linear tape vs a CD or DVD) (88). The chapter does provide some good resources to address the need for reference sources including the Internet Movie Database and Video Librarian.
• Chapter 6 looks at what motivates nonfiction readers. The material is based on actual interviews with readers. Some example of the open-ended questions asked of the interviewees:
  
• "How do you choose a book to read for pleasure?"
  
• "Are there types of books that you do not enjoy and would not choose?" (emphasis in original)
  
• "What are you currently reading?"
• "Has there ever been a book that has made a big difference to your life in one way or another?" (106). Actually, I wrote an answer to this question in March of last year. Readers can find it here.
  
• Chapter 6 also gives 13 observations about nonfiction readers. Number one was "many readers read BOTH fiction and nonfiction for pleasure" (107). I will only say that this sounds self-evident, and it applies to me personally. Number four was "some readers reported that nonfiction was easier than fiction to read when you are more likely to be interrupted" (109). I am finding this to be true from my commuting experience. I tend to prefer reading novels at home, often before bedtime, because they do require a higher degree of immersion. Nonfiction tends to be easier to pick up and drop as needed. However, I will note that I have seen some people reading novels on the commute. My guess is they must have a higher level of concentration than I have (or they just prefer fiction). I do see a good share of people who read nonfiction as well. For instance, Joel Osteen's book Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential was very popular last couple of months. Anyhow, my observations on the commute are strictly anecdotal, but I wonder if it might make an interesting follow-up study to look at reading habits of commuters. Observation number eleven is "part of the joy of reading is serendipitous discovery" (115). This is very true for me. Very often I pick nonfiction titles to read on the basis they seem interesting, something different, on a chance than actually looking for something specific.
  
• Chapter 12 provides a genre list, which is better defined than the categories on Chapter 3. Each genre includes three to five titles to illustrate. This chapter also contains a good list of resource websites, some of which I added to my RA bookmarks. The genres listed are: biography, autobiography, memoirs and diaries, true crime, travelogues or books with a strong sense of place, medicine, journalistic reportage or exposés of social issues, essays or short true stories, humor, overcoming adversity, adventure, disaster or survival, history, microhistories, science, technology and inventions. I am sure other RA experts may add or remove categories. I personally found this more useful in terms of defining a scope of nonfiction for pleasure reading in a concise way.
  

Overall, I recommend the book. New librarians coming to RA will get much use out of it. It should probably be featured in RA classes in library schools. If I was teaching RA, I would ask my students to have it, at least as an optional text (I am being cost conscious). The book works best when readers scan for what they need, which I think is what practicing librarians will do.

It's Christmas All Year, To me anyways (watching Polar Express on DVD helps)

This is just a quick note. The Collection Development Librarian brought me our new copy of The Polar Express to watch for verification (making sure it plays and works before processing it). I will say up front that I am not one for Christmas movies. I love the season, and I share the sense of wonder. The little bell definitely rings very loudly for me (if you watched the movie, you know what I mean. If not, go get it). However, when it comes to the films of the season, I pretty much hate the sentimentality, and in some cases, the plain stupidity (sorry, Christmas Story to me is probably the [insert choice epithets here] crock I have seen) in the majority of these films.

Having said all this, I am adding Polar Express to my list of favorite films. This I can definitely watch over and over. I found it to be a well made movie technically. It's amazing how they use computers to capture people so well. The soundtrack is great as well, a nice combination of classics and new (I do like Christmas music, so they got me there too). The movie went fast, which I guess is a good sign. I got lost in it. The two disc set we bought here includes the film on one disc and a variety of extras on the other (making of the movie, what most people expect, as well as a demo to a PC game and an online element). Overall, this is one film I would definitely recommend, and this coming from a guy who dislikes Christmas films (well, most of them. I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas for one. The animated one, not the more recent one). Now that the person tasked with watching these new things is back, I am not sure how many more I will get to see, but hey, it was nice.

Brief note on Educause Live's Presentation on ECAR Survey

On Monday (01/09/06), I hooked up to listen to the Educause Live! event "The ECAR 2005 Study of Students and Information Technology." I was waiting for the archive to become available before posting. You can find the archive to the event here. Some of the stuff I heard in terms of what the students do with technology were things I knew instinctively. The conference served to confirm some of those hunches. The ECAR survey is based on 18,039 students at 63 higher education institutions replying to questions about information technology, their skills with information technology, and how it adds to their learning. Here then are just some brief notes and thoughts.

• We often assume that students come in with the skills in IT. Is this really true or not? How much skill do they actually bring? The survey looks at ownership of computers for instance and how the students see themselves in terms of their IT skills. However, as I listened to the conference, I found the survey seems to favor traditional institutions and traditional students. My campus, an open admissions commuter campus defined as a Hispanic serving institution, certainly is very different from those other institutions. We get traditional students, but we also get a significant older/nontraditional population. For many of our students, for instance, their only access to broadband/fast internet connection may well be our facilities. They may or not own a computer at home, and often if they do, they have dial-up. I know, I am sure a lot of readers cringe at the mention of dial-up, but that is the reality. So, I wondered about this issue of access.
• A finding from the survey: Students like to manage their own learning experience. This is illustrated by their desire to see their academic progress and grades online.
  
