Picture books:
1. All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John.
2. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
3. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Readers:
1. Matilda by Roald Dahl.
2. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White.
3. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.
Children’s fiction:
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K.
Rowling.
2. The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer.
3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.
Children’s classics:
1. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
3. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.
Non-fiction:
1. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
2. Bossypants by Tina Fey.
3. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.
General fiction:
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Young adult fiction:
1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.
3. Divergent by Veronica Roth.
Poetry:
1. The Odyssey by Homer.
2. Paradise Lost by John Milton.
3. Inferno by Dante.
Fantasy:
1. Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
2. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
3. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Crime/detective:
1. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell.
2. The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver.
3. Joyland by Stephen King.
Historical:
1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.
Horror:
1. The Shining by Stephen King.
2. World War Z by Max Brooks.
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Mystery/adventure/thriller:
1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle.
3. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
Western:
1. The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
2. True Grit by Charles Portis.
3. Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry.
Literary fiction:
1. The Age of Ice by J. M. Sidorova.
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell.
Humour/comedy:
1. Night Terrors: Sex, Dating, Puberty and Other Alarming
Things by Ashley Cardiff.
2. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
3. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.
Science fiction:
1. 1984 by George Orwell.
2. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
3. Dune by Frank Herbert.
Drama:
1. Dead Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez.
2. Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
3. Shooting Stars by Karina Halle.
Romance:
1. Too Fast by Alexia Haynes.
2. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin.
3. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Short stories:
1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling.
2. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.
3. Tenth of December by George Saunders.
Graphic novel:
1. Naruto vol. 65: Hashirama and Madara by Masashi
Kishimoto.
2. One Piece vol. 17: Hiruluk’s Cherry Blossoms by Eiichiro
Oda.
3. Fairy Tail vol. 12 by Hiro Mashima.
Translated fiction:
1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.
3. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez.
Biography:
1. Night by Elie Wiesel.
2. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff.
3. A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen.
Autobiography:
1. High Price by Dr. Carl Hart.
2. Is It Just Me? By Miranda Hart.
3. The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry.
Memoirs:
1. The Boy who Lived with Ghosts by John Mitchell.
2. Dear Life by Alice Munro.
3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Travel accounts:
1. The Longest Road by Philip Caputo.
2. Apologies to my Censor by Mitch Moxley.
3. To the Moon and Timbuktu by Nina Sovich.
Literary Essays:
1. Shut Up, You’re Welcome by Annie Choi.
2. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
by Mary Roach.
3. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.
Scholarly books on
literature:
1. Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion by Andrew
Delahunty and Sheila Dignen.
2. Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations – Edited by Susan
Ratcliffe.
3. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature – Edited by
M. C. Howatson.
Other useful
reference books:
1. A Dictionary of Critical Thinking by Ian Buchanan.
2. Aesthetics of a Multicultural Age – Edited by Emory
Elliot, Louis Freitas Caton, and Jeffrey Rhyne.
3. Criticism and Modernity: Aesthetics, Literature, and
Nations in Europe and its Academies by Thomas Docherty.
4. Elements of Literature – Edited by Robert Scholes, Carl
H. Klaus, Nancy R. Comley, and Michael Silverman.
5. Ethics, Evil, and Fiction by Colin McGinn.
Readers Advisor job
description
Summary
This position provides reader’s advisory,
reference, research, and technical support services for the Talking Book
Program. This position provides service via telephone, email, postal
correspondence, and in person to patrons with visual, physical, and reading
disabilities that prevent them from reading standard print. Work is performed
in a call center environment. Works under general supervision, with moderate
latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.
Essential Tasks
Provides reader’s advisory service to patrons with
visual, physical, and reading disabilities, assisting in the location and
selection of reading material in accessible formats.
Participates in organizing and supports patron participation in reading activities, such as book talks, reading clubs, discussion groups, and written reading advisory handouts; assists in evaluating the success of these activities.
Participates in developing and implementing outreach activities, both in cooperation with the Public awareness Coordinator, and separately; assists in evaluating the success of these activities.
Provides technical support to patrons on matters related to use of TBP and NLS equipment and services, such as BARD and the DTBM. Assists with BARD registrations and other BARD administrative tasks.
