So it’s Monday morning and you drag yourself in to work wishing it were still the weekend. Here’s our suggestion for the second thing you should do. (Coffee is always Number 1.)
Get yourself ready for the week by using the RAO blog. It will save you tons of time and you’ll feel a lot more in control…promise!
So what do you need to be ready for the week?
1) Check the updated bestseller lists.
That’s easy enough to do, and you probably print them out and post them for your patrons every Monday already. But what you really need is just a quick look at what’s changed since last week.
Instead of doing that grunt work yourself title by title, check the very first section of our RA Run Down published every Sunday evening in preparation for your Monday morning. The first thing we do is tell you what has changed since this week’s bestseller lists were published over the weekend. There it is all set out for you in a few words.
Then of course, we highlight the top bestsellers from various lists on our Most Wanted Mashup. The various bestseller lists track things differently, and we mash up several to give you the most in-demand books, including paperback originals which are tough to separate from reprints.
2) Figure out what new books are coming out this week.
You selected and ordered them months ago, but your patrons may just be hearing about them now due to the laydown publicity, and your mind is on the reviews you’re reading this week. Take a look at our New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer list for not only the popular no-brainer stuff you’ll need to have, but also the noteworthy titles that reviewers and bloggers are buzzing about.
We give you a little preview in the RA Run Down, but the complete list is published as a separate entry…again, brand new on Sunday night so it’s ready for your Monday morning. Here you’ll find a list of the most buzzed about new books to be published in the upcoming seven days. And, just to make it easier in case you missed ordering one, we include the ISBN.
3) Catch up on the news of the book world.
You need to know what your patrons are hearing about, but how do you have the time to keep up on all the newspaper columns, blogs, newsletters, and magazines out there? Not to worry…we’ve done it for you. We scan, scan, scan, over a hundred blogs, magazines, journals, newsletters and other sources every week. In the Monday morning RA Run Down you’ll find handy headlines with links to the news and important RA items from the past week.
So there you have it…a one stop Monday morning update to make you ready for the week before you even finish your first cup of coffee.
Oh, and when you move on to the next thing:
4) Refresh your displays.
You just might find some new ideas in our Under the Radar lists. We have a new one of those every Monday morning too, not to mention our monthly display brainstorming feature that might help you with display ideas since we’ve identified events and ideas related to the upcoming month.
Check back during the week for other helpful posts including reviews of literary blogs, RA tips, reports from conferences, and much more.
But be sure to remember to always take a look each Monday…and maybe you’ll even have time for another cup of coffee.
Thank you so much for the feedback, and please let us know if you think of another feature that would be helpful to you.
I absolutely agree with CarolK. It’s wonderful to have a place to find the latest news in the RA, publishing and book worlds. I spend the whole week going through Monday’s posts. There is so much there! Thanks for your hard work.
Never quite thought of RA Online as my jumpstart to the week but now that you mention it, that’s exactly what it is! Thanks for the tips on how to take best advantage of your site. I really love the news of the book world and always find something of interest in your highlighted headlines.