Prompt #12

 Readers’ Advisory Matrix for Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

1.       Where is the book on the narrative continuum? 

Highly Narrative (readers like fiction)

2.      What is the subject of the book? 

The book is a diary that Anne Frank wrote while hiding in an attic from the nazis during the Holocaust.   

3.      What type of book is it? A memoir in epistolary form.

4.      Articulate appeal?

What is the pacing of the book?  It is conversational and reads quickly. 

Describe the characters in the book.  It is a character-driven novel.

The People in the Attic

Anne Frank, the diary's author, grows up hidden in the attic and puts her most intimate and formative thoughts in the diary.  

Margot Frank, Anne’s sister, shows up in the diary when Anne is frustrated or angry. 

Otto Frank, Anne’s father, moved to Amsterdam to be free from prejudice and to have a better life.  Once they started to gather the Jews, he decided to hide his family in the attic.  Otto Frank is the only one who survives and decides to share Anne’s diary with the world.

Edith Frank, Anne’s mother. They have a close mother-daughter bond, but their relationship can be tumultuous.

Mr. Van Daan is the father of the second family, hiding in the attic, and a co-worker of Otto Frank.

Mrs. Van Daan, the mother of the second family hiding in the attic, fights a lot with her husband.

Peter Van Daan, the son.  At first, he argues with Anne, but then romantic feelings happen; he is Anne’s first kiss.

Albert Dussel is a dentist who is friends with Franks. He shares the room with Anne and drives her crazy.      

How does the story feel?  Sad, Depressing, and Haunting. 

What was the intent of the author?  Anne intended to make her diary a birthday present for herself; she called the diary her friend Kitty and shared her life experiences as a source of comfort.  It became a picture of her feelings growing up and being a Jew during the Nazi Holocaust.  Later, she wanted to publish the diary to fight Nazism.    

What is the focus of the story?  What would it feel like to live in an attic with seven people and always be quiet, not to attract any attention, if the nazi were not to find them?  

Does the language matter?  Yes, Anne Frank was an insightful and descriptive writer. 

Is the setting important and well-described? Yes! It is essential for the plot. Anne started her diary in their apartment on June 12, 1942; on July 6, 1942, it was the first day in the attic.   Anne was a descriptive writer.  She begins by describing her apartment and, later, the attic. 

Are there details, and if so, of what? Anne described both ordinary details and significant details in her life. She explained what the attic looked like, how people survived, and the relationships between those in the attic. 

Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Pictures of each inhabitant and the attic are at the end of the diary, but most of it is Anne’s diary.   

Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience?  Yes!  The book teaches about what it is like being Jewish during the Nazi Party's reign.  The steps they took to survive in the attic, as well as their everyday life and experience of being stuck in an attic with seven other people, hiding from the Nazis. The last day in Anne’s Diary was August 1, 1944, when they were found in the attic, arrested, and sent to the concentration camps.  They would all die in the concentration camps, except for Anne’s father.           

5.   Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?

1.      1. True experience 2. Details in the book 3. Tone

Prompt #11 eBooks and Audiobooks Appeal Factors

 

One disadvantage of eBooks is how much they cost libraries. For example, Gross (2021)

 writes, "In 2011, HarperCollins introduced a new lending model that was capped at twenty-six

 checkouts, after the library would need to purchase again" (p. 6). The library I worked at didn't

 get eBooks immediately, primarily due to cost. The other local main library around town did

 have eBooks, and so the patrons and staff wanted eBooks at our library, too! We finally got

 eBooks from Baker & Taylor's Axis 360 a year later. The pandemic of COVID-19 changed

 eBooks as well. eBooks gained popularity, mainly because libraries were closed or limited

 due to the virus.

Even before Covid-19, I was a big fan of eBooks. One reason is that I could get the eBook much faster than the book's version. I liked that I could save space in my house by downloading my eBooks on E-reader. Traveling with eBooks is more manageable than with large, clunky books. Yes, I take more than one book on trips. With eBooks, I don't have to worry about returning the book and accumulating fines. Another reason is that I can have trouble reading smaller print as I age. With an eBook, I can make the display bigger so that I can read the text. Otherwise, I would have to use a magnifier to read a book or, if it is too small, not read it. EBooks and audiobooks have a common benefit or appeal factor for people with poor eyesight or who have arthritis and can't hold a regular book. They can help readers enjoy books they might have been prevented from enjoying before the eBooks were available.     

According to Dunneback (2011), the display is a vital appeal factor for eBook readers. For example, she mentions that having an e-reader that can change pages using a finger will recreate the feel of the book. The size and weight of the e-reader, which can be the reader's preference, is the same as a reader preferring paperbacks to hardbacks (p. 327).       Because of the change in display factors, the pacing might change due to the different spacing in the book since it is being altered from the way the author intended it. It may be more challenging for someone with eBooks to weigh the book's length, so they may have to rely on the narrative. A disadvantage is trying to go back to check the information in the book quickly. This is the first year I have bought an eBook textbook instead of a physical copy due to the cost. This has been frustrating me to no end. It is hard to go to a chapter, forward to the index, and back to another chapter quickly. While an eBook has highlighters, I miss using an actual highlighter to mark my book.  

