Continuing Education Archives

Hear from renowned booksellers as they share their tips and tricks for suggesting romance to readers. Learn the techniques booksellers use that library staff can implement in their libraries, and similarities and differences between the ways these two professions provide reader's advisory services.

Panelists include:

Leah Koch – The Ripped Bodice bookstore in CA

Roseann Backlin - Love's Sweet Arrow bookstore in IL

Edna Castillo – Barnes & Noble Arboretum in Austin, TX & Edna's Emporium

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Join horror expert and RAILS Board member Becky Spratford, author of The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, 3rd Edition [ALA Editions, August 2021] as she helps get you ready for the Halloween rush. In this program, Becky moderates a panel of authors who are members of the Chicagoland Chapter of the Horror Writers Association [http://www.hwachicago.org]. Panelists include Cynthia Pelayo, author of "Children of Chicago" and New York Times Bestselling author Daniel Kraus.

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This panel discussion features four mystery writers who are members of Crime Writers of Color. Their works run the gamut from cozy comfort reads to pulse-pounding thrillers. Participants will leave the session with insight on the genre along with great new titles to recommend to patrons.

After the author presentations, librarians discuss booktalking diverse titles, provide resources for diverse books, and give examples of how to showcase diverse authors in your library.

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Thousands of books come out each year but so many have small or no marketing budgets that make it difficult for a lot of titles to get noticed. How do you find out which of these titles are right for your library, and how do you get them into the hands of your teen patrons? Learn from four experienced teen librarians who care about giving the right book to the right reader. The panelists will also share some great under-the-radar titles that your teens need to know about.

This webinar was recorded on June 11, 2020, and runs approximately 70 minutes.

A recent poll of thousands of library workers identified Horror as one of the Top 5 genres they were "most scared of," and yet, the genre is experiencing a spike in popularity among library patrons that hasn't been seen in decades. In this webinar, the library world's horror expert Becky Spratford will explain how to talk to fans, break down the appeal of horror, identify what resources will serve you best, and most importantly, give you dozens of authors and titles to start suggesting with confidence, immediately.

The Illinois Talking Book Outreach Center (ITBOC) will consolidate with the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service (ISLTBBS) on September 1, 2017. Public libraries are looking for ways to better serve all their citizens including those who don't or can't come to the physical library. Together we can help each other reach and serve those eligible patrons.

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How can you suggest titles you haven't read or authors you aren't familiar with? This session will explore how to use review sources to get up to speed, and will show you how your library can use reviews and annotations for both in-person and passive readers' advisory. Presented by Rebecca Vnuk. This program is part of the RA Conversations series, sponsored by Novelist.

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Nothing is scarier than trying to help a fan of a genre you yourself don't enjoy. You want to help that, for example, Romance reader find the perfect book, but you are having trouble knowing where to begin because...eek!... you don't read Romance. You are afraid they will find out you are a fraud. How can YOU possibly help THEM?!? Never fear, in this program, Readers' Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, will teach you how to keep your genre knowledge up to date, explain the biggest trends in genre fiction, and share her time tested tricks for working with genre readers.

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Are you dreading an upcoming weeding project? Do your collections need refreshing but you don't know where to start?

Everything you wanted to know about weeding and then some: the why, the how, the pitfalls, and the joys. Participants will leave with a renewed understanding of the importance of weeding for good collection development, along with current resources to help them in their task.

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Collection development basics for libraries, including discussion on organizing your budget, weeding, and writing a plan. Also discusses current topics such as media and eBooks.

This workshop is the second in a series brought to you by RAILS and Booklist titled "RA and More: Practical Advice for Public and School Librarians."

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