Robin’s work has helped to inform my perspectives on librarianship and advocacy. You should 100% give her a follow over on her Twitter, @Tuphlos. She has a BA in English from Monmouth College, an MA in English from Indiana State University, an MS in Library Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a JD from Indiana University School of Law.
I reached out to her because I wanted to know more about some of the work she’s done training fellow library staff about the romance genre. Specifically, I wanted to know about her presentation, Whole Lotta Love, the training in romance readers’ advisory she facilitated for Whatcom County Library staff. Since having an informed staff is a major step in creating a more romance-friendly library, I wanted to know more about how an expert addresses the topic with colleagues at her institution.
In her presentation, she gives staff a crash-course to the genre. She defines what a romance novel is, describes subgenres and tropes, and informs staff of the role that book covers can have in assisting librarians and readers identify subgenres. She identifies important trends in the genre, how the subgenres have evolved and diversified, and gives resources for continuing education if librarians want to know more. Robin saw a gap in information and created the resource herself. It’s inspired me to create something similar for the staff at my public library before the bananas of summer reading begins!