206: The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror by Becky Spratford

Steve chats with Becky Spratford, author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, about RA for All’s origin story, why people read scary books, the importance of promoting diversity in the horror genre, and which book Steve should read next to scare the bejesus out of him.

Read the transcript!

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 20 year locally elected Library Trustee [still serving] and a Board member for the Reaching Across Illinois Library System. Known for her work with horror readers, Becky is the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition [ALA Editions, 2021]. She is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and currently serves as the Association’s Secretary and organizer of their annual Librarians’ Day. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll

Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

Subscribe (FREE!) to the Circulating Ideas newsletter!
The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror (shipping August 26!)

177: PLA 2020

Recorded at the Public Library Association 2020 conference, Steve chats with Sourcebooks authors Ashley Blooms, Emily Levesque, and Caroline B. Cooney about their new books and their interactions with – and love of – libraries. Then, Steve catches up with Megan Emery of the Healing Library and Becky Spratford of RA for All and RA for All: Horror.

SHOW NOTES:

Sourcebooks
Every Bone a Prayer
The Last Stargazers
Before She Was Helen

The Healing Library
NCompass Live: The Healing Library: Responding to Trauma in Your Community Through Nontraditional Lending – Recorded Online Session 

RA for All
RA for All: Horror
Summer Scares 2020
Becky’s PLA notes

161: Grady Hendrix and Becky Spratford

Steve chats with bestselling horror author Grady Hendrix and Readers’ Advisory Specialist Becky Spratford about how Grady grew up with libraries, the legitimacy of genre fiction, lessons learned from Stephen King, and the Summer Scares program.

Grady Hendrix is a best selling author whose novels include Horrorstör, My Best Friend’s Exorcism – which he describes as “basically Beaches meets The Exorcist” — and most recently, We Sold Our Souls. He’s also the author of the Bram Stoker Award winning, Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the ’70s and ’80s, and Mohawk, a horror movie about the War of 1812.

Becky Spratford is a Readers’ Advisory Specialist in northern, IL. She trains library workers all over the world on how to help leisure readers in the public library. Becky runs the popular and critically acclaimed RA training site RA for All and its evil twin, RA for All: Horror. She is a regular contributor to Booklist, EBSCO’s NoveList database, and Library Journal. Becky is the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and is currently at work on the 3rd Edition. She is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, whose membership recently elected her Secretary. You can connect with Becky on Twitter @RAforAll.

SHOW NOTES:

Summer Scares FAQ / Resource List
Ladies of the Fright

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.

120: Becky Spratford

Steve chats with Becky Spratford, creator of RA for All and RA for All: Horror, about getting respect for reviews of genre titles, her upcoming work in IndiePicks magazine, and how to do readers’ advisory in genres you don’t personally enjoy or understand (also, Carrie vs. Pennywise??).

DSC_4825. BeckySpratford. HighRES. BobBriskeyPhoto. 708.829.4490

Becky Spratford 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 popular and critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All and it’s evil twin RA for All: Horror and is on the Steering Committee of the Adult Reading Round Table. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and IndiePicks Magazine. Becky is also known for her work with horror readers as the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Second Edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association who honored her as a special guest of honor at StokerCon 2017 for her contribution to the genre. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll.

SHOW NOTES:

The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror
IndiePicks

Circulating Ideas is produced with support from the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science and listeners like you. Find out how you can help here.