Staff reading list- genre of the month

Hi Everyone,
Here’s THE list, (see staff blog “so many books, so little time”). Now’s your chance to grab your favourite genre, or challenge yourself to something outside your comfort zone. It would be great if you could post a review about your read, or alternatively make a comment on the blog and I’ll compile a staff suggestions post for “checkmeout. blog” ( I have emailed a copy to each branch to enable you to print it out).

Month Genre/Theme/Format
December, 2010 -Christmas themed
January -Australian
February -Romance
March -Biographies
April -Humour
May -Chick lit
June -Mystery
July -Fantasy
August -Classics
September -Adventure
October -Horror
November -Thriller
December -Family saga

Thanks in advance to everyone who has chosen to participate. I know that being a librarian involves much more than a love of reading, including but certainly not limited too: Good research skills, reference skills, ability to organise information, being technologically savvy, programming and most importantly, customer service skills. However, although we all know it’s just a myth, there are certain customers that that believe we sit around reading books all day. There is also a community perception that we, as librarians, know something about books, since the library is full of them! Apart from the fact that all branch staff would do some readers advisory as part of their role in the library, here are some other reasons to participate and read.

• Books and reading are a big part of our business, and if it's in our collection, we should at least know about it so we can share it with customers, whether as part of a display or a suggestion.
• Readng books can help us to provide better service to our customers when they come in wondering what to read next. We can offer suggestions and guidance about this.
• It is good professional development. - to quote Dr Seuss “The more you read the more things you know, the more you learn the more places you will go.”
• Being knowledgeable about books allows us to better promote reading in our community.
• Reading a variety of genres, themes and non fiction, allows you to better understand and relate to customers when they are describing books they have read and enjoyed.
• It opens your mind as to what’s out there to read, and you might even surprise yourself and find some new favourite genres and themes.
• As different staff members read different kinds of books and are passionate about different genres and know them really well, this is a great opportunity to share the love!
• Reading is informative and entertaining for all. (A bonus for us!)

I hope you find some good reads to share and maybe even some new favourites. Don’t forget Novelist – a great resource to find good reads.

Happy reading,
Monique