Ann Bouricius, author of The Romance Readers’ Advisory, is a children’s librarian with the Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Library System and an author of several published romances. Being a practitioner in both professions, Bouricius is well qualified to give advice and guidance to public librarians dealing with romance collections and romance readers.
The main text consists of seven chapters and can be roughly divided into two parts. Chapters 1‐3 describe various types of books in the romance genre, introduce the true and real‐life romance writers and analyse the characteristics of romance readers. Chapters 4‐7 deal with a few practical issues related to romances in a real library setting: how to develop a collection of romances, how to catalogue romances, and how to give advice to romance readers. The book also contains ten useful appendices related to the topics under discussion.
Bouricius is a strong advocate of romance and romance reading. She suggests that public libraries should attach greater importance to romances. In her view romances are not about sex but rather about the development of a relationship between hero and heroine. Romances are not all alike – there are many different types and subdivisions in the romance genre. Therefore, Bouricius maintains that librarians should “have a professional responsibility to our library users to know what makes a romance a romance”. “Don’t underestimate the power of romance for your patron”, Bouricius advises her fellow librarians. Contrary to stereotype, romance readers are intelligent and loyal patrons of libraries, and they should be treated accordingly.
In order to serve romance readers better, Bouricius suggests that public libraries should attach greater importance to romances and romance readers’ advisory service. Libraries should “go about selecting, ordering, cataloging, processing, and suggesting romances as you would titles in any other genre”. In other words, libraries must use the same standards they use when working with the rest of their collections. “To do less is to cheat the taxpayer and also the romance reading patron”.
Bouricius’ advocacy of romance and romance reading is both powerful and persuasive. Her advice and suggestions for libraries and librarians are both practicable and helpful. Though the book is a little weak in scholarly theories and her suggestions are very much based on her personal experience, it is still worthwhile reading for managers, cataloguers, acquisitions and reference librarians of most public libraries.
