Resum

This article offers practical advice about how to approach one of the most common tasks in any public library: providing guidance about reading options. The article examines what the terms 'guiding' or 'prescribing' mean and proposes an alternative description of what this task can involve, as well as suggesting strategies for establishing connections with library users to create reader itineraries that go from books in general to literature. The article also considers the in-service training that offers library professionals the academic and personal skills to provide guidance about reading options. Finally, it stresses the importance of the librarian's responsibility when acting as a guide and uses the arguments offered by literary critics, writers and teachers to describe what constitutes good literature.