Secret Shopper

I entered a local library location where I do not frequently go and interacted with a staff member that I do not know. When I entered the building I immediately saw the sign identifying the information desk right ahead of me. I was trying not to look suspicious so I walked around the building for a few minutes. I browsed through the titles on the new release shelf and looked at displays for a while. I finally approached the information desk and, after a brief moment, the staff member seated there looked up and greeted me warmly. The staff member asked how she could help me and I responded that I was in a reading rut and needed a good book suggestion.

“...the soul of a readers’ advisory interview is the talk about books. Hence the question recommended by Joyce Saricks and Nancy Brown: Tell me about a book you really enjoyed” (Ross, p167). The staff member did ask me a variation of this most crucial question. She asked me what I liked to read and I told her that I really liked books that were set in the past and that were either true or based on true stories. I was trying not to use any library jargon so that I didn’t give myself away. I was then asked if I like reading mostly non-fiction and I said that was accurate. I also told the staff member that I really liked the book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The staff member used the library catalog to start the search. I was unable to see what was typed in as the initial search term, but I saw that three results came up. The staff member suggested a book about Abraham Lincoln and I responded that I wasn’t sure about that one. I told her that I liked that time period but might prefer something with a female main characters. She thought for a moment and asked if I had ever read anything about Queen Victoria. I said I had not but told her that she was someone I would be interested in reading a book about. She did a search in the catalog for “Queen Victoria” and limited the results to non-fiction titles only.

As she was writing down call numbers I also mentioned my fondness for Downton Abbey and we had a short interchange about that show and it’s popularity. After writing down the call numbers the staff member got up and started walking me toward the stacks of books. On the way she also mentioned that they had gotten a new book in that week that was about Agatha Christie that I might like if I enjoyed things about English country manors. She stopped by a new release shelf and pulled a book from it for me to look at. I do actually enjoy reading about English country homes and I really like Agatha Christie so this was a book I was definitely interested in.

She walked me the rest of the way to the correction section of the collection and, while searching for the specific books she had found in the catalog, mentioned that this would be a good section to browse through if I was interested in historical non-fiction and books and biographies. She pulled several books off the shelf about Queen Victoria and I chose one that was the most recently published of the three she pulled. I did flip through the book a bit and read a few sentences from the first page. It seemed to be written in a more narrative style, which I like, so I thought it was something I might be interested in. I told the staff member that I would take that book and she took the other two from me to re-shelve. I thanked her for her help and she wished me a good evening.

While at the information desk I did not notice any flyers or advertisements specifically related to readers' advisory or book help. I asked what she looked for in order to find the book suggestions and she said that she just did a search for Queen Victoria once she had mentioned that historical figure to me. No other databases or resources were mentioned for trying to find book recommendations.

Overall I thought the interaction was a success. The staff member did find two books for me that I am interested in. I have already read a few chapters from the Queen Victoria biography and think it is something that I will genuinely enjoy reading and the Agatha Christie book seems like it will be fun to flip through. The staff member was very friendly and did not make me feel judged in any way. I tried to ask questions in a way that would make it seem like I wasn’t very familiar with the library and she answered all of my questions without any judgement or condescension. The only thing lacking was the use of resources other than the catalog. It was a missed opportunity for a teachable moment. I could likely have asked different questions that may have brought about a mention of a readers' advisory resource, but I didn’t want to be too leading with my questions during the interaction. The experience was a good reminder to not only help the patrons, but to try and teach them as much as possible about library resources. It was a good experience and I got a new book to try that I probably wouldn’t have chosen if left to my own devices.

Resources

Ross, C. S., Nilsen, K., & Dewdney, P. (2002). The readers’ advisory interview. In Conducting the Reference Interview (pp. 163-175). New York: Neal-Schuman.