Memories on a Shelf (Week 16 Prompt)

My reading swing, moved to my current home from
my parents home in Spencer, IN.

My early youth was spent in the barn with Wilbur and Charlotte, on the prairie with Ma, Pa, Mary and Carrie, and in a boxcar with a family of mystery-solving orphans.  My teen years found me commiserating with Margaret, and hanging out in a MicMac Indian burial ground that had been transformed into a Pet Sematary. The pages of the few books I owned became tattered and their covers fell off.  I spent a lot of time at the local library, and the best time of year for me was when the Scholastic Books fair came to school. I read for the fun of it and the love of it, and I couldn’t read enough.

I haven’t really thought much about how reading and books have changed for me, but reflecting back on my favorites as a child and some of my current favorites, I realize that my reading preferences haven’t changed much, they’ve just matured a little. I still adore books about children and animals, I love historical fiction (of any age level), and I still like books that are a little “out there,” but more along the lines of Kurt Vonnegut rather than Stephen King. I still read for fun. I still can’t get enough. 

Sadly, I rarely repeatedly read books that I currently own – but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's because there are so many good books out there to read, in so many formats, and life is short!! I am not picky about how I read books. Give it to me as an eBook, an audiobook, in print, even a pdf. In my youth, my reading was limited to what I owned, and what the school and local public libraries held in their collections. Now, with a vast number of books available to me, and numerable ways to get them, I take advantage of it all. 

If someone were to write a book on the future of books, it would fall under the “mystery” genre. No one knows! It's fair to say that digital media is changing the reading game and the future of books. When I was a child/teen, the Internet was just being conceived and reading a book on a phone wasn’t anything I could have fathomed. The closest thing I had to “digital media” was when I used my index finger to dial a number on our rotary phone to listen to the local library’s recorded story time. The audio books in my day were read-along Disney books that came with a 45RPM vinyl record. It sounds crazy to say but, somewhere in the future, whether it’s 20 or 50 years, I believe that eBooks will out-publish and outsell hard copies. I know that as a librarian, this borders on blasphemy, but at one point, someone thought that songs in mp3 form would never outsell CDs. My library discontinued CDs several years ago.

So, is digital media the only way of the future? I can't completely accept this theory. Why? Because I believe that we overestimate the longevity of digital media. We seem to fail to understand (or ignore the fact) that even digital media is not guaranteed to last forever. Computers crash. Hackers steal and scramble data. Backups are accidentally destroyed. Flash drives are damaged. Zombies may take over the world. For these reasons (okay, maybe not the Zombies), I don’t believe that books in print will ever completely go away. We NEED them. They are real, tangible. They keep our history whether in fact or in subject matter. And besides, we still like to line our walls with them. We still like to fall asleep with a book our chest. We like to read them, and pass them on to our friends and family. We hand down books as heirlooms, missing covers and all. We still love the feel, smell and look of a book. Books aren't just stories; they are memories on the shelf - of when you read it (it was a humid day, your boyfriend had just broken up with you, and you could barely see the pages for the tears), who you read it with (you and your BFF shrieked together when that evil cat came back to life), why you read it (because your English teacher made you and now you love her for it.) 

You always hear about people hugging books to their chests. No one ever hugs a Kindle. 

The last paragraph of Ursula K. Le Guin’s article “Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading” really spoke to my heart. She says,

The book itself is a curious artifact, not showy in its technology but complex and extremely efficient: a really neat little device, compact, often very pleasant to look at and handle, that can last decades, even centuries. It doesn’t have to be plugged in, activated, or performed by a machine; all it needs is light, a human eye, and a human mind.

My reading swing - Spencer, IN
circa 1980.

While I am a fan of eBooks and moving forward with the times, Le Guin's words made me want to advocate strongly for books in print to carry forward well into the future and beyond. I want to know that 20 or more years from now, maybe another eight year-old girl will be sitting in the shade on the swing that her dad made for her in the walnut tree out back, lost in a tattered, well-loved copy of “Charlotte’s Web.” That's my memory on a shelf. I'd like to keep it there for the next person. 

My original copy given to me by my parents for Christmas in 1979.

READ ALL THE BOOKS!

Today's question is What do you think are the best ways to market your library's fiction collection? Name and describe three ways you do or would like to market your library or your future library's fiction. These can be tools, programs, services, displays - anything that you see as getting the word out.

