Do you have any good books? : About library employees use of readers’ advisory tools

Studies have shown that library employees often choose not to use readers’ advisory tools but to instead rely entirely on their own experience, often doing the library user a disservice. However, very few have looked at why this is so. This thesis looks at to what extent thirty individual employees in thirty Swedish public libraries use readers advisory tools when helping a patron find a good book, with the major focus on what motivates them to use these tools and why some choose not to use them. It was found that readers’ advisory tools where not used with any consistency and that many things influence the library employees’ use of these tools. Among other things, having access to readers’ advisory tools was of course essential, as was that the library employee felt there were no major time constraints. The usability and usefulness of these tools was also central, as was the library employees’ competence and confidence at using them. Many also stated that they had trouble remembering that there were readers’ advisory tools available at all. The optimal tool, according to the participants in this study, is easy to access and easy to use. Outside of these criteria opinions divide on what is most essential, that they are organized by genre and based on the opinions of professionals or that they focus on the reading experience of library patrons.Program: Bibliotekari