June 2024 | Volume XLII, Issue 2 »

Unlock the Next Level of Youth Readers’ Advisory: Creating Interactive Readers’ Advisory Quizzes

June 3, 2024
Ann Baillie, Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library

Virtual readers’ advisory is a key part of library service, especially after the pandemic. According to Library Journal’s 2021 survey “RA By the Numbers,” the most commonly offered virtual readers’ advisory offerings include “book clubs, virtual author events, unboxing videos, book talks, shelf tours, and virtual desk hours.” Form-based readers’ advisory has also grown in popularity, where patrons fill out a form that is sent to a librarian, and a librarian then creates a list of recommended titles for patrons.¹ Virtual readers’ advisory is a great way to connect to patrons who are unable to physically come to the library or want assistance when the library is closed.

These common virtual readers’ advisory methods are wonderful and extremely successful, but can also come with drawbacks. Book clubs, virtual author events, and virtual desk hours require patrons to be available at specific times, which can be tricky for busy patrons. Unboxing videos, shelf tours, and virtual book talks recommend the same books to all patrons. Form-based readers’ advisory contains a delay between when patrons submit a form and when librarians respond. Virtual readers’ advisory would benefit from a way patrons could get individualized book recommendations immediately.

At the Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library, we met this need by creating a virtual readers’ advisory interactive quiz called the What Should I Read? quiz. The quiz is a combination between form-based readers’ advisory and a shelf tour. It also uses graphics and sound effects to increase patron engagement. Since our department serves patrons from birth-eighth grade and their parents, our website is geared at that age range and enables patrons to quickly find a book that meets their preferences, and then directs them to place a hold on the title. It is embedded into our kids’ virtual readers’ advisory website.

The quiz opens with a character, Dino the Library Dinosaur. Dino asks patrons what kind of book they want to read: Picture Books, Beginning Readers, J Fiction or Graphic Novel, or J Non-Fiction. Once a patron makes their choice, they are then prompted to choose a topic or genre to read about, such as “Sports” or “A Mystery.” These topics are different for each kind of book to give patrons as many options as possible. After choosing a topic, patrons then choose a more specific topic, like “Soccer” or “A mystery I can solve”. Then, the quiz makes a drum roll sound effect, and Dino reveals a book recommendation tailored to the patron’s choices. The patron also sees the book’s cover and a QR code that directs the patron to the book in the library’s catalog so they can place a hold on the title. The book a patron sees is based directly on their choices; the quiz can recommend more than fifty different titles. This gives patrons the best of both worlds – they get a book recommendation tailored to their personal interests without having to wait for a librarian to respond to an online form.

Virtual readers’ advisory quizzes can be built with a variety of platforms and methods. Our library first built a readers’ advisory quiz using Google Forms. The quiz asked similar questions to the current readers’ advisory quiz, and worked just like an online survey. The benefit of using this method was ease of creation. Google Forms allows users to easily set each answer of a form to lead to a different section. That functionality enabled the quiz to recommend different books to patrons based on their choices.

After our initial rollout, we decided to update the quiz and create a new quiz with more graphics. Our quiz was specifically geared at patrons aged birth-eighth grade, so we wanted to create it in a way that our patrons were already familiar with. To that end, we decided to build it using Scratch block coding, which is taught in our local school districts. By creating the quiz with code, we were able to give the quiz images that changed depending on a patron’s choices, like changing the background to look like an 8-bit video game when recommending books for older readers. We were also able to add sound effects that matched the different images. These small changes had a big impact on the overall look and feel of the quiz.

What makes virtual readers’ advisory quizzes so impactful is that they are endlessly customizable. They can be designed and created with any patron group and book type in mind. While our quiz is designed for children, these quizzes can also be made for teens, adults, or for multiple age ranges. They also can take different forms based on each library’s patron needs and staffing.

While our patrons preferred the graphics-based look of the Scratch-built quiz, the text-based look of a Google Forms quiz may appeal to older readers. Other libraries may prefer to create quizzes with Python or Java. Readers’ advisory quizzes can also be tailored to focus on a specific genre, like “Romance Novels” or “Science Non-Fiction.” The possibilities are endless! Best of all, these quizzes can be created for free with platforms like Google Forms and Scratch, and easily added to your library’s website with a URL link or with HTML Embed Code. Our library was able to create the quiz, make it accessible to patrons, and maintain it for free.

When creating a virtual readers’ advisory quiz, start by considering who your target patron is, and how they are most likely to use it. Are you targeting busy moms who want to quickly find fast-paced novels they can read while waiting to pick up their kids? First-year college students who want to take a break between classes with fun young adult novels? Create your quiz with that target patron group in mind. Then comes the fun part – adding books to the quiz! When choosing titles, make sure to consider diversity, equity, and inclusion. Just like you would make sure that your physical display contains books with diverse characters, you want to make sure your quiz does, too. Like any library program or display, we want all patrons to feel seen and included in the books featured.

Virtual readers’ advisory quizzes can help staff at any library. While readers’ advisory might be traditionally associated with public libraries, it is a service offered to patrons across all kinds of libraries. Researchers from the University of Minnesota Library System found that offering form-based readers’ advisory for leisure reading “can foster goodwill between an academic library and its users.”² School librarians regularly offer book talks both virtually and to students in the classroom.³ Quizzes can build off on these successful readers’ advisory techniques by offering patrons a new level of engagement. When busy students are unable to come to the physical library and ask for reader’s advisory services, they can still access a virtual quiz and get immediate recommendations.

Virtual readers’ advisory quizzes are also helpful when training frontline staff. As Karen Muller of the American Library Association observed, “We all do readers’ advisory, even if it’s not part of our usual job."⁴ Frontline staff can access virtual readers’ advisory quizzes from service desks. Then, when patrons come to service desks looking for readers’ advisory, staff can use the quiz as a tool to help best serve the patron, along with the library catalog, staff knowledge of the collection, and other readers’ advisory guides. It can help guide staff in readers’ advisory conversations, especially in areas where the patron’s reading interests fall outside of the staff member’s expertise.

Virtual readers’ advisory quizzes can also be a lot of fun for patrons. Just like taking a fun personality quiz on social media, these quizzes encourage patrons to think about their reading tastes – and themselves – in a new way. And in the end, that is what makes readers’ advisory a worthwhile interaction for librarians and patrons alike. When we help patrons discover new books, we help them unlock new sides of themselves and learn more about both themselves and the world around them.

REFERENCES

  1. Wyatt, Neal. 2021. “Surveying the Field: RA by the Numbers.” Library Journal 146 (8): 26–31. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=684cf526-5633-3498-a63b-30ff8986830a.
  2. Sievert, Kaia, Amber Fick, Becky Adamski, Ashley Merrill, and Danika Lemay. 2018. “Library, Library, Make Me a Match: Impact of Form-Based Readers’ Advisory on Academic Library Use and Student Leisure Reading.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 57 (4): 254–65. doi:10.5860/rusq.57.4.6703.
  3. Abdul, Alicia. 2022. “I’M THE LUCKY ONE: Readers Advisory at the Care of School Librarianship.” Knowledge Quest 51 (1): 16–21. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=ee679c8e-ab33-348f-8feb-56a9cda4ff4c.
  4. Muller, Karen. 2019. “Beyond Readers’ Advisory: Selecting the Perfect Book for Every Reader.” American Libraries 50 (5): 52–53. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=62502659-b3b5-318a-bcf2-fbcd3450a60. 
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