Thanks to a staff person with a passion for readers’ advisory, the Brownsburg Public Library (where I presently work) already has a number of tools that assist in marketing our fiction (and non-fiction in some cases) collection.

Here is what we currently have in place:

·       At the front/middle of the fiction stacks we have an iPad that is set to our Novelist screen. Patrons can search for read-alikes or for books based on genre, appeal terms, etc.

·       Beside the iPad is a spinning rack with genre and read-alike bookmarks. These are updated every few years.

·       Each week a Wowbrary newsletter is sent to patrons (who have opted to receive it) with a listing of the newest additions to our collections.

In addition to these tools, I might add the following:

·       I am intrigued by Saricks’ (2005) idea of  “Good Books You May Have Missed” book truck. Keeping it near the front of the library is the ideal location because it’s near the Information Services desk so patrons would be able to ask questions about the books or discuss them. Also, it is near the indoor return slot, so for anyone who is running short on time, this gives them the opportunity to grab and go. It also gets those forgotten books back into the hands of the patrons!!

·       While we do have the bookmarks, I would like to add annotated book lists. The bookmarks are a good starting point, but as Saricks (2005) states, “…it is often impossible to tell anything about a work of fiction solely from its title.” Also, the annotated book lists “…provide some of the benefits of readers’ advisory to patrons who feel uncomfortable talking with staff about their reading interests” (Saricks, 2005).

·       Our website could really use a makeover (IMO), and one thing that could definitely be added is an online RA service. I believe that an online readers’ advisory form would benefit both the library and our patrons. Burke & Strothman (2015) list several advantages to the online RA form, including: patron privacy and convenience, low-pressure service, more deliberate and precise feedback, making patrons aware that a RA service in the library exists, and promoting the contents of the library’s collections. In researching online RA forms, I located an excellent RA form on the Williamsburg Regional Library website, titled “Looking for a Good Book.” It includes sections on genres and formats, the patron’s reading history, characters, setting, peeves and pleasures (appeal and repel terms), content, length, tone/style/mood, and length (Williamsburg, n.d.)

REFERENCES

Burke, S. K., & Strothmann, M. (2015). Adult Readers' Advisory Services through Public Library Websites. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(2), 132-143. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database

Photo Credit: http://www.briansarnacki.com/read-all-the-books/

Saricks, J. (2005) Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160

Williamsburg Regional Library. (n.d.). Looking for a Good Book. Retrieved April 20, 2018, from https://www.wrl.org/books-and-reading/adults/looking-good-book

Prompt 14: Well, Isn't That Special?

Scenario: You are part of the collection management committee of your library, You must decide whether or not to separate LGBTQ fiction and African American Fiction from the general collection to their own special places. 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.

When I read this prompt for the first time, my knee jerk reaction was NO. We are not creating a special space for these books. We don’t separate books based on any other ethnicity, or on sexual orientation. Presently, our library doesn’t even separate Christian fiction from the rest of the collection. But then I read the assigned readings and started digging around on ALA – and I had somewhat of a paradigm shift in my thinking. So, pulling together what I’ve learned, and knowing what I know about the patrons in our library, here is what I would do, and why:

I would not separate out GLBT items. Why?

1)   Some patrons aren’t ready.
While I would love for patrons interested in these types of books to be able to walk into the library and peruse a section just for them, the library must consider that not every person looking for these materials would be comfortable in approaching a “GLBT” section. “In any community, there are GLBT persons who are not ready to be recognized as such…” (American Library Association, 2015).

2)   The filtering responsibility lies with the parent.
I understand that some parents are ALSO not comfortable with the possibility that their child may inadvertently pick up a book with a LGBTQ storyline. As always, it is ultimately the parent’s duty to review what their child is reading.

I would not create a separate section for books by all African American authors, but would add a “Street Lit” shelf to the YA section. Why?

1)   Teens are already reading street lit, and it is serving them well.

In “Urban Grit,” Megan Honig (2011) lists several reasons why street lit works for teens, including “because works in the genre are meeting their emotional, social, or developmental needs.” They also read these books for entertainment, identity affirmation, engagement at a safe distance, to gain a new perspective, and for a risk-free thrill (Honig, 2011). With all of these appeals to teens, street lit may fuel their reading fire, and anytime a teen picks up a book, instead of engaging in social media drivel, is a win.

