It's Not About Us!

By Stefanie Aucoin

The hardest thing for a booklover to hear is “It’s not about you!”  We want to share the things we love with anyone that wants to listen to us. Yet, when working in a library listening is the thing we have to focus on.  It’s not about us, it’s all about you.

            The Medfield Library staff had a visit from Leane Ellis yesterday.  Leane is a librarian from the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield, but she is also the leader of the Massachusetts Library System Readers’ Advisory Roundtable and an energetic, self-taught Readers’ Advisor.  The biggest message she brought to us yesterday was: “A good Readers’ Advisory librarian reacts to the reader’s desire by being a resource that provides possibilities.”  We provide opportunities for readers to go on their own journey within the library. 

However, librarians are readers too.  We have our likes, dislikes and favorite authors just like you and it can be hard sometimes to jump into assisting someone when you aren’t confident that you like the same things.  It can be even harder to take that leap and suggest something we haven’t read or watched.  Is it too violent?  Too sexual?  Will you like it? Part of what this Readers’ Advisory grant is teaching us is that it’s okay to not be the expert all the time.  Leane used an analogy that really stuck with us; when we can find you exactly what you were looking for its like we waved a magic wand, but there are times when all we can do is wave our pom poms and provide a small array of suggestions.  We learn to rely on our coworkers, book reviews, friends, family, and websites to help us broaden our horizons and make the best suggestions we can.  While the journey is yours, we can provide better guidance if you let us know if you liked our suggestion or we guided you to something you didn't enjoy.

When you ask us for a recommendation, there is rarely a perfectly right answer. What we can do is give you a couple of suggestions based on your interests and mood.  Our role in your reading adventure is to be a guidepost, offering suggested routes and maybe interesting you in a new direction.   Next time you are in the library, talk to us and begin a conversation that will hopefully blossom into a wonderful relationship full of great stories and new adventures.

*Leane Ellis was able to work with the Medfield Library as part of a grant awarded through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Library and Services Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.