Readers’ Advisory in the Public Library: A Look at the Promotion of Diverse Literature to Teens

Teens are reading, and libraries are helping teens read. One way that libraries are helping teens read is through readers’ advisory, the recommendation of books to readers for the purpose of pleasure reading. In the library field, there is a recognition of the need for diverse literature and its positive impacts. This study investigates the perspectives of librarians and library staff on readers’ advisory, with special attention to the promotion of diverse literature. Interview data and document analysis showed that librarians are performing readers’ advisory often, and teens are taking advantages of the different advisory opportunities provided by the libraries. The librarians view diverse literature as valuable and do promote it, though none cited promoting diverse literature as a guiding principle in readers’ advisory.Master of Science in Library Scienc