• According to the survey, 96% of the students own a computer. Over 90% have access to broadband. Freshmen are more likely to have laptops and music devices. A question was asked by a participant, "where was the broadband?" Actually, I had this question as well (see my comment above on access). The survey currently does not answer this; it does not distinguish between access to broadband on campus and off campus. I would have liked to know this. Also, could the ownership rate vary by the type of campus. Again, the access issue. On an interesting note, there was a comment that many students who do own technology often own appliances they no longer use, for instance, updgrade to a new computer and not get rid of the old one, or they have two or three cellphones over time as they get a new one but keep the old ones inactive.
  
• Finding from the survey: In terms of electronic devices, they were first used for coursework, then for communication. Specialized applications (spreadsheets, presentation, graphics, etc.) are used less. As I type this, I have to be a little sceptical. Just based on my observations at the Information Desk of the computer lab, I see a lot more students either using things like MySpace (there is the communication aspect) or playing games (Yahoo! Games seems quite popular). Sure, they may eventually get to the academic coursework, but I don't think they are as diligent as they portray themselves. Having said that, they do make use of the course management software and seem to like it.
  
• Finding from the survey: Students spend less than an hour a week using a library resource for an assignment. You do have to wonder about the significance of this and implications for libraries. Amazingly, in my estimation, none of the participants remarked on this. This finding does add a bit to the scepticism I expressed above.
  
• Another observation is that students overall are averse to training. They prefer "on time at the point of need" training.
  
• In terms of recommendations, there is a need in institutions to discuss the integration of IT into the curriculum. There should be asking of questions like how?, how much?, and what exactly do we want the students to achieve? Also, institutions need to monitor the use of technology (not in the surveillance sense, but in the sense of its use) in order to do assessment on what they implement. Assessment would seem to me to be the next area of study.
  

Overall, this was a useful hour for me. I would definitely recommend other workshops and urge people to connect if they find a topic relevant to their work or professional development. I did have a small connection glitch for a couple of minutes, but overall, a good use of my time.

The 50 Book Challenge? A little on book lists

I got the heads-up about the 50 Book Challenge via the Eclectic Librarian. Now that I am out of graduate school, I am slowly discovering that I can actually read for enjoyment. Sure, I read a lot of stuff related to my work and academic interests, but it is stuff I want to read, for pleasure, for fun, hey, for the many reasons readers read. A while back, way back, I came across the Listology website, which allows people to create lists of books and other media. Compared to other things out there, I think it is not the greatest, but at the time it worked for me. I started out a list of books read, and I somehow managed to keep track of my reading last year. Those interested in my list of 73 items can go here to see it (I included links to the ones I have blog entries to). Overall, looking at the list I see I read a pretty good selection, good variety. The list is pretty much just books. By the way, it is only the books I read; it does not include the ones I may have started and dropped (I am a firm believer in a reader's right not to finish a book). Might be interesting to make a list of articles, or not. That's what the blogs are for, just to keep track. Will I keep a list in this new year? Who knows? I may, but I am certainly not in it for the numbers. Though, hey, if we happen to read 74 next year, that would be a good thing.

At any rate, I am always interested in reading lists. I collect them, have a few files. Some for RA purposes, but others for personal use, mostly for just in case I need an idea on what to read next. I also like seeing what other people read. I think people's reading lists can be very revealing about a person. Maybe this is why some people worry over others finding out what they read. But leaving that aside, I think the lists people post in various forms show the paths and journeys readers have taken over time. It may be to alien worlds or to down to earth places; it could be meetings with famous people or the not so famous. So many journeys, so many possibilities. I always like seeing in blogs when people put up the lists of what they are reading or planning on reading. Some even put the music they are listening too or the videos they are watching. I am not as keen on sharing the movies or shows I watch. Compared to other writers, I don't see myself as a good commenter in that regard. However, it is still interesting to see the variety of books and media that bloggers inside and out of the biblioblogosphere read. Maybe it's an essay or study waiting to be produced, again who knows? In the meantime, I am looking forward to a new year of more readings and seeing what others discover as well.

Jaime Bayly says revenge is a good literary stimulus

Peruvian writer Jaime Bayly was interviewed for the December 2005 issue of Críticas. I think the interview gives a few good insights for writers and readers. The interview addresses his new work as well other issues. I really found this question and answer particularly neat:

“My best revenge is to publish novels that embarrass my father,” says Beltrán [a character in Bayly's new novel Y de repente un ángel]. Is revenge a good literary stimulus?

"Yes, of course. Writing means nothing else than avenging the wounds, defeats, and torments that life has inflicted on you. Writing is revenge because it allows you to relive the past and to experience, in fiction, those things that reality took away from you. But writing is also redemption because it liberates you from your worst demons. You make amends for your wrongdoings and, in a way, after so much agony, you feel renewed."

I dabble a little in fiction, nothing worth showing the world, but even in my creative nonfiction and other writing experiences, I can agree that you can relive the past and experience things reality may have taken from you. The best thing is that redemptive power of writing Bayly describes. Writing can renew you; it can help you see new things and find yourself. It's just great, and now and then, you can get even with some people, hehe.

As the Spanish selector, I have been ordering Bayly's works. I have not had time to read them as they come in, but as soon as I do, I will certainly make notes. I am really looking forward to discovering his works.