The Readers' Advisory Guide to Nonfiction

by Neal Wyatt

Navigating what at she calls the " extravagantly rich world of nonfiction," renowned readers' advisor (RA) Wyatt builds readers' advisory bridges from fiction to compelling and increasingly popular nonfiction to encompass the library's entire collection. She focuses on eight popular history, true crime, true adventure, science, memoir, food/cooking, travel, and sports. Within each, she explains the scope, popularity, style, major authors and works, and the subject's position in readers' advisory interviews. Wyatt addresses who is reading nonfiction and why, while providing RAs with the tools and language to incorporate nonfiction into discussions that point readers to what to read next. In easy-to-follow steps, Wyatt This hands-on guide includes nonfiction bibliography, key authors, benchmark books with annotations, and core collections. It is destined to become the nonfiction 'bible' for readers' advisory and collection development, helping librarians, library workers, and patrons select great reading from the entire library collection!

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Books About Books, Library Science, Librarianship

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

نسبتا مفید.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you really want to impress patrons, read a lot of nonfiction. It's honestly the best way to get good at Reader's Advisory.
A lot of our patrons read nonfiction and this book would be a helpful guide.
Example: So say our Patrons like (as the book uses) Outlander (Yes, that will become an outdated fan favorite in time)...but if you know the premise of it, War nurse time travels back to the Jacobean era. Okay.... There's a lot of sub-topics with that. Nurses, famous figures especially women during both of those Eras, weapons of bygone days, science fiction, scientific discoveries in each time period, medical discoveries in each time period, fashion of the time periods, etc.
The same could be said for (my example) for fans of Game of Thrones or Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or the Handmaid's Tale or The Tudors...etc...those are just some examples. This book was really one of the first reader's advisory books that was helpful, because it made me appreciate nonfiction more, which is not in my favor of reading. The great part of RA for nonfiction is that it can be a much broader spectrum and still fulfill the reader's needs for good reading. It also educates those stubborn adults who think they know everything. It also, and this is what I thought was fascinating about RA for Nonfiction, was that, nonfiction RA helps the library staff do the RA interview much better than nonfiction, because some nonfiction, like BIOS or Autobiographies are character driven, some time eras are plot driven (factual dates, wars, battles, breakthroughs), some are practical (hands on, crafts, diy, culinary, etc.)...some are for the deep thinkers (like theology, etc)...It makes perfect sense. However, DON'T use any of the books as their choices. Look at the titles. It will still make sense what the author is trying to say, but then look through the collection for more UPDATED resources in each category.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to see this book updated with more current reading suggestions.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating topic of helping others find books in the non-fiction world. Need to purchase this one!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a class. It was helpful and interesting to learn about the different genres.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any library staff who works with patrons--novices or pros--should read this book and become familiar with Saricks's principles. Also great for patrons looking for guidance in what to read. For Salem Library patrons, this is available on the Readers' Shelf for in-library reading.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used this book as a reference for library school papers. The book has some excellent tips and suggestions. In addition, there are many suggested titles for further information. There are also many interesting suggestions for readable nonfiction.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, but Wyatt seems to think that everyone is terrified of the nonfiction stacks. As I am not, I don't know how accurate this judgement is. I appreciate the reading lists that are included, and will be keeping them on file.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyatt is a sharp cookie, recognized by name in the library profession, so it's definitely worth listening to her. Especially since she's on point about nonfic. This is one of the few other resources that exist on non-fic RA, and it's a great companion to the Burgin collection previously listed.

[Jayne Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to be a nonfiction reader. I like displays on nonfiction books at libraries and usually select one. All the same aspects are important- appeal, story line, etc. I am looking at fiction matches from key words, subjects, etc.

[Lee F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good information