I Need a Book!

You gotta love the exclamation mark at the end of I Need a Book!, a title that sounds like either a Susan Hayward weepie or a junkie's lament. That said, I'll be the first to admit that I've prowled the aisles at Barnes & Noble at 11 p.m. desperate for a particular tome—and I've done so more than once. The latest entry in Library Video Network's fine series of staff training programs for librarians tackles a perennial chestnut of a challenge: providing reader's advisory for read-alike hungry patrons. Applying science to readers' advisory interviews, host Reid Hill outlines a two-pronged approach of 1) recognizing different genres, and 2) being aware of the four appeal characteristics: frame (a combination of setting and mood), characterization (is the book character-driven or plot-driven?), pacing (the tempo and style of the writing), and storyline (a one-sentence summation). Approaching reader's advisory with these four concepts in mind, librarians can be extraordinarily effective in pinpointing a patron's tastes in reading. Also appearing are reader's advisory consultant Terri Lyons and other librarians, who offer specific suggestions ranging from tips for recommending narrative nonfiction (distinguishing between, say, the gossipy historical approach of Kitty Kelley vs. the more scholarly writing of Antonia Fraser), compiling a reader's advisory notebook, and learning the art of the “quick dip” to familiarize yourself with new titles. Sure to be a boon to both staff and—by extension—their clientele, I Need a Book! is definitely recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)