<!-- Cite using: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation -->Readers' advisory
(sometimes spelled readers advisory
or reader's advisory
) is a service which involves suggesting fiction and nonfiction titles to a reader through direct or indirect means. This service is a fundamental library
service; however, readers' advisory also occurs in commercial contexts such as bookstores. Currently, almost all North American public libraries offer some form of readers' advisory.
<blockquote>"Setting a date for the start of what we now call readers advisory service, particularly readers advisory in the public library, is at best a frustrating, almost arbitrary exercise. Efforts at historical precision can founder on such basic issues as the absence of common definitions. For example, answers to such questions as 'What exactly is a public library?" or "What really is readers advisory?" have long been disputed." (Bill Crowley, from his 2005 journal article "Rediscovering the History of Readers Advisory Service")
Opposing Viewpoints on the Merits of Different Types of Readers' Advisory
The historical period divisions and merits of different types of readers' advisory services is a hotly debated topic among librarians.
Bill Crowley, in his 2005 article, "Rediscovering the History of Readers Advisory Service," breaks down the historical... Read More