Transcript How to Give a Booktalk Instructor: Michael Cart [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Winter 2006 This Workshop Is Brought to You by the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a.

How to Give a Booktalk
Instructor:
Michael Cart
[email protected]
An Infopeople Workshop
Winter 2006
This Workshop Is Brought to You by the
Infopeople Project
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project
supported by the California State Library. It provides a
wide variety of training to California libraries.
Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and
are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis.
For a complete list of workshops, and for other
information about the project, go to the Infopeople
website at infopeople.org.
Introductions
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Name
Library
Position
Have you done booktalks previously?
Workshop Overview
• Defining “booktalking”
• Booktalking skills
• Practicing booktalking
– Fiction
– Nonfiction
– Nontraditional
• Presentation tools and resources
Defining “Booktalking”
• What it is:
– Structured enthusiasm for a book
– A mini-mystery with a cliffhanger ending
• What it isn’t:
– A review or critique
– A memorized excerpt from a book
Types of Booktalks
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Formal (written and memorized)
Impromptu
Shelftalks (doing it in the stacks)
Read-alikes
Fiction
Nonfiction
Potential Audiences
• Students
– in library
– in classroom
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Adults
Senior Adults
Multigenerational – from nine to 90
Clubs and organizations
- book discussion groups
- service clubs
Why do booktalks?
What experiences–good or bad–
have you had of booktalking?
Exercise #1
Share Your Booktalk on
“The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time”
with a partner
Booktalking Do’s
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Know your audience
Include a variety of titles
READ the books!
Take notes
Outline your talk
Planning the Talk
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Start with a “grabber”
Include a narrative arc
End with a cliff-hanger
Borrow shamelessly from
– reviews
– dust jackets
– colleagues
How long should a
booktalk be?
Finding Booktalking
Resources
• Bibliography
• Webliography
Selecting Appropriate Titles
• Are you booktalking fiction or
nonfiction?
• Who is your audience?
• Is your program thematic?
• Are there curriculum connections?
Venues and Formats
• Where will you booktalk?
– The library
– A classroom
– In the community
• Formats
– Bare bones
– Bells & whistles
– Interactive
Booktalk Techniques
• Pace yourself
– Don’t rush
– Pause for dramatic effect (& laughs!)
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Props? If you must . . .
Use visuals
Take advantage of technology
Practice, practice, practice
Using Props and Visuals
• Use props sparingly
– And only when appropriate
• Be sure the audience can see visuals
– Transparencies
– PowerPoint slides
Booktalking Issues to Consider
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About the author?
Writing word for word?
Reading from the book?
Audience participation?
How many books?
How long, o Lord?
Techniques for Reading Aloud
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When to read aloud
Be prepared
Don’t rush
Don’t mumble
Enjoy yourself
– But don’t ham it up!
Booktalk Don’ts
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Booktalk books you haven’t read
Include books you dislike
Read your booktalks
Give away the ending
Mumble
Let them smell your fear
Bore your audience (less is more)
Exercise #2
Revise Your Booktalk Using the Booktalk
Planning Template
At the Booktalk
• Bring a handout
• Have the books available
• Prepare a few extras . . .
Nonfiction Trends
• Narrative style
• High visual content
• Graphic novels
• Novels in verse
Exercise #3
Use Your Booktalk Template
to Plan a 60-second
Nonfiction Booktalk
Booktalking Nonfiction
• High interest subjects
– Biography
– Autobiography/memoirs
– History
– Adventure
– Pop culture
– The “ew-gross!” factor
Nonfiction Techniques
• Virtually same as fiction
• Make curriculum connections
• Don’t forget the visual
– Use pictures as a hook
Take Advantage of Technology
• Audiobooks
• Websites
– Author sites
– Publisher sites
– Movie tie-ins
Doing a Podcast
• What are podcasts?
• Booktalking vs. talking about books
• The Infopeople experience
How can booktalks be used in
library programming?
Exercise #4
Fill in a
Planning for Using Booktalks in
Library Programming
Template
Summary and Review
• Final thoughts
In a time of drastic change, it is the
learners who inherit the future. The
learned find themselves equipped to
live in a world that no longer exists.
-—Eric Hoffer quoted in Vanguard Management (Quoted by
Warren Bennis in “On Becoming a Leader.” Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1989