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July 2026 | |
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Adult Services Notes |
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Build Your Readers' Advisory Genre Skills |
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Understanding genres is a crucial readers advisory skill. Knowing the key genre appeals can help you connect with readers, even in genres that you don't find appealing yourself.
This new training series from LVA will help you get up to speed in seven of the most popular genres--romance, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, historial fiction, horror, and thrillers.
In our readers' advisory survey from earlier this year, we heard from library staff around the state that training on genres would help them feel more confident when working with readers. This series will give you the skills you need to work with readers in these popular genres, including: |
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Defining the genre, including subgenres Why readers enjoy it Key authors to know Up and coming writers to be aware of How to connect with readers in this genre Here are the dates and registration links for the series: |
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Romance 101
When: Tueday, 8/4, 1 PM ET
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Science Fiction 101
When: Tuesday 8/18, 1 pm ET
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Mystery 101
When: Tuesday 9/1, 1 PM ET
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Fantasy 101
When: Tuesday 9/15, 1 pm ET
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Horror 101: Don’t Be Scared
When: Tuesday 9/29, 1 PM ET
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Thrillers 101
When: Tuesday 10/13, 1 pm ET
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Historical Fiction 101
When: Tuesday 10/27, 1 PM ET
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Engaging with Library Patrons about
Generative AI Use
in Addressing Legal Issues |
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As generative AI tools become increasingly common, more self-represented litigants are turning to platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI-powered services for legal information and assistance. While these tools have the potential to bridge gaps in access to justice, their use by pro se litigants also presents significant risks, including serious legal consequences as well as the potential for loss of privacy, time, and money.
Attendees will strengthen their understanding of the benefits and limitations of generative AI tools, learn practical approaches for engaging patrons about potential risks and encouraging reflection in their use of these tools, and increase awareness of reliable legal resources and court-approved materials to verify AI-generated information.
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Join Alexis Fetzer Sharp, State Law Librarian at the Supreme Court of Virginia, and Ashley Reed, librarian for the Norfolk Law Library, to learn ways libraries can support digital and legal information literacy while maintaining appropriate boundaries around legal advice in the age of AI.
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News from Library Development
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LVA Partners with Library Speakers Consortium |
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The Library of Virginia is excited to announce a new partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium (LSC) to provide a monthly Health & Wellness Virtual Author Talk series to every public library system in Virginia—at no cost to participating libraries.
Through this partnership, library patrons will have access to live, virtual events featuring credentialed experts and best-selling authors in the health and wellness space.
You can view examples of past and upcoming speakers at the link to see the caliber of programming being offered: View Health & Wellness Series Examples |
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This is an opt-in program rather than an automatic rollout. This ensures that every participating library is an active partner with a platform tailored specifically to their community. When your library opts in, your library system will receive:
- A Branded Microsite: A custom landing page where your patrons can register for and view all virtual talks.
- Monthly Programming: A new, high-quality author talk every month, which will be available live and on-demand. Your patrons can submit questions in advance or during the livestream
- Public Use Rights: Host in-library watch parties or use the author talks for outreach at senior centers, etc.
- Ready-to Use Marketing Materials: All marketing assets are provided for you, including social media graphics, program descriptions, printable like flyers and bookmarks, and more.
- Real-time analytics: Your own unique dashboard to monitor registration and patron engagement.
The project launched on July 1 for libraries that had opted in. If your library has not opted in and would like to find out more information, you can fill out a form to opt in or request a call to get more details. |
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While librarians need to be careful not to offer legal advice, we can help users find legal information, and Gale Legal Forms can be a great resource to refer users to when they are looking for forms for things like power of attorney, wills, advanced medical directives, and more. The fillable forms included in the database are specific to Virginia, and many of them are available in both Spanish and English.
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But the value of Gale Legal Forms doesn't end there. You will also find informational resources to share with users such as:
A Legal Terms Dictionary covering the definitions of hundreds of basic legal terms in language a non-lawyer can understand; a Law Digest that covers important topics, people, and cases in legal history, all drawn from the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law; a Legal Q&A section that covers common questions on a wide range of legal topics; and, an extensive collection of forms to support your local entrepreneurs and small business owners, including sample contracts, letters, accounting forms, business plans, HR forms, and lots more.
For more information about helping users with legal information, see these Niche Academy trainings: |
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Happy Birthday to the United States |
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Happy 250th Birthday to the United States! As part of the Library of Virginia’s commemoration of America’s semiquincentennial, our Education & Outreach team is highlighting some of our Revolutionary era primary source documents for teachers and students.
Find intriguing stories of the American Revolution in Document Bank of Virginia.
