Not following a strictly chronological order in the posts here, but I'd rather record my impressions now when they're still fresh.
Reading through Wyatt's "The RA Conversation" really took me back to my Information Services class in grad school. There, like Wyatt suggests, we practiced reference interviews and readers' advisory with our classmates before trying out our fledgling RA skills with real patrons (well real virtual patrons, using the now defunct meebo messenger in that particular instance).
Of the two formats we tried, I have to say it was actually the in-person practice sessions that proved the more challenging of the two. Perhaps because the "real" patron RA requests were typed out, a little more care and thoughtfulness was necessary, which made for an easier interpretation of appeal factors on our part.
For me, this just serves to underline Wyatt's point about the importance of knowing how to listen as a tool key to any successful RA.
Overall I found the article to be a worthwhile read and I appreciated the suggested exercises, the varied icebreakers and the examples of book descriptions containing hidden appeal factors.
Reading through Wyatt's "The RA Conversation" really took me back to my Information Services class in grad school. There, like Wyatt suggests, we practiced reference interviews and readers' advisory with our classmates before trying out our fledgling RA skills with real patrons (well real virtual patrons, using the now defunct meebo messenger in that particular instance).
Of the two formats we tried, I have to say it was actually the in-person practice sessions that proved the more challenging of the two. Perhaps because the "real" patron RA requests were typed out, a little more care and thoughtfulness was necessary, which made for an easier interpretation of appeal factors on our part.
For me, this just serves to underline Wyatt's point about the importance of knowing how to listen as a tool key to any successful RA.
Overall I found the article to be a worthwhile read and I appreciated the suggested exercises, the varied icebreakers and the examples of book descriptions containing hidden appeal factors.
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