Secret Shopper- Summary

Secret Shopper Summary

Readers' Advisory Services and the Cognitively Impaired Senior

Effective readers’ advisory services must consider the unique traits of the serving community in order to excel at providing exceptional materials to individual patrons, “Librarians across the country have been examining new ways to connect readers with books and to build a community of readers in their larger communities” (Hollands 205).  As our communities grow and change, readers’ advisory services must evolve.  I inquired at a large metropolitan library and two small community libraries for appropriate books to read with my mom, suffering from dementia.  Although I have been reading with her for five years in order to reduce anxiety and increase her quality of life, as her deterioration progresses, I seek new materials to accommodate her specific needs.  Sadly, I have found that libraries frequently overlook and simply cannot meet the needs of their cognitively impaired seniors.

Readers’ advisory services are successful when unbiased library staff assists users with selecting materials for their fiction and non-fiction leisure reading (Saricks 1).  The traditional model of readers’ advisory does not fully satisfy the distinct needs of patrons seeking materials as caregivers.  Such requests likely require a more lengthy discussion and search than what the typical, traditional model of readers’ advisory allows.  Just as finding books that kids love, encourages them to become stronger readers, offering books to enrich the cognitively impaired senior nourishes the senior, enhancing their quality of life (Nesi ).  Reading is essential and reader advisors connect the eager patron to readily available resources, “Readers’ advisors and proponents of the service subscribe wholeheartedly to the philosophy that reading has intrinsic value” (Saricks 1, 4).  Connecting all patrons with appropriate leisure reading material is imperative.

In order to achieve success when assisting a very unique request, the library should offer a combination of form requests and individual conversations and always include follow-up contact.  The patron should relinquish the idea of immediate results and allow the staff to engage in research and conversations with other professionals in order to provide the most beneficial outcome.  Although I found the personal conversations helpful in the above-mentioned reader’s advisory inquiries, I would also appreciate completing a form to include additional information and an allotment of time for search and discovery of particularly helpful materials for cognitively impaired seniors, and follow-up conversations, either digitally or in-person, to gauge the effectiveness of the inquiry results. 

Works Cited

Dinnage, Keith. Personal Interview. 11 January 2018.

Hollands, Neil. “Improving the Model of Interactive Readers’ Advisory Service.” Reference  & User           Services Quarterly; vol. 45 no.3,2006, pp. 205-212.

Nesi, Olga. “It’s All About Text Appeal.”  School Library Journal’s BeTween, 1 August 2010.

Saricks, Joyce. “At Leisure:  Rethinking the Readers’-Advisory Interview.”  The Booklist, 1 April 2007,  pp. 24.

Saricks, Joyce. “History and Introduction. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library.” ALA, 2005, pp. 1-13.

Personal Reading Profile

Personal Reading Profile  

I read for hours each day...but not for myself. I read with my children every morning and evening and with my ailing mom many hours a week.  I consider this reading as service reading, especially the time spent providing enrichment to my cognitively impaired mom. With a vast array of developmental abilities, my reading selections range from the very simple, rich texts to more complex plots and characters.  I truly try to match the listener's skills and interests to the book selections.  For example, my mom's continuous cognitive decline caused by progressive dementia challenges me to constantly introduce books to match her abilities.  Therefore, my reading profile is extraordinarily dynamic.

Our best loved children's books include:

•  Vincent Van Gogh (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia [and his other artist and musician books]
• The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (a favorite with my mom)
• The Clown of God by Tomi dePaola

Our best loved middle grade books include:

• The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• Book Scavenger (the series) by Jennifer Chamblis Bertman 
• Chasing Vermeer (the series) by Blue Balliet

When I'm not reading to others, I read books that will enrich and enlighten me and my perspective on life.  Because I don't have any spare time, if I'm going to read, I want self-improvement resulting from my investment of time.  It's a tall order for a book to fulfill, but, I have found great success with inspiring biographies and inspirational spiritual books.

My recent reads include:

• Christmas Stories:  Heartwarming Stories of Angels, A Manger and the Birth of Hope by Max Lucado
• The Angel Tree by Daphne Benedis-Grab
• The Adventures of Henry Thoreau; A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond by Michael Sims

My personal reading is sparse and I am comfortable reading my select favorites within a narrow list of genres.  When selecting books for others, however, I found that knowledge of current genre trends and appeal factors is essential to correctly match the reading material to the user.  I agree with Saricks' emphasis on keeping up on current genre trends in order to provide effective services to the "fans of a genre" (Saricks 10).  Communicating with others and establishing a useful plan to maintain current knowledge of genres provides necessary information for better patron service (Saricks 10).

For example, in 2015, Emma Rose Sparrow self-published a series of books for dementia patients.  Sparrow's books are categorized for varied developmental stages of dementia, providing unparalleled enrichment and engagement to cognitively impaired seniors. I stumbled upon this series through a basic search, purchased a few and have successfully shared them with several seniors and caregivers.  Yet, my local library collection does not include any books written for dementia patients to read and enjoy.  My hope is that materials for dementia patients continue to grow in popularity and become a respectable subject area in our libraries.

Works Cited

Saricks, Joyce G. The Reader's Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. American Library Association, 2009.