Personalized Book Recommendations from The Story Center Collection

The Story Center now offers Readers’ Advisory (RA) services for The Story Center Collection!

What are Readers’ Advisory Hours? Once a month, Story Center Associate Melanie Pierce sets up at a table near The Story Center Collection in the Woodneath Library Center, and folks can drop in to meet with her one-on-one and get personalized recommendations for books on writing and storytelling. It's also a good time to tour the collection to learn what's on the shelves.

Can’t drop by during the monthly sessions? Melanie also offers RA services via Zoom or email. With these two options, you’ll receive a list of 3-5 books with links that take you directly to our catalog so that you can place a hold right away. Contact Melanie at mpierce@mymcpl.org.

Here’s an example of how an RA session works: you’re a horror writer working to create a contemporary vampire that’s not like Dracula or Lestat OR Edward Cullen. You have ideas about how you’d like to play with the vampire archetype, but you’re researching previous depictions of vampires—you want to know what’s already been done so you can create a bold new iteration.

Voila!

 Melanie would also show you these books to help inform your vampire-writing journey:

Or maybe you went to see The Moth Radio Hour when the show came to Kansas City in May, and now you’ve set a goal to get yourself behind the microphone. But you’re not sure which stories from your life would make good material or how the storytellers made their stories so riveting.

First, Melanie would hand you:

Then she’d pass you this stack of other books on oral storytelling:

Or perhaps you’re a student in our Storytelling Certificate Program, and the only requirement you have left is to write a review of a book in The Story Center Collection. Melanie can suggest a book to fit your writing or storytelling interests and get you on the path to graduation.

Watch The Story Center Facebook page for upcoming monthly Readers Advisory Hours, or email Melanie Pierce anytime at mpierce@mymcpl.org to set up a Zoom meeting or ask for recommendations. Please note that it may take Melanie 3-5 business days to respond.