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Ang's avatar

I do want to just chime and in and say many libraries still employ this kind of person -- the Reader's Advisory staff -- for bespoke recommendations. I was that person at my last library job, and while I was there we started doing limited runs of personalized book boxes (three books + a snack and a craft or a goodie), based on a short survey that patrons filled out. As the staff, we tried REALLY hard to give these patrons books we thought they would love; we wanted them to love what we picked, yeah, but we also wanted them to keep coming back to the library.

Which is essentially what you've said in this piece. In terms of bespoke recommendations though, I think there's an element of feeling special. Of feeling seen. Of feeling like someone has you in mind when choosing something.

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Erin Boyle's avatar

So fascinating! I'm long in the business of internet recommendations, so I feel like I understand pretty well the impulse to recommend both from a "creator's" perspective and a consumer perspective. What I find to be really interesting is how quickly the demand for recommendations balloons beyond what could reasonably be offered by a mere mortal. Once you're a person who offers recommendations online, there's a certain expectation for *everything* you talk about/exist in proximity to, to be a recommendation. Recently someone mentioned to me that they were disappointed in a book recommendation I'd made. Thing was, I hadn't really recommended the book at all, I'd just written a kind of lukewarm quip about it on Instagram stories when I finished it. Over the weekend I went to see Barbie (which I also felt lukewarm about) and I wore a pair of my mom's 15-year-old heels to mark the occasion. When I snapped a picture of me in the heels and shared it in my stories, a dozen people wanted to know what the shoes were and where they could buy them. Of course, I couldn't point to a store and I walked out of the movie theater barefoot cause they hurt my feet so much! I don't recommend those shoes in the same way I don't recommend the ugly saucepan/crappy tri-pod/scratched-up sunglasses I use just cause they happen to be the ones I have! Would that could heartily recommend everything I come across!

Separately, I think there's a really interesting suspension of disbelief on the part of readers (both online and in traditional print media) regarding recommendations. Yes, this person (or this magazine) thinks this is the "cutest little date dress for less than $30," but also the Nordstrom summer sale is on, and they just bumped their affiliate rate for your site, and there are many many dollars at stake. Innnnyway, one of many reasons I've been feeling so much better about diving into a reader-supported model instead!

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