Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: August 17, 2007
When we look at our Library users here at Sedona Public Library, we see at least two types. One type is the person who reads one genre of book and never diverges from that genre. The other type is the person who reads across no end of genres and could never be classified as one type of reader or another. The fact of the matter is that the first type, the single genre reader, is more the rule than the second type. That’s a shame because there are always gems to be found throughout the shelves.
One of our volunteer jobs is that of a shelver – a person who returns the books to their proper place on the shelves after they are returned to the Library. We have carts of fiction and carts of nonfiction books, but each of these carries books from that entire part of our collection. The single most consistent comment I hear from these invaluable folks is that they always seem to find something to read on the carts that they would never have considered reading in the past.
Are you looking for something to read that goes beyond your usual fare? Have you gotten somewhat bored with you have been reading? If you are willing to expand your horizons, one of the best ways to do so is to simply move to a different section of the collection than you normally frequent and browse the shelves. Maybe some news item or tidbit from a recent conversation caught your interest. Why not simply ask where the section is that contains books on that topic and spend some time reading titles and the fly leaf of those books?
If time is of the essence, you might consider doing a miniature version of this exercise by cruising the New Books shelves. It starts with fiction titles, but quickly encompasses all the newest items in every part of the Library. One row to read down and you have a pretty good idea of everything there is in the Library, in survey form!
As librarians, our charge is to ensure not only that we have a broad cross section of materials of interest to our readers, but that we present both sides of any controversial topic. Maybe your interests focus on one side of an issue or the other. You might well find something interesting to read by picking up a title that comes from someone on the other side of the topic. Pick up something you might never otherwise consider reading and you may well be surprised at what you learn and at how your understanding of the topic expands.
Libraries offer so much good material that it can be hard to figure out what you want to read. In such a case, you should ask a librarian! Not only do we have a rather complete knowledge of the collection, but we can also guide you to any number of books that are lists of important and entertaining titles and their descriptions. Nancy Pearl comes to mind with her titles, Book Lust and More Book Lust. Not stories in their own right, these list books by genre, topic and more with descriptions that will pique your interest. Pearl’s books are not the only such ways to find something to read as there are lots of other authors who have compiled such lists of books. There are even similar resources for teens and children!
You could just ask a librarian for a recommendation, just as you might ask a friend. The fact that we are exposed to thousands of books every day does stand us in reasonably good stead to offer a recommendation. Use the knowledge and skills that are so close at hand! You can even do this via telephone if you want to order a book online that you pick up at your next visit to the Library.
Other great tools to learn about what to read next are the newsletters and preview tools that are part of our new website. Use the link on the bottom of our Home page that says, “Online Book Clubs and Newsletters” and you will find a number of great resources. One delivers to your email-box a portion of a chapter of a new book every day that you can read and even order online. There are also newsletters that are broken down into genres you can select that send you a monthly notice of what’s new. Try subscribing to a genre you wouldn’t otherwise read and you may well be surprised at the great titles to which you are suddenly exposed.
Never find yourself in a position of saying, “I have nothing to read!” Just use the great tools this Library offers, or ask a staff member what they would recommend. Expand your horizons at Sedona Public Library, today!
