Friday, April 30, 2010

Newsletter no. 18

April 2010


A true story ….
NSL staff member (X) tells of helping a customer choose a book to read and the customer commenting that she and X obviously enjoy the same sort of books, as the customer had enjoyed something X had recommended once before. X doesn’t remember recommending something to the customer, or even having helped her before, but nevertheless the customer remembered her and came back.
This is a good illustration of the affect we have on our customer relationships – Whether we remember them or not, the customer will remember – good or bad. This customer now has a familiar friendly face to approach, a good experience to take away and a good source of reading that she knows she is likely to enjoy.
This is The Reading Experience in action!


This month’s guest editorial is by Patricia Kay*……
I love attending book festivals to listen to authors and meet other readers. There is always a buzz at such events with people talking non-stop about books. The best list of festivals is in Wikipedia and the best festival sites include biographies, reviews, forums, blogs and sometimes even ezines and podcasts. A quick browse through any of the following sites will furnish you with plenty of ideas for book recommendations:
Hay on Wye, UK
Hong Kong
New York
Toronto
You can read about my experiences at the Wellington Writers and readers Week on my blog, 'Happy Reading'.
The Auckland Readers and Writers Festival is held annually in May and begins this year on Wednesday 12 May with public events held at the Aotea Centre from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 May. See the printed programme in your Library or visit the website. To feel the atmosphere you can just pop into the Aotea Centre over that weekend and visit the bookstall – you are bound to see some of New Zealand’s top literary figures and there will be international authors signing copies of their books as well. Inspiring!
* Patricia is Specialist Librarian – Information Services at ECB Library


Best Reads…..
This month’s Best Reads are from Beth at Library Support Services.



Home Safe : A Novel by Elizabeth Berg



The women in black by Madeleine St John



As it is in heaven by Niall Williams



Ten sorry tales by Mick Jackson

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Reading Experience for Children and Teens


The Reading Experience for Children and Teens is a workshop which looks at the reading experience through the eyes of children and teens and how we, as librarians, can make a difference to every child's reading experience.

It follows on from last year's The Reading Experience workshops which focussed on the adult areas of the library.

This workshop will give you:

  • An appreciation for working with children and teens in the library - yes, it can be FUN and extremely rewarding!

  • Some knowledge and skills to feel more confident when helping parents / children / teens with their reading queries or promoting books.

  • a greater awareness of the role of the Children's Librarian and the services we offer.
They will run from 20 April - 27 May. Staff will be rostered onto sessions and dates advised by your Managers. A reminder email will be sent a few days before the session.
One of the followup exercises for this workshop is to visit this blog and leave a comment about one thing you learnt from the session. So ... if that's what you are here for ... please leave your comments in the comment box below.