The Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery

by John Charles, Candace Clark, Joanne Hamilton-Selway, Joanna Morrison

Overview

Something sinister is afoot out there—and this newly updated readers’ advisory has all the clues to help librarians solve the mystery of which titles readers should check out next. Equally useful for novice librarians and seasoned gumshoes, this handbook * Summarizes the history of mystery fiction, highlighting key figures in its development * Covers the latest and most popular classic titles in the genre, as well select suspense and thriller fiction with crossover appeal * Offers examples of how library staff can help readers move back and forth from fiction to nonfiction * Suggests ways to conduct an effective reference interviewWith several well-chosen booklists, practical programming ideas, and a brand new compendium of print and web-based resources, your only crime would be not adding this guide to your collection!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780838993910
Publisher:	American Library Association
Publication date:	01/09/2012
Series:	ALA Readers' Advisory Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Since 1991, John Charles has worked for the Scottsdale (AZ) Public Library system as a reference librarian. Charles is the co-author of several readers' advisory books. In 2002, he was selected as the Romance Writers of America’s Librarian of the Year. He has reviewed nonfiction titles for Library Journal, and romance fiction for Booklist and the Chicago Tribune.

Candace Clark worked for the Scottsdale Public Library System from 1975 until May 2009. She served as a Youth Librarian for 25 years. She was heavily involved in youth programming, material selection, and booktalking for all ages. Clark was Chair of the Children's Services Roundtable of the Arizona State Library Association and has presented many programs on booktalking for librarians. From 1991 to 2009 she co-hosted Booktalk, a city cable monthly book review and author interview program in Scottsdale.

Table of Contents

Series Introduction by Joyce Saricks and Neil Wyatt
Preface
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Detecting the Enduring Appeal of the Mystery Novel
Chapter 2 The History of Mystery
Chapter 3 Crash Course in Mystery Readers’ Advisory Work
Chapter 4 Amateur Sleuths: Where’s Jessica Fletcher When You Need Her?
Chapter 5 Private Investigators: Well-Worn Trench Coats, Smoking Gats, and Deadly Dames
Chapter 6 Police Procedurals: They Got the Beat
Chapter 7 Historical Sleuths: Crime through Time
Chapter 8 Genre-Blended Mysteries: Torn between Two Genres
Chapter 9 The Mystery Readers’ Advisory Interview
Chapter 10 Mystery Resources
Chapter 11 Collection Development: Buy It and They Will Come
Chapter 12 Merchandising Your Mystery Collection

Appendix A Mysteries for a Book Discussion
Appendix B Mystery Movies
Appendix C Twenty-Five Mystery Television Series

Selected Bibliography
Index