The History of Fiction_L. (Readers' Advisory)

While the Internet is more often touted by librarians as an enhanced information retrieval and delivery device, I prefer its community-building aspects, and nowhere are they more on display than on professional discussion lists, genre Web sites, and discussion groups. Fiction_L has been a godsend to many librarians in RA positions and roles, not only for its instant assistance from fellow librarians on every conceivable readers' advisory (RA) topic, but also for its archives of list member--generated bibliographies. Luckily I don't have to argue for its replication elsewhere because Maureen O'Connor has started RA_Talk (on Yahoo! Groups) in Canada. Having these interactive tools allows the fledgling RA community to grow and learn from each other while needed information is shared and preserved.--Editor The electronic mailing list, sometimes called a listserv (a trademarked term), has become a staple for Internet-savvy librarians everywhere. The nature of the list is straightforward: you sign up with a group of like-minded people in order to discuss a particular topic, and everyone's comments are e-mailed to everyone else. Many lists are moderated by one or more people who guide the conversation when necessary and try to prevent blatant advertising or other unpleasantness. Most mailing lists archive their postings in some fashion, although the archives may be limited to subscribers or lack a search facility. Every list tends to have its own personality, rhythm, and strengths, whether those are entertainment, controversy, or instant answers. Described as one of the most gracious mailing lists for librarians, Fiction_L's history describes the development of a close-knit virtual community. Origins of Fiction_L by Roberta Johnson What is now a lively online resource for hundreds of people began at a semiannual meeting of readers' advisory managers in the Chicago suburbs in 1995. Every four months a handful of public librarians assembled to discuss the marketing of fiction in their libraries. We talked about summer reading clubs, innovative displays, hiring (and keeping) RA staff, and many other topics of interest. Several of us were the only official RA person at their library, and we always ended our meeting with treasure hunts; those elusive patron requests for a five-year-old suspense novel, set in the wilds of Montana, with a red cover. These afternoons were always stimulating, always full of new ideas, and always fun. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, if we could communicate more easily and more often? Between us, we had years of fiction knowledge and library experience to share, but little time to meet regularly. Perhaps e-mail would allow us to pose questions and chat informally. Since the Morton Grove Public Library, where I was readers' services librarian at the time, was one of the first libraries to explore and exploit the value of online resources, this project was a natural for the staff to pursue. At that time the North Suburban Library System (NSLS) operated several electronic mailing lists to help reference, technical, and administrative staff share problems and ideas, so I contacted Andy Bullen, then their systems administrator, and broached the idea of creating a list for RA staff. He and the system agreed to host the list on the NSLS server, and I went back to the RA managers group for ideas and input. We came up with a catchy name, Fiction_L, and broad guidelines to describe and promote the fledgling mailing list. The list's primary goal remains consistent six years later: to provide a forum for library staff who work with fiction collections and promote RA services. The discussion was open to fiction lovers of every stripe, whether writers or readers, as we hoped to create a collective consciousness to answer questions on every genre of fiction. The only caveat we described was a ban on simple book reviews, as there were already several mailing lists for this purpose. …

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.