Learn about America’s founding documents and the creation of our government in Shaping the Constitution. |
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Readers' Advisory Tips and Tricks
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Readers' Advisory Competencies |
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Is your library looking to develop a more structured approach to building its community of readers?
This spring, NoveList convened a team of readers' advisors from the US and Canada to develop a set of competencies for readers' advisory services that will "help libraries define, develop and advance readers' advisory skills across their organizations." |
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These new Readers' Advisory Competencies will be a great tool for libraries who want to incorprate RA services across all areas of the library, provide advisory services for the whole collection, and frame readers’ advisory "as a continuous, relationship-based service, not a one-time transaction" that builds a true community of readers.
The competencies also will be valuable in building RA training and incorporating RA services into staff workflows and job descriptions. The focus on both "relational advisory"--working directly with a reader/viewer/listener--and "promotional advisory"--the reading lists, displays, programming, and other pieces that sustain our reading community by connecting them with the stories that enrich their lives.
The competencies are broken out into eight areas:
Advisory Philosophy & Strategy Story & Media Knowledge Collection Awareness & Insight Fostering Reading Culture Relational Advisory Promotional Advisory Tools & Trends Collaboration Across Teams & Organizations
Each area is further broken out into expectations for Core, Advanced, and Expert services. These categories are fluid, and can be a useful tool for self-evaluation and skill building both for those new to RA as well as more experienced advisors who want to build skills in a particular area.
An additional tool for anyone interested in RA services is the Recommended Learning Resources section of the competencies, which links to articles, websites, and other training resources.
As Danielle Borasky, vice president of NoveList, says in her blog post announcing this new resource, "In a time when access to content is abundant, trusted human connection matters more than ever. These competencies ensure that libraries continue to deliver human connection by connecting readers with books and more." |
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Want to learn more about the new RA competencies? Sign up for a free webinar this fall featuring several members of the team that put the document together.
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Yiddish Book Center's Public Libraries Program
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Applications for the 2026–27 Public Libraries Program are now open.
The Yiddish Book Center’s Public Libraries Program "brings Yiddish literature in translation to public libraries across the United States to deepen their engagement with Yiddish literature and Jewish life, religion, and culture, and to foster vibrant cross-cultural dialogue and discussion in their communities." |
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The theme for the 2026-27 year is Between Two Worlds: Exploring Jewish Culture and Religion through Yiddish Literature. According to the grant application site, selected libraries will be expected to:
Send one librarian or reading group facilitator for a three-day workshop to be held from Sunday, November 15 to Tuesday, November 17, 2026 at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. (All travel, lodging, and meal costs will be covered by the Yiddish Book Center for each library’s discussion facilitator.) Organize a reading group to discuss three books of Yiddish literature in translation (selected and provided by the Yiddish Book Center) as well as one book related to a community served by their library. Applications close on August 14, 2026. |
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Featured Virginia Programs
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Waynesboro Public Library
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The Waynesboro Public Library celebrated Jane Austen's 250th birthday by hosting a Jane Austen Tea Party and creating an in-house art display. The Tea Party consisted of an assortment of teas, light snacks, and Austen-themed trivia. After theTea Party, attendees participated in hands on crafts, creating ornaments and bookmarks inspired by their favorite Jane Austen novels.
Meanwhile, WPL's marketing director, Kathy Hiserman, came up with a creative idea for an art display. Using damaged books that were beyond repair, she crafted a Regency-style dress to honor Austen's anniversary.
The dress was created from dampened paper, with accordion folds in the bodice |
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and incorporating two layers of ribbon as decorative accents. To add some fun, we held a contest to see who could guess the number of pages used in making the dress. A little hint, it took 12½ hours and 101 glue sticks to put it all together!
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For more info, contact Emily Schultz, shultzen@ci.waynesboro.va.us |
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Washington County Public Library System
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Jigsaw Puzzle Competition |
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The Washington County Public Library brough the community together to gather with friends and family to compete in WCPL's second annual jigsaw puzzle competition. Teams of 2-4 people competed to finish identical 500 piece puzzles in the least amount of time. Participants fired up their jigsaw puzzle skills and competed for bragging rights!
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For more info, contact Sally Jones, sjones@wcpl.net
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Fairfax County Public Library
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All Fairfax Reads: Pride and Prejudice |
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All Fairfax Reads is an annual program that encourages our community to come together for a shared reading experience. This past fall, in honor of what would have been her 250th birthday, we read the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice, and paired it with a variety of events, including book discussions, author talks, film screenings, and even a Regency era tea party/costume contest!
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For more info, contact Will Osborne, william.osborne@fairfaxcounty.gov
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Recent articles on topics of interest to Adult Services |
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This newsletter is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is published by the Library of Virginia Library Development Division.
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