Reader's Advisory Interview Roleplay

Transcript 

Me: Hello welcome. 

Student: Good morning

Me: Good morning, I am Mrs. Flores. What brings you to the library today? May I assist you in any way?

Student: Actually I would like some science books.

Me: I would love to help. Would there be a specific science topic you prefer like the solar system, earth structures, weather, or famous scientists?

Student: Something on experiments.

Me: Where you interested in conducting your own experiments?

Student: Yes, I would really like that. We learned about chemical reactions and have been doing lab activities in class. I wanted to learn more about it.

Me: That sounds like fun. What type of experiments have you done?

Student: We mixed common home products to see if there was a chemical change. We also did another a tug of war lab to view balanced and unbalanced forces.

Me: Would you also like more information on forces and motion?

Student: Yes, I would like that.

Me: Let’s look into the school catalog to see available resources. Let’s first look for books on chemical reactions by searching the terms in the keyword box.

Student: Will that give me a list of books?

Me: Yes, of possible readings you might like. For instance, the results for our first search has given us some books you might like. As you can see we have several books available in our shelves. When you click on the title of each book it will give you a short summary of what the book will be about. I will give you a few minutes so you can look over the books and see if there is something of interest to you.

Student: Once I decide on a book how would I be able to find it?

Me: You can find a book by using its call number. The call number is like the address for a book in the library. Though, do not worry I will help you locate your selections.

Student: Thank you I would appreciate it.

Me: Of course I will be back shortly.

Me: Did you find anything you would like to check out?

Student: Yes, I was reading the summaries, but they all sound good. I am not sure what to choose. 

From reading I liked the ones about conducting experiments.

Me: It’s okay as you were reading the summaries I went and looked up some reviews on the books that appeared in our search. Based on what you told me and the reviews, I think the books Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family Friendly Experiments from Around the House and Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste: More Unforgettable Experiments That Make Science Fun would be a good choice. I also found a DVD Bill Nye the Science Guy: Chemical Reactions if that is something you would be interested in.

Student: I read those summaries they sounded interesting. I didn’t know that the library had DVDs.

Me: Yes, we do. The library also has audio books, magazines, articles, videos, and many available databases. Would you like to look over them?

Student: What kind of databases are available?

Me: The library has EBSCOhost and Gale for articles. We also have Tumblebooks and Big Timber for online and audio books. If you are interested in videos there is also BrainPop.

Student: Could I see the BrainPop?

Me: Of course let’s begin at the school website. Once there if you click on the library tab it will direct you to the main library page. In this page if you scroll down to the bottom you will be able to see all the available databases the school library has. Each database has its own icon all you have to do is click on one and it will direct you to the page. Let’s click on the BrainPop as you can see it automatically takes you to the page. Click on login on the top right hand side. The username will be mblamar and password lions. BrainPop offers many videos and it sections them of by categories such as history, science, math, English, art, and music. If we go into the science tab there are a variation of videos you can choose from. Each video comes with quizzes, related games, and activities you could use.

Student: That’s great I really like this website. I would like to take the two books and watch the videos on BrainPop.

Me: Wonderful lets go look for the books on the shelves. The number that is there is the call number and lets us know where the book is located in the library. Let’s write those down so we can go get those two books. If you follow me we need to head to the nonfiction area of the library. The books are over here by this shelf and if you look at the call numbers they are all in order by letter and number. As you can see one book is here. Do you want to try and locate the other one?

Student: Yes I think I can do it. I first look at the letter then the number and by doing the other books is here. This is pretty simple.

Me: I am glad you think so. Let’s head over to the reference desk to check the books out. Would there be anything else you need today?

Student: No thank you Mrs. Flores.

Me: Well you are all set to go hope you have a wonderful day.

When conducting this interview I thought of what might bring a student to the library. I also thought of a subject that was not common for students to ask for. I remember reading the text and how it mentioned that librarians should be knowledgeable about many areas. I also wanted to consider the audio, kinesthetic, and the visual learner. I wanted to offer forms of audio such as the DVDs, audio books, and BrainPop videos to meet the needs of the reader. The books would also provide kinesthetic activities along with illustrations.

I also thought about my persona. Conducting a good interview is important for the reader to want to visit again. Being polite and welcoming creates an environment that the patron will feel comfortable in so when completing this assignment I kept that in mind. Asking questions and getting down to what the reader is interested was very important.  I want readers to come into the library and leave with material that they will actually want to read. Creating lifelong learners is the goal and finding what interest the readers is such an important aspect. 


Audio File 

https://soundcloud.com/user-731102875/video