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Books Librarians MUST Read

DiscoDan

DiscoDan

New Member
So I just got a job at the local library and I need to know what books someone working at a library absolutely must have already read. I'm talking about the books people question about most often, the books that people are most likely to ask "Is this good?" I need an answer for those who ask "What's a good romance?" or "Mystery" or "Western" ..get what I'm sayin'?

So far I'm thinkin' the Harry Potter series is a must, as I'm sure theres many parents who will ask if they're good for children, etc. But that won't be hard, I'm just about caught up to the last book.

Thanks for the help!
 
People are probably most inclined to ask about current "hot stuff" (ie. Dan Brown etc).

I think you'll have a never ending list, if you want to read all the books that people may ask about. If it's any consolation, I've never asked a librarian about a book - I just read reviews off the net, or use the online catalog. :)
 
I think you'll probably need to start with the " New Books" shelf and read furiously -- going backwards in time at the speed of light.

Edit: On second thought, read the stuff you love, and ask other people about the rest.
 
I agree with the other replies - reading the books from the "new" shelf would probably be the most helpful. I'm sure that these would be the books that you would get asked about the most.
 
Librarian Joyce Saricks wrote a great book for librarians who are confronted with those kinds of questions. It gives suggestions for books that are considered "sure bets" as well as books that exemplify a particular genre. It's called The Reader's Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction and I've used it myself :D

A more expensive but equally valuable book is called Genreflecting. It divides up lots of books according to genres and subgenres, and talks about what defines each of these categories.

Of course, these books will only point you in the right direction in terms of which books to read. But I've found them very helpful.
 
I only work at a school library, but I find I learn a lot as I go. The kids come in and tell me about what thay are reading and I get a lot of request for certain books, when I'm shelfing I see the same books many times and even if I can't read them all I try to glimpse them over, so I started just picking up all the info without even knowing I was doing it.

It may be different at a public library, I'm not sure if the patrons there will share as much info as the students do. They come in very excited sometimes and tell you all about what they just read.
 
hm i'd say start w/ the new realeases and the popular books. i never ask librarians such questions, but i've had many comment on the books i was taking out.
 
Yeah, I'm not the kind to ask a librarian questions either, but I know there are a lot of people that do. Also when I checked out books from a library the librarians would often comment on how good it was or something. I'd like to be able to do that too :)

Okay, so I need to hit the bestsellers/New list. Will do. :D!
 
My library has these great lists of 'If you liked ______, try ______'. If I were working at a library I'd start compiling these sorts of lists, drawing from the popular/new books and coming up with other books that are similar. So if someone comes up to you and asks for a recommendation you can ask them what they enjoyed previously, and then make some recommendations based on that. It's also good to introduce more literary works to individuals who perhaps wouldn't otherwise consider them. For example if someone read Dan Brown, you could suggest Umberto Eco (although, going from Brown to Eco in one leap might be a stretch), but you get what I mean.
 
Totally awesome idea, kookamoor! I don't think my library has these lists *yet* but I know they're working on some kind of reading list. If it's not like the kind you mentioned, I'll be sure to suggest the idea.
 
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