Wouldn’t it be cool if there was such a thing as concierge-level book suggestions, tailored just for you? You know, like not AI-generated, but suggestions from a real person who listens to you, asks you follow-up questions to clarify, and then delivers a truly personalized answer rather than regurgitations scraped from the junk-filled depths of our digital hivemind?

You already know I’m going to say that the library does that, right? Because, of course we do! It’s called Reader’s Advisory (or RA for short), and as we’ve said many times before, your Beebe librarians just looove to talk about books! Nothing makes our day brighter than the satisfaction of seeing a patron leave with their own personalized list or, better yet, stack of books that we’ve hand-picked based on their own input.

So, don’t be shy – come and talk to us at the Reference Desk when you don’t know what to read next. Just be ready for a few questions, say, about your favorite books and genres, and maybe a few details about why you liked them. Was it the characters and their relationships? The dramatic setting? The fast pace of the plot? The author’s ability to create a world you wanted to live in?

“But I am shy,” I hear you say, “and I hate bothering Reference Librarians (they look so official sitting there behind the big desk).” Not a problem. We have introverts covered too. Just head over to our website and look under the tabs Books & More/Recommendations/Suggestions for You where you’ll find this questionnaire. Fill it out – you’ll be answering similar questions to the ones I outlined above – hit submit, and sit back and wait for the magic to happen. Your book suggestions will be crowd-sourced from an elite group of librarians, aka the Beebe Reference Staff and maybe a few of our colleagues when extra expertise (eg childrens’ and teens info) is required. We’ll get a list of suggestions back to you by email in about 5 business days. 

Don’t forget that there are other kinds of RA that happen in various places in the library building and website as well. For those who prefer to browse, we have many displays of books on different topics in the areas around the Reference and Circulation Desks. Or check out new book lists on the website and never leave home at all! Our online catalog currently has summer reading lists for children and teens by age group, as well as summer staff picks for adults organized by genre (currently on the physical display pictured above). And we always have staff-created bookmarks with themed reading suggestions, alongside the Booklist Reader and Bookpage magazines on the information board by the Reference Desk. Pick your favorite RA option, and let the summer reading begin!

PS: if you need a reading challenge this summer, try the book prompts on our summer game, Libraryland!