2)   At first glance, to separate all books written by African American authors DOES feel like we are stepping back in time 60+ years, so before I would create this section in the library, I would need to know more about who is requesting it. Are the patrons requesting this change trying to showcase African American authors or are they paranoid that they may accidentally pick up a book by an African American author and actually like it? Two very different reasons – and as our library does not currently have a prevalent African American community, I would definitely need more information regarding the request before making a decision.

3)   Patrons may miss out on some really great books

There are many great African American authors who write books in a number of genres. To pull all of these books into one section, fans of one genre may be missing out. For example, if all of Octavia Butler’s books were pulled into an “African American author” section, a new fan of the science fiction genre may not be exposed to Ms. Butler’s works – especially if they don’t use the catalog and merely shelf browse.

What else can we do?

Collections will continue to evolve with the times. As we have read repeatedly, the key to best serving all patrons is to have a well-rounded collection. Even if certain topics don’t have their own sections, they should easily be located with proper cataloging and subject headings.

For those more sensitive topics, such as GLBT, Thomas (2007) says that if a designated section is not the plan, “A good alternative is creating finding aids – online lists and print handouts (stored with other readers’ advisory materials) that provide both access and privacy.”

Overall, we need to be aware of the needs of our communities, listen to our patrons, and be willing to roll with the changes.

REFERENCES

American Library Association. (2015). Open to All: Serving the GLBT Community in Your Library. Retrieve April 12, 2018, from http://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/professionaltools/160309-glbtrt-open-to-all-toolkit-online.pdf

Honig, M. (2011). Introduction. In Urban Grit: A guide to street lit. Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited

Photo Credit: https://www.lymefreelibrary.org/ (yes, I know this is not APA style - I'm not too worried about it.)

Thomas, D. (2007). A Place On the Shelf. Library Journal (1976), 132(8), 40-3.

But...That's the Kids' Section (Introducing Adults to YA and Graphic Novels)

I have a confession – I’m three years into the MLS program and have one year of adult reference work under my belt – and I do NOT know everything about every section in my library. I don’t even pretend to know. I so rarely visit the Westerns section that it’s easy for me to believe that tumbleweed actually rolls down those aisles.  I will visit the Mystery section for entertainment purposes only – because I like the pun-ny titles (“Lord of the Wings”, “Caught Read-Handed,” “Curiosity Thrilled the Cat” to name a few.) Until recently, I tended to avoid the Graphic Novel/Manga section in the YA section. But one day I was pulling a Manga hold for a patron and I just happened to look through it while walking back to my desk, and the next thing I knew….I was putting MYSELF on hold for the book.  Two weeks later I was reading the Manga version of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” You really should see my sock drawer now. I want to have a party just to show it off.

The question for this week is: How can we as librarians, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels?

The answer to me is as obvious as finding Waldo in a nudist camp.

WE HAVE TO READ IT!!

Even if we don’t want to. Even if we don’t think we’ll like it. Even if that person that you can’t stand reads it and you don’t want to be like THAT person. Even if it’s just a book from that genre here and there. You don’t have to fully commit to knowing the whole collection; you just need to be familiar with it.

What about those adult readers who don’t already read YA and Graphic Novels? There are a lot of ways to introduce adults to these genres. One way is by suggesting a YA book similar to an adult book they have read/are reading. If a patron indicates that he/she really liked “Me Before You,” I might suggest “The Fault in Our Stars.” Both books are character-driven and issue-oriented with moving tones and an element of romance. And you don't even really need to tell them that it's a YA novel - it's just a novel. I understand the need to classify everything - but really - why can't we all just get along?

The same is true for Graphic Novels. I might suggest to someone toting around “Jane Eyre” that they check out the Graphic Novel version. I doubt many adult novel readers know that Graphic Novels exist for many of the classics. And even if they want to read the original, they could pick up the Graphic Novel as a companion read. What’s the worst that could happen? They might hate it. OR – a potential whole new genre love affair could blossom like Jane’s love for Mr. Rochester. A display of side-by-side classics with their Manga versions would be a GREAT way to intermingle these two genres.

Writing this, I realize that I have homework to do. I really do need to read more Graphic Novels – and I guess I’m going to have to saddle up and head on over to the Westerns section. If I’m going to serve ALL patrons, I need to be familiar with ALL genres. Like it or not, partner – it’s our job as librarians to know the collections to ensure that each patron leaves the library on a happy trail.

Photo Credit: http://www.bang2write.com/2012/05/quick-question-graphic-novels-contracts.html