The questionnaire did not ask whether the libraries provided a readers’
advisory service and no respondents mentioned it in their comments, nor did
they indicate that they had informal conversations or enquiries with library
users. Some interviewees did mention this type of work, though, and provided
specific examples, suggesting that librarians might recommend items
for recreational reading without considering it a form of reading promotion.
This was highlighted by one interviewee who said that people using the library
sometimes “say ‘have you got anything we can read?’ So you have to try
to find things that suit them.”This type of active promotion may be neglected
and misunderstood by academic librarians because, according to another interviewee, “it’s only a very minor part of the work.” D. Smith suggests that
the reason for this could be because “library education programmes have
paid scant attention to the study of adult fiction and its appeal” (67). This was
supported by one interviewee who commented, “the people who were training
me positively discouraged the idea of recreational reading.” The training
librarians received may have affected their view of readers’ advisory work
to such an extent that they do not consider fiction enquiries as part of their
role and it might also explain the confusion surrounding, and differing interpretations
of, reading promotion apparent in the questionnaire responses.