Provides basic reference services, including online research, in accordance with departmental service policy.
Maintains personal service statistics and creates monthly reports of activities. Assists in developing policies and procedures for reader’s advisory services in TBP.
Recommends acquisition of materials for the Reader Services professional collection and provides input regarding the circulating collection.
Assists in orientation and training of new Reader’s Advisory Librarians.
Monitors discussion listservs and other online resources that contribute to knowledge of reader’s advisory.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave and attendance policies.
Complies with all applicable agency policies and procedures, including safety, dress code, and standards of conduct.
Minimum QualificationsParticipates in organizing and supports patron participation in reading activities, such as book talks, reading clubs, discussion groups, and written reading advisory handouts; assists in evaluating the success of these activities.
Participates in developing and implementing outreach activities, both in cooperation with the Public awareness Coordinator, and separately; assists in evaluating the success of these activities.
Provides technical support to patrons on matters related to use of TBP and NLS equipment and services, such as BARD and the DTBM. Assists with BARD registrations and other BARD administrative tasks.
Provides basic reference services, including online research, in accordance with departmental service policy.
Maintains personal service statistics and creates monthly reports of activities. Assists in developing policies and procedures for reader’s advisory services in TBP.
Recommends acquisition of materials for the Reader Services professional collection and provides input regarding the circulating collection.
Assists in orientation and training of new Reader’s Advisory Librarians.
Monitors discussion listservs and other online resources that contribute to knowledge of reader’s advisory.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave and attendance policies.
Complies with all applicable agency policies and procedures, including safety, dress code, and standards of conduct.
Master's degree in library/information science from an ALA accredited program.
Experience working in a library or bookstore.
Experience providing service to the public.
Experience using a computer for word processing, email, spreadsheets.
Experience using a computer for database/Internet searching.
Extensive knowledge of books and general public reading interests.
Personal interest in reading and ability to discuss books effectively.
Excellent communication skills with demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
Demonstrated ability to handle complaints and resolve problems with tact and diplomacy.
Enthusiasm and interest in promoting library service for readers with disabilities.
Hearing acuity and ability to understand speech in order to interact with co-workers and patrons by telephone.
Ability to complete job tasks accurately and neatly, with attention to detail.
Ability to manage concurrent assignments.
Ability to work in a call center environment, including ability to sit for long periods of time, to block out noise from nearby work stations, and to wear telephone headsets with earpieces and mouthpieces.
Ability to work as part of a team, including taking the lead on some team projects.
Preferred Qualifications
Work/volunteer experience or coursework in
reader’s advisory, collection development, and/or reference services.
Experience working in a talking book program library, or other experience working with persons with disabilities.
Experience in a call center environment.
Experience providing technical support by telephone or email.
Experience using Microsoft Office suite in a PC environment.
Experience creating bibliographies, pathfinders, or other finding aids for library patrons.
Experience using an integrated library system (ILS) or other automated records system to update and retrieve information.
Experience creating and maintaining web pages, blogs, etc.
Experience with or knowledge of assistive technology, especially screen readers or magnifiers.
Experience writing business correspondence.
Knowledge of Spanish language (written and oral).
Ability to read Braille and/or experience producing materials in Braille.
Interview RequirementsExperience working in a talking book program library, or other experience working with persons with disabilities.
Experience in a call center environment.
Experience providing technical support by telephone or email.
Experience using Microsoft Office suite in a PC environment.
Experience creating bibliographies, pathfinders, or other finding aids for library patrons.
Experience using an integrated library system (ILS) or other automated records system to update and retrieve information.
Experience creating and maintaining web pages, blogs, etc.
Experience with or knowledge of assistive technology, especially screen readers or magnifiers.
Experience writing business correspondence.
Knowledge of Spanish language (written and oral).
Ability to read Braille and/or experience producing materials in Braille.
Interviewing applicants will be required at time
of interview to successfully complete an oral exercise demonstrating ability to
discuss books effectively.
Other RequirementsWriting samples required.
College transcripts required.
Occasional travel may be required.
Occasional evening and Saturday work may be required.
Supervision
Reports to Manager, Reader Services; works under team leadership of the Reader Services Librarian.
