Readers’ Advisory Outside the Box: Using Emotional-Situational Appeal to Connect with Neurodivergent Readers

ABSTRACT: For neurodivergent readers, primarily those with special interests or hyperfixations, the bestseller shelf is not going to appeal to them. Traditional readers’ advisory often focuses on adjacent interests or similar materials, but for those with intense, unflinching interests in ultra-specific topics, the tried-and-true methods of advisory may be less accessible. For neurodivergent patrons, continuity and content are key to productive readers’ advisory sessions, fulfilling that desire for all the knowledge they can accrue on a subject, and it is imperative that library staff employ a more neurodivergent-friendly approach to their recommendation process. This primarily theoretical article introduces the concept of emotional-situational appeal , a term coined by the author that discusses a new method of readers’ advisory that caters to neurodivergent patrons but can be utilized on a wider scale to assist patrons with niche or hard-to-research reading interests. This article also articulates the importance of empathetic library service. Whether it be through the recommendation of a very niche subgenre, pulling several titles about the same historical event, or putting every volume of a single manga series on hold, practicing this method of advisory can encourage neurodivergent patrons to become library superusers.