Prompt Response: Genre-specific displays

Consider yourself part of the collection management committee of your local library, or a library at which you would like to work. You must decide whether or not to separate GBLTQ fiction and Urban Fiction from the general collection to its own special place. Some patrons have requested this, yet many staff are uncomfortable with the idea - saying it promotes segregation and disrupts serendipitous discovery of an author who might be different from the reader. Do you separate them? Do you separate one and not the other? Why or why not? You must provide at least 3 reasons for or against your decision. Feel free to use outside sources - this is a weighty question that is answered differently in a lot of different libraries.

At my local library, adult fiction is mostly shelved together across various genres.   Currently, the majority of fiction books are shelved together by author last name with graphic novels, large print books, and mass market paperbacks being the exceptions.  Graphic novel shelves are typically set on taller shelves than general fiction to fit the physical height of many of those books and mass market paperback books are set on shorter shelves.  With this in mind, I would say that unless there were physical characteristics of the books that require special shelving considerations, GLBTQ and Urban Fiction books should be collocated among adult fiction. 

Looking at the bigger picture, for smaller public libraries such as the one I describe above, I think the idea of shelving all adult fiction together makes the most sense.  First, more and more books these days cross genre lines.  For a romantic suspense book, should it be shelved with romance or suspense?  Trott and Novak (2006) note that shelving by genre is most effective when multiple copies of a book can be shelved for books that cross genre lines, but that is often cost-prohibitive and space-prohibitive to small libraries. 

Secondly, Trott and Novak (2006) point out the danger of classifying books by genre when some genres have been stigmatized.  A reader who might enjoy a relationship fiction book might hesitate or refuse to check it out if it’s classified under the romance genre because of his or her preconceived notions about what romance entails. 

Thirdly, we have to consider the physical space of the library building.  I have been in libraries where having fiction separated by genre makes sense because the fiction collection is too large for one space and it has to be spread across multiple areas.  This would be a great case for splitting the collection to fit the physical space.  However, when a smaller collection is housed in a large, open space, separating the collection by genres may make a small collection seem even smaller and may point out deficiencies in the collection. 

I think that in the case of smaller libraries, there are other ways to make browsing a combined collection of fiction easier.  Utilizing tools on the library’s website and in the ILS, creating genre-specific displays and handouts, and having a visible readers advisory area can help readers find the materials they are seeking.

References:

Trott, B., & Novak, V. (2006). A House Divided? Two Views on Genre Separation. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 46(2), 33–38.