I
went to the other local library where I live and didn’t know anyone. I browsed for a little while and then went to
the desk. I wanted to make sure the
librarian wasn’t super busy. The
librarian greeted me with a smile and was very friendly. I asked, “if she could find me a good romance
book.” She came around the counter and
asked, “What was the last book genre I read?”.
I told her,” young adult.” We
went to the shelf that contained young adult novels. She admitted that “she wasn’t very familiar
with the young adult books and never read one. And I felt terrible for her; I
have been in the same situation and blanked out, too! But she tried and made it more of a
conversation while looking for a book, with her showing me books and with me
saying yes or no if I was interested.
The first pick was the series “The 100” by Kass Morgan.
Title: The 100
Author: Kass Morgan
Genre: Young Adult,
Action & Adventure, Survival Stories
Series: 100
Series: Book one
I didn’t like the suggestion because I wasn’t interested in it. It was too science fiction for me, and survival on a spaceship doesn’t keep my attention, especially in a dystopian world. Plus, I didn’t think it fit in the romance category. The librarian asked, “if I liked fantasy or something else.” I told her I liked fantasy. She looked at the shelves and showed me what she found. We picked one book. “Ash Princess” by Laura Sebastian.
Title: Ash Princess
Author: Laura
Sebastian
Genre: Fantasy, Young
Adult
Series: Ash
Princess: Book one
It has romance, and it is a book I would read if I saw it on the shelf. The book is on my to-
Title: Lady Smoke
Author: Laura
Sebastian
Genre: Fantasy, Young
Adult
Series: Ash
Princess: Book two
I agreed and took that book, too! I
like to read series close together so I don’t forget the plot.
I
was surprised that she didn’t search on her computer but took me to the bookshelves instead. Especially since she wasn’t
familiar with young adult books, I would go to the bookshelves if I were more
familiar with the genre, but not if I didn’t know anything about it. But the library was tiny, and maybe it was
easier to go to the shelves to check if they had it than to try to find a book
and then go to the collection. But she successfully picked out a book for me to
read in the future. I did steer her into
young adults and not strictly the genre with romance, but I should have made a
better cover story in my secret shopper persona. I think I would give the librarian a second chance in another category.
Hi Brenda! I don't understand why the librarian offered you fantasy titles when you asked for romance? There are a lot of young adult romances out there. Like you, I empathize with her. Getting caught off guard (which I do ALL THE TIME!) is a huge barrier to clear thinking. When I've been in situations like this in the past, I did whatever I could to get a book in the patron's hand and get out of the situation. I know it sounds bad, but feeling panicked is not a good feeling. I'm glad you came away with something you liked though!
ReplyDeleteI also was a little surprised that you ended up with fantasy recommendations when you asked for romance. I think it definitely would have helped if she did a little research instead of going straight to the shelves.
ReplyDeleteAlso, side note: every single time someone mentions that they read romance and like YA novels I practically beg them to read 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston. I really need to stop doing that at my library because I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing me talk about it. I just love it so much 😂
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ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteInteresting! The librarian I talked to also took me to the bookshelves instead of searching on the computer. I definitely like the kind of old-fashioned experience of just browsing the shelves, but the strange part was she avoided actually telling me specific titles or authors until we had located them on the shelves (even though she said she had very specific books in mind). It seemed like she did not want to recommend any books unless they were readily available.