            I don't have much experience with audiobooks. I have never listened to one, but that may change soon. I feel that I may not pay attention and miss an important point in the book. I did ask my sister about her love of audiobooks and why they appeal to her. One reason was that she could listen to books anywhere and read a story. She likes male voices better than female ones because she can hear them over the lawnmower. But she loves audiobooks that feature both male and female narrators, which is an appeal factor strictly for audiobooks. Mediatore (2003) lists five important appeal factors of audiobooks: pacing, characterization, storyline, and frame. The fifth important appeal factor unique to audiobooks is the narrator, who works with the other four (p. 319). A narrator can make or break an audiobook. Pacing is an appeal factor.

The story's tone can create a difference in leisurely or fast pacing. If the pace doesn't match the narrator, it can cause the patron to stop listening. Characterization is vital because different voices can demonstrate the differences between multiple characters. According to Mediatore (2003), "the frame is the feel or the tone of the book garnered from the narrator" (p. 320). Music, sound effects, and additional readings create the frame and add layers to the audiobook. Format is essential when looking for audiobooks. I know I have patrons who only want CDs or MP3 players. Our Playaway or MP3 players have gained popularity since you don't need a separate device to play the Playaway. Just put in batteries and go!      

 

References

 

Dunneback, K. (2011). E-books and Readers' Advisory. Reference & User Services            Quarterly, 50(4), 325–329. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20865421

Gross, D. A. (2021, September 2). The surprisingly big business of library e-books. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/an-app-called-libby-and-the-surprisingly-big-business-of-library-e-books

Mediatore, K. (2003). Reading with your ears: Readers' advisory and audiobooks. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 42(4), 318-323. Retrieved from http://ulib.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/scholarly-journals/reading-with-your-ears-readers-advisory-audio/docview/217876117/se-2

 

 

Book Club Experience -Any Book Club

 

Book Club Experience- The Any Book Club

 

            There are few book clubs around me, so I attended the Any Book Club at the Michigan City Public Library in February.  We don’t have any other book clubs at our library. It has been like that for a long time (since I started working here 15 years ago).  I’m unsure why that happened, but staff members are always asked about a book club in the Reference Department. It doesn’t matter what kind. Librarian staff time would be one reason I could think off the top of my head. I know we are not entirely fully staffed in the Reference Department, and that could factor in because we are spread so thin that a regular book club is out of reach.  So, the Any Book Club is the only book club at my library. I never attended a book club before, so this was my first experience. I want to try a regular book club if a nearby library would do one. I do not have much spare time in library school to read a set read, so the Any Book Club is perfect for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time or can’t travel to the next town to do a book club.     

            Since I worked there, they already knew my identity as someone who works for the library. I participated in the Any Book Club. There isn’t a set reading; people share their books, what they want to read in the future, and whether they like or dislike the book. The idea behind Any Book Club participants talked about the book they read for about five minutes and mentioned what they liked or disliked about the book. There is no pressure to pick one book and have the participants discuss it.  The book club doesn’t have a set genre of books; it can be anything patrons read, whether non-fiction or fiction.   

            The book club's atmosphere is inviting. It is at the library in one of our larger meeting rooms. The chairs are organized in a circle so everyone can see everyone and hear the discussion. The participants had snacks, primarily chips, cookies, and drinks like water or soda pop. It was a relaxing atmosphere as we got ready for the book club.  Eleven people attended the book club besides the person running the show.  The head person who runs the program isn’t a librarian, but I don't think that mattered because we weren’t discussing the ins and outs of one book. The people who attended were of multiple ages, primarily women, but one male attended.

            The Any Book Club is organized by people taking turns talking about the books that they read. There is no leader in traditional book clubs, but a staff member organizes the event and keeps time if patrons go over time. All attendees participate in the book discussion. The participants go around a circle, sharing their reading experiences.  If people have questions about the book, they ask during the speaker’s time. I am not much of a public speaker, so mine was quick, and I talked about how I disliked my last mystery read, Thursday Murder Club. But people talked about graphic novels, vampires, and Vietnam.  So, the books were eclectic, but it worked.        

 I wondered if any of the participants monopolized the conversation, and yes, they had a problem with one patron at the beginning of the program. The patron took over the conversation and began discussing conspiracy theories instead of a book.   They had to have a conversation with her about time limits, especially when the book club was going to end; she was still talking. They haven’t had the problem since, and it didn’t occur when I attended.  Mostly, patrons were happy to share what they were reading, and they shared laughs. There was quite a variation in books, so it was an excellent experience, and I would attend again.    

Special Topic: Passive Reader Advisory

 The second type of Reader’s Advisory is indirect reader’s advisory or passive reader’s

 advisory, which doesn’t involve an interaction between the librarian and the patron.  However, 

the librarian influences the patron without being directly engaged by crafting, for example, eye-

popping displays that create a positive atmosphere toward reading and the library. 

Traditionally, passive reader’s advisory was the majority of assistance in the library.   The goal 

is to create a community of readers.

The COVID-19 epidemic changed online patron-librarian behavior by increasing RA online since library staff couldn’t meet patrons in person, and the physical books in our libraries were inaccessible.  Even after the panic subsided, the internet remained popular as a means to connect through online book clubs, and online book recommendations became more popular even after we returned to normal.        

Online passive reader advisory is helpful for people who do not traditionally seek direct reader advisory.  For example, people may think the librarian is too busy to approach the desk or a question about reading suggestions is too trivial.  People feel that they might be judged on their reading topics or be embarrassed due to the librarian being of the opposite gender.  Another population that passive reader’s advisory can reach is teens or young adults.  You can reach many of the teen population by using social media and passive reader advisory. The main benefit of passive reader advisory is that it has a very low budget, and the staff doesn't have much time, so it is perfect for small and large libraries.