PREREQUISITES:
MAS students: Completion of the MAS Core courses, plus permission of the instructor.
MLIS and Dual students: Some electives can be taken in conjunction with the MLIS Core courses; consult with the MLIS Program Chair for recommendations.
GOAL: The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the current reading and media interests of adults to prepare students for collection management and advisory work in these areas.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Describe the reading and media interests of adults according to studies and surveys
- Discuss and evaluate collection-use studies in libraries
- Identify the types of popular fiction and nonfiction materials in various genres and formats
- Explain the purposes of readers’ advisory service and knowledge of the techniques involved
CONTENT:
- Consumer studies of the reading and media interests of adults
- Studies on the use of library collections
- Format issues: how format influences uses; rise of multi format materials; crossover formats, e.g., books on tape/CD
- Formats and categories of fiction, including genre fiction
- Formats and subjects of nonfiction, e.g., travel, self-help, biography, true-crime, computer multimedia
- Techniques in providing readers’ advisory service