Demystifying Genre (Colorado Library Staff Only)

Nothing is scarier than trying to help a fan of a genre you yourself don’t enjoy. You want to help that, for example, Romance reader, find the perfect book, but you are having trouble knowing where to begin because…eek!… you don’t read Romance. You are afraid they will find out you are a fraud. How can YOU possibly help THEM?!? Never fear, in this program, Readers’ Advisory expert, Becky Spratford, will teach you the basic appeals of the major genres, give you the inside track on what a fan of that genre is most drawn to, and provide you with talking points to get your genres readers to tell you what they want. This program focuses on providing you with a diverse and inclusive list of up-to-date authors; only authors will be discussed. You will leave this session with the confidence and skill to help fans of every genre, regardless of whether or  not you have ever read a book in that genre yourself. And that will leave a trail of happy patrons in your wake.

This 90-minute workshop is the second in the “Readers Advisory Workshop Series” for Colorado library professionals.

Registration is required once for the entire series. Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions – third Wednesday of January, February, and March 2025, from 2 to 3:30PM.

Series dates and events are:

1. RA for All: Flip the Script and Think Like a Reader, January 15, 2025
2. Booktalk Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town, February 19, 2025
3. Demystifying Genre, March 19, 2025

All registrants will be provided links to recordings of each session regardless of their ability to attend.

About the presenter

Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Readers’ Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal. Becky is a 23 year locally elected Library Trustee [still serving], a former Board member for the Reaching Across Illinois Library System, and currently on the Executive Board of the Illinois Library Association. Known for her work with horror readers, Becky is the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition [ALA Editions, 2021] and the forthcoming Why I Love Horror and You Should Too [Saga Press, Sept 2025]. She is on the Shirley Jackson Award Advisory Board and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, currently serves as the Association’s Secretary and Co-Chair of their Library Committee. You can follow Becky on X @RAforAll.

RA for All’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement:RA for All’s programs are crafted and delivered with the understanding that increasing the collection, discovery, and circulation of titles written by marginalized voices in all public libraries is not a trend. It is a requirement. By contracting with RA for All, library organizations must take the position that libraries are not neutral, and understand that the goal is to become an anti-racist library, an organization that does the work to begin actively breaking down the walls of the systemic oppression of marginalized view points, walls which have been built over centuries but cannot be allowed to stand any longer. This work is not easy and will be uncomfortable at times, but getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is part of this process. RA for All is committed to helping you craft an actionable plan to begin this important journey.