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Genreflecting
Genreflecting is the process of examining and analyzing the patterns and characteristics of literary genres—both fiction and recreational nonfiction—and using that analysis to identify titles with similar appeals to readers (i.e., read-alikes), in order to make reading suggestions to individuals who are looking for something to read. The term "genreflecting" was first coined by Betty Rosenberg, a prominent library science educator, in 1982. Since that time, the term has been adopted by readers' advisory in libraries and extended to nonfiction genres as well as fiction. A similar practice in retail bookstores is called "hand-selling." History At the time the first edition of Rosenberg's ''Genreflecting'' was written, adding popular reading materials to library collections and recommending those titles to readers were controversial practices. Dr. Rosenberg's First Law of Reading—"Never apologize for your reading taste"—has since been adopted by growing numbers of libraria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Readers' Advisory
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. History North America "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 Mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Genre
A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided into more concrete distinctions. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, and even the rules designating genres change over time and are fairly unstable. Genres can all be in the form of prose or poetry. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre (see below), but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed. History of genres Aristotle The concept of genre began in the works of Aristotle, who applied biological concepts to the classification of literary genres, or, as he called them, "species" (eidē). These classifications are mainl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Lust
''Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason'' was written by Nancy Pearl, former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book and inspiration for the Librarian action figure. It was published in 2003 by Sasquatch Books and during its first year of publication it went into its fourth printing with over 90,000 copies. Impact Will Manley, in an ''American Libraries'' article, wrote of Pearl's book, "Just when I was ready to put the last nail in the coffin of reader's advisory services, up pops the best book ever written on the subject." With books sorted by topics ranging from action heroines to cat crazy and graphic novels to political fiction Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ... and author spotlights such as Jonathan Lethem: Too Good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading (process)
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling), alphabetics, phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Other types of reading and writing, such as pictograms (e.g., a hazard symbol and an emoji), are not based on speech-based writing systems. The common link is the interpretation of symbols to extract the meaning from the visual notations or tactile signals (as in the case of Braille). Overview Reading is typically an individual activity, done silently, although on occasion a person reads out loud for other listeners; or reads aloud for one's own use, for better comprehension. Before the reintroduction of separated text (spaces between words) in the late Middle Ages, the ability to read silently was considered rather remarkable. Major pred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Promotion
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bookbinding, bound together and protected by a book cover, cover. The technical term for this physical arrangement is ''codex'' (plural, ''codices''). In the history of hand-held physical supports for extended written compositions or records, the codex replaces its predecessor, the scroll. A single sheet in a codex is a Recto, leaf and each side of a leaf is a page (paper), page. As an intellectual object, a book is prototypically a composition of such great length that it takes a considerable investment of time to compose and still considered as an investment of time to read. In a restricted sense, a book is a self-sufficient section or part of a longer composition, a usage reflecting that, in antiquity, long works had to be written on several scrolls and each scroll had to be identified by the book it contained. Each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members as of 2021. History During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, 103 librarians, 90 men and 13 women, responded to a call for a "Convention of Librarians" to be held October 4–6 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. At the end of the meeting, according to Ed Holley in his essay "ALA at 100", "the register was passed around for all to sign who wished to become charter members," making October 6, 1876, the date of the ALA’s founding. Among the 103 librarians in attendance were Justin Winsor (Boston Public, Harvard), William Frederick Poole (Chicago Public, Newberry), Charles Ammi Cutter (Boston Athenaeum), Melvil Dewey, and Richard Rogers Bowker. Attendees came from as far west as Chicago and from England. The ALA wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwood Publishing Group
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Greenwood Press, Inc. and based in Westport, Connecticut, GPG publishes reference works under its Greenwood Press imprint, and scholarly, professional, and general interest books under its related imprint, Praeger Publishers (). Also part of GPG is Libraries Unlimited, which publishes professional works for librarians and teachers. History 1967–1999 The company was founded as Greenwood Press, Inc. in 1967 by Harold Mason, a librarian and antiquarian bookseller, and Harold Schwartz who had a background in trade publishing. Based in Greenwood, New York, the company initially focused on reprinting out-of-print works, particularly titles listed in the American Library Association's first edition of ''Books for College Libraries'' (1967), unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a private company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. EBSCO provides products and services to libraries of very many types around the world. Its products include EBSCONET, a complete e-resource management system, and EBSCO''host'', which supplies a fee-based online research service with 375 full-text databases, a collection of 600,000-plus ebooks, subject indexes, point-of-care medical references, and an array of historical digital archives. In 2010, EBSCO introduced its ''EBSCO Discovery Service'' (EDS) to institutions, which allows searches of a portfolio of journals and magazines. History EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a company founded in 1944 by Elton Bryson Stephens Sr. and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. "EBSCO" is an acronym for Elton B. Stephens Company. EBSCO Industries has annual sales of about $3 billion. It is one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Online Database
An online database is a database accessible from a local network or the Internet, as opposed to one that is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached storage (such as a CD). Online databases are hosted on websites, made available as software as a service products accessible via a web browser. They may be free or require payment, such as by a monthly subscription. Some have enhanced features such as collaborative editing and email notification. Cloud database A cloud database is a database that is run on and accessed via the Internet, rather than locally. So, rather than keep a customer information database at one location, a business may choose to have it hosted on the Internet so that all its departments or divisions can access and update it. Most database services offer web-based consoles, which the end user can use to provision and configure database instances. See also * List of online databases ** Bibliographic databases * Customer relationship management * List ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action Figure
An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketing, marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys (while competitors called similar offerings ''boy's dolls''). According to a 2005 study in Sweden, action figures which display traditional Masculinity, masculine traits primarily target boys. While most commonly marketed as a child's toy, the action figure has gained widespread acceptance as collecting, collector item for adults. In such a case, the item may be produced and designed on the assumption it will be bought solely for display as a collectible and not played with like a child's toy. History Precursors Articulated dolls go back to at least 200 BCE, with articulated clay and wooden dolls of ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Pearl
Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Central Library, Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confines of the library for a life of leisure ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', August 2, 2004. Her prolific reading and her knowledge of books and literature first made her locally famous in Seattle, Washington, where she regularly appears on public radio recommending books. She achieved broader fame with ''Book Lust,'' her 2003 guide to good reading. Pearl was named 2011 Librarian of the Year Award, Librarian of the Year by ''Library Journal''. She is also the author of a novel and a memoir. Life Nancy Pearl was raised in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan and, by her own account, spent much time of her childhood at the public library. Her decision to become a librarian started at the age of 10 with the inspiration of the childr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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