Secret Shopper Assignment Summary

            I was asked a variety of different questions by Lici and David, the librarians at the library that I visited, after I asked David for a good book to read. The librarians asked me these primary questions: “Do you have a good book to read?”, “What kind of novel did you want to read?”, “What kind of adventure novel did you want?”, “What was the last adventure novel that you read?”, and “Do you like adult or young adult?”. Each of these first questions were beneficial and designed to narrow down the idea of a generic book into a specific novel. In this case, the questions narrowed down my responses to the selected choice of a historical adventure novel. However, the librarians asked me only a few relevant questions at the beginning of the interview towards actually finding an appropriate adventure novel, and they asked trivial questions to me during the remaining part of the interview. Eventually, after placing an Outlander novel on hold and looking through the online catalog of the website of the Allen County Public Library, I checked out Kidnapped: the adventures of David Balfour for a historical adventure novel (SirsiDynix, 2016, n.p.).

            The librarians utilized the tools of the Goodreads website, the literature map website, and the Allen County Public Library’s online catalog to assist me with finding a historical adventure novel. In addition, the librarians used the Sirsi database within the library’s system to search for items within the library’s individual collection and within the collections of the other library branches of the Allen County Public Library system. Also, both Lici and David did not directly find a good book for me, but they did indirectly assist me with securing a good book through asking me a series of questions and by utilizing the library’s available tools. So, while David and Lici were unsuccessful with directly finding me a good book, they did successfully guide me towards acquiring a good book through their questions and available tools.   

            Also, I did not expect for the librarians to only use the Goodreads website for finding adventure books from a list of popular adventure novels, and this lack of utilizing a wide array of beneficial resources disappointed me (Goodreads Inc, 2018, n.p.). I additionally expected the librarians to ask me more questions about the adventure novel. I did not expect the librarians to be friendly during the conversation, and I also did not expect the librarians to be unprepared for the interview in terms of not exhibiting knowledge about authors who wrote for certain genres. In addition, I did not expect the librarians to let me find a good book on my own.

            I don’t think that I would have the librarians recommend another novel for me. Despite their good intentions, I personally feel that their initial lack of knowledge about available authors and their primary reliance on the Goodreads website ruined the librarians’ credibility for finding relevant books for their library patrons. I was disappointed by this lack of knowledge, and I believe that the librarians could have been better trained for remembering key authors of specific genres in order to find a suitable book for my request.

            There are a number of things that the librarians could have done better in the interview. Specifically, I wish that the librarians had been skilled enough to recall key authors in the adventure genre. The librarians also should have been familiar with the books of the library’s collection in order to give an enthusiastic impression to library patrons (Vnuk, 2013, n.p.). In addition, I wish that the librarians had utilized more tools to aid in finding a proper adventure novel. The librarians could have utilized library journal websites or databases to find an appropriate adventure novel with a short length, since the websites or databases are “generally good about reviewing genre fiction” (Saricks, 2009, p. 10).

Resources Used during the Interview and References for the Submitted Assignment:

Allen County Public Library. (2018). Allen County Public Library. Retrieved from

            http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/

Chelton, M.K. (2003). Readers' Advisory 101. Library Journal.

            http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2003/11/ljarchives/readers-advisory-101/

Gibney, Marek. Literature-Map. Retrieved from http://www.literature-map.com/

Goodreads Inc (2018). goodreads. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/

Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction (2^nd ed.). Chicago, IL:

            American Library Association.

SirsiDynix. (2016). Allen County Public Library. Retrieved from

http://alpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?ac=LIBRARY%09Library%091%3AABOITE%09Aboite+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3ADUPONT%09Dupont+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AGENEALOGY%09Genealogy+Department%2C+Main+Library+%7C%7C+1%3AGEORGETOWN%09Georgetown+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AGRABILL%09Grabill+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AHSN_CASSEL%09Hessen+Cassel+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3ALINCOLN%09Lincoln+Collection+%7C%7C+1%3ALTL_TURTLE%09Little+Turtle+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AMAIN%09Main+Library+%7C%7C+1%3AMNROEVILLE%09Monroeville+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3ANEW_HAVEN%09New+Haven+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3APONTIAC%09Pontiac+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3ASHAWNEE%09Shawnee+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3ATECUMSEH%09Tecumseh+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AWAYNEDALE%09Waynedale+Branch+%7C%7C+1%3AWOODBURN%09Woodburn+Branch&te=

Vnuk, Rebecca. (2013). Jack of All Trades Readers’ Advisory: How to Learn a Little About a

           Lot. Public Libraries Online. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/05/jack-of-             all-trades-readers-advisory-how-to-learn-a-little-about-a-lot/