New facilitated eCourse from ALA Editions: Young Adult Readers’ Advisory Services

CHICAGO - ALA Editions announces a new facilitated eCourse on Young Adult Readers’ Advisory Services. Jessica Moyer, an experienced online instructor and a doctoral candidate researching teen reading habits, will serve as the instructor for a facilitated eCourse starting on Jan. 17, 2011.

Whether drawn in by homework assignments or gaming night, teens are frequent visitors to the library. How do you get to “awesome” and avoid the eye-rolls? Fundamental readers’ advisory skills - along with a bit of empathy - can take you a long way.

Jessica Moyer, an experienced online instructor and a doctoral candidate researching teen reading habits, will facilitate activities and discussion in ALA Editions’ Moodle learning environment. Young adult specialists and all reference staff will find tips for improving service. Included in the price of the course is the eEditions e-book bundle, "The Readers’ Advisory Handbook," edited by Moyer and Kaite Mediatore Stover.

Librarians who take this course will:

• Learn to know their collection without reading every book
• Understand the basics of readers’ advisory, including appeal factors
• Be able to help teen readers with readers’ advisory questions
• Understand current research on teen readers and print, audiobook and online formats
• Understand the unique nature of teen readers’ advisory

Jessica E. Moyer has MS and CAS degrees from the University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Currently she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities in the Literacy Education program and an adjunct faculty member of the LIS program at the University of St. Catherine, where she teaches reference and readers' advisory. Moyer has published articles in Reference and User Services Quarterly, New Library World and the Libraries Unlimited Readers’ Advisor Newsletter and is the author of "Research-Based Readers’ Advisory" (American Library Association, 2008), co-editor of "The Readers Advisory Handbook" (ALA Editions 2010) and editor of the upcoming "Integrated Advisory Services" (Library Unlimited 2010). An active member of ALA, Moyer is currently a member of the editorial boards for Reference and User Services Quarterly and Booklist’s Reference Books Bulletin, member editor of YALSA's online journal, Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, and a liaison for the Reference Services Section (RSS). She reviews fiction, audiobooks, reference books and professional reading for Booklist and fiction for Library Journal. Moyer regularly speaks and conducts workshops on audiobooks, e-books, readers' advisory for all ages and working with teen readers. More information is available at http://jessicaemilymoyer.pbworks.com

Registration for this ALA Editions facilitated eCourse, which begins on Jan. 17, 2011, can be purchased at the ALA Store. Participants in this course will need regular access to a computer with an internet connection for online message board participation, viewing online video, listening to streaming audio (MP3 files), and downloading and viewing PDF and PowerPoint files.

ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionscoursehelp@ala.org.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.