Course Overview

Readers' advisory is a core skill for those working in public and school libraries. Readers' advisors assist readers in finding the right book for the right time or right mood, provide guidance in trying new authors, themes, and genres, and provide programs and services to promote reading, literacy and library use.

This 3 week course will sharpen your skills and knowledge around the RA interview and improve your confidence in recommending reading materials to patrons. You will also learn about readers' advisory tools and resources, and organising and promoting collections to enhance access by readers.

This is a 3 week professional development unit. You will receive a Certificate of Participation upon the successful completion of this course.

Course Content

This course will provide you with practical skills and knowledge relating to readers' advisory work and will specifically cover:

• Reading levels and tastes of different customer groups
• A range of literature and formats
• Interview tips and strategies and how to provide advice to customers to meet their literature and reading needs
• Tools and resources of information to assist in meeting customer literature and reading requests

Right for you if...

• Work in a public or school library and / or have an interest in updating readers' advisory skills
• Would like to increase your knowledge about RA tools and resources
• Wish to develop your readers' advisory interview skills
• Learn more about the range and types of literature and formats

Course Delivery

Contact with facilitators will be through online forums on Moodle (the online Learning Management System used by TAFE NSW for these courses).

Participants will connect with each other through forum discussions.

There are no specific times you need to be available.

The time investment required is approximately 5 hours per week, depending on the individual.

The course is designed to be completed in 3 weeks but as it is developed to be self paced, it is possible to finish a little earlier or later depending on your learning styles and needs. However, if you wish to vary the usual time taken, please discuss this with your teacher.

Participants require a computer with internet access.

In partnership with...

Our training partner for this course is TAFE NSW. TAFE NSW is the leading provider of vocational education and training in Australia. Each year, more than 500,000 students enrol in their nationally recognised courses and training.

What to expect once you have registered

Following the close of registrations, which is 10 May, we will be in contact with you before the course commences to provide you with further information about the next steps of enrolment: TAFE student registration and Moodle login set up.

More information

Cancellation Policy