Relationship Fiction and Romance are two of the sub-genres that exist under the umbrella of the Emotions Genres. These novels strive to evoke emotions through their intricate use of story line, tone, and characterization. The emotions that these novels evoke can range from heart-stopping fear to heartfelt love and everything in between. Unfortunately, many literary professionals push these genres to the side and treat them as "fluff" that does not have merit or deserve their time and attention. However, these genres have an importance to the library and its patrons and must be treated with the respect it deserves. Librarians can promote the value of these genres through the implementation of innovative programming, displays, reader's advisory lists, and treating the collection with as much respect as they do for other genres.
Before deciding how librarians can promote Romance and Relationship Fiction novels, it is important to consider their literary worth. First and foremost, these novels are loved by readers and librarians need to recognize the benefits of leisure reading to our patrons. Leisure reading can help to build literacy, connect patrons socially, and excite the imagination. The publishing industry recognizes reader’s love of Romance and Relationship Fiction and continue to publish works in these genres to appease readers. In 2016, the Romance genre made up approximately 23% of the overall U.S. market, coming second behind General Fiction and approximately 9 billion books in these genres are sold every year. The sheer volume of Romance and Relationship Fiction novels that are sold in the U.S. and globally indicates that this genre is important to patrons and that we, as librarians, should respond accordingly.
So how do librarians work to promote these genres? The most important action that librarians take is to give titles in the Romance and Relationship Fiction genres full cataloging. Too often, libraries don’t take the time to fully catalog these titles and, instead, treat them as an “honor collection” or giveaways. If librarians aren’t taking the time to catalog these titles, it is showing patrons that their preferences aren’t important and undervalues the collection. Librarians can also create subtle programming and non-traditional displays to promote titles in these genres. Taking the time to draw reader attention to the collection and building connections to current preferences through integrated advisory can entice new readers to the Romance and Relationship Fiction genres, while showing current readers of these genres that the collection is worth the library’s time and attention, giving more value to the collection.
Before deciding how librarians can promote Romance and Relationship Fiction novels, it is important to consider their literary worth. First and foremost, these novels are loved by readers and librarians need to recognize the benefits of leisure reading to our patrons. Leisure reading can help to build literacy, connect patrons socially, and excite the imagination. The publishing industry recognizes reader’s love of Romance and Relationship Fiction and continue to publish works in these genres to appease readers. In 2016, the Romance genre made up approximately 23% of the overall U.S. market, coming second behind General Fiction and approximately 9 billion books in these genres are sold every year. The sheer volume of Romance and Relationship Fiction novels that are sold in the U.S. and globally indicates that this genre is important to patrons and that we, as librarians, should respond accordingly.
So how do librarians work to promote these genres? The most important action that librarians take is to give titles in the Romance and Relationship Fiction genres full cataloging. Too often, libraries don’t take the time to fully catalog these titles and, instead, treat them as an “honor collection” or giveaways. If librarians aren’t taking the time to catalog these titles, it is showing patrons that their preferences aren’t important and undervalues the collection. Librarians can also create subtle programming and non-traditional displays to promote titles in these genres. Taking the time to draw reader attention to the collection and building connections to current preferences through integrated advisory can entice new readers to the Romance and Relationship Fiction genres, while showing current readers of these genres that the collection is worth the library’s time and attention, giving more value to the collection.
I love that you point out the importance of romance and relationship fiction as a way to promote literacy and enjoyment. It's important to judge a book not just by content, but by the enjoyment it brings to it's readers. Great job! Sounds like a very interesting paper!
ReplyDeleteI know that I have judged these books harshly in the past- mostly because they do not tend to fit my idea of a good read- though I can see why other people like them. For me, there is a formulaic predictability that is hard to get around, and similar to those that exist in other genres where the good guy always wins. It does not make them bad books- not at all but gosh, it can make them hard to provide RA for. I do think you make a great point though about not letting our prejudices get in the way of good cataloging as a start. That, in combination with an open mind can go a long way.
ReplyDeleteI love this topic- you're right and you should say it! I also want to add on- how many titles (books, movies, tv shows, etc.) in other genres have a love story component? If romance is a "bad"/"lesser" genre, why do all these other genres still include it? You could maybe use this in a productive way to integrate romance with other genres (as opposed to me just complaining about it). It's so tiring to see people put down romance and list tons of titles that they love that still heavily feature a romance element. Romance is for everyone! We should embrace the sap!
ReplyDeleteI think you make some really good points! I especially agree with you that books in the Romance genre deserve full cataloging just like books from other genres in a library's collection. I used to be a cataloger in a public library, and working in that role taught me just how important cataloging really is (if a book isn't cataloged well, its discoverability in the catalog will not be very good, and that will decrease the chances that patrons will find it when they search for what they want). Cataloging Romance novels fully (including subject headings in particular) gives patrons a better chance of finding the books that match their interests by subject, geography, etc., so I agree with you that it's really important!
ReplyDeleteI love Susan's point - "If romance is a "bad"/"lesser" genre, why do all these other genres still include it?" It's an element to being human. Of course, why wouldn't it naturally exist?
ReplyDeleteI agree that books in the romance genre need and deserve proper cataloguing as other genres do. Many of these are swept up into the Nora Roberts category of weekly romances, but that just simply isn't the case. Great idea for a paper!
Sara
Additionally, I really adore how pink and vivid your blog is!
Deletecomments noted - the paper's grade can be found on canvas
ReplyDelete