Special Topics Paper
Passive Readers’ Advisory

Connecting readers with books is the purpose of readers’ advisory. Knowing that a librarian is available, willing, and able to suggest a book based on particular appeal factors often keeps a reader returning to the library repeatedly. While a one-on-one interaction with a librarian is usually preferable, readers’ advisory can also be achieved in other, less interactive ways that are sometimes more effective for patrons who are less likely to ask for help or to help patrons to learn how to navigate their library when assistance is not immediately available.

 Readers’ advisory, coming into prominence in the 1980’s, has undergone major changes in recent years based on library budget cuts and reduced staffing that is currently prevalent in many libraries. “As workloads in libraries increase, it’s important to note that passive library services are not only permissible, but in some cases necessary” (Stover, p. 122). To connect the reader with the right book, it is helpful to have readers’ advisory tools in place that allow readers to discover their next book whether or not a librarian is available to directly aid in the search.  As soon as patrons walk through the doors of their local library, they may find themselves staring at stacks and stacks of books. Unless they have come armed with particular titles they are searching for, looking for that next great book can certainly can become a daunting task. To make it somewhat easier, many librarians have readers’ advisory tools set into place that can assist their patrons. 

Patrons often do not approach librarians for book suggestions. Sometimes readers are hesitant to ask for help or are unable to articulate what they are looking for in particular. Not only do libraries today lack the manpower to cater to each individual who walks through the doors, but librarians are also not always aware of the need. Readers are not necessarily spending time browsing through the stacks as they did not long ago, making it less obvious to discern a reader who could benefit from readers’ advisory (Smith, p.30). With availability of online catalogs, readers requiring help don’t even have to be physically in the library. Instead, they may be at home browsing through the library’s online catalog or viewing the newest releases on their phone while waiting in line at a store. Today, readers may be using the physical library only to check out materials. All decision making concerning what materials will be chosen may be occurring outside of the library. Despite these changes, readers’ advisory can still occur, and in fact, should occur. “As society moves more and more to indirect contact between people, readers’ advisory service remains a very personal link between the reader and the librarian, reinforcing importance of the library in people’s lives”(Stover, p.122). Yet, how can a librarian possibly perform readers’ advisory 24 hours a day?

Passive readers’ advisory can be used to connect the right reader with the right book at the right time without a direct conversation ever taking place. However, the term “passive” can be quite misleading. Through passive readers’ advisory, librarians are committed to “actively” search for ways to connect a reader with the right book.  

To be helpful to the readers frequenting our libraries, whether physically or virtually, it is most important to understand both the reader as well as the book to be chosen. “By paying more attention to the ways in which people actually choose books, librarians could set up ways to facilitate these selection processes.”(Ross, 503) The passive readers’ advisory’s goal is twofold:  to reach the current patrons who are within the library, while at the same time going beyond the walls of the library to draw in those people who do not consider themselves to be library-goers.