As librarians, we
have a mission to expose our community to a variety of books, authors, and
subject matter. If we were to separate subject matter, specifically Urban Fiction
and GBLTQ books, then we would be doing a disservice to our community. This
separation would insinuate that those reading these subjects are “other” and do
not fit in with the general fiction. It may also keep new readers of these
genres from discovering the great titles. The library should work to serve all
the community and therefore, should include all genres within the general
fiction section of the library alphabetically, by author last name. Genres may
be denoted by a sticker on the spine, but otherwise included with the other genres
and subject matter.
Separating books
by subject matter, especially Urban Fiction and GLBTQ titles, creates a sense
of “otherness” for those who may want to read these titles and identify with
the characters. The physical separation shows readers that “we’re saying you can
be here, but you can’t be there (Yorio & Ishizuka, 2018).” By separating
the genres, we are showing our patrons that the characters and story lines that
they identify with are different than the majority of people and that they don’t
belong with everyone else. In addition, this “otherness” created by the
separation may cause some readers to avoid the genres with which they identify.
Yorio and Ishizuka (2018) write,
Concerns about students not wanting to be seen going
to the special section, being judged, or revealing something
about themselves they aren’t ready to, can keep a librarian
from separating books with certain characters and themes.
Librarians need
to be concerned about how the physical locations of their books can cause some
readers to avoid a topic that they are interested in. Since the librarian strives
to meet their community needs, by creating this sense of “otherness”,
librarians are in fact doing the opposite. To avoid ostracizing some patrons, librarians
should include these genres within the general fiction collection.
Separating genres,
especially in the case of Urban Fiction, minimizes the amount of exposure that
title will have because people have to seek out these works, they can’t just stumble
upon it. One of the beautiful things about exploring the general fiction
section in a library is that there is a variety of titles, authors, genres, and
subject matter to choose from. I have on many occasions gone into the library
looking for one things, browsed the stacks, and came home with books that I had
not even considered before seeing them. If we separate the books by genre,
especially controversial ones, then we are not encouraging our patrons to
discover new books, as well as treating those who already read these titles as “other”
as discussed earlier. Author N. K. Jemisin expresses in a blog post that she
does NOT want her books on the African American shelf... she views this as an
insult to her and her readers as this practice indicates that the practice of
separating is an insult to her ability as a writer and the readers ability to
enjoy and appreciate diverse books (2010).
Finally, the act of separating these genres would be an extensive increase in library staff’s workload. Not just the act of physically moving the books (which won’t take long), but the need to identify whether a book is truly Urban Fiction, GLBTQ, or another genre would be extremely difficult. This is mainly since many books today cross genres and cannot be labeled as one thing. Wyatt and Saricks (2019) write, “Genre blend and overlap, making strict divisions difficult to delineate (p. xvi).” Since genre is such as flowing classification, librarians would have to make the decisions as to which section of the library that the book belongs. If the librarian chooses a genre that is separated, then only reader of those genres will enjoy the book, and if they choose the general collection, those who seek only the separated genres will miss out. By including all of the fiction titles in the same collection, librarians are eliminating subjective cataloging and exposing more library patrons to a variety of titles. As Readers Advisors, the librarians should have some working knowledge of the different genres to better help those who seek out a specific genre, but they do not need to be the ones making the decisions about which titles patrons are exposed to.
Resources:
Jemisin, N.K.
(2010). Don’t put my book in the African American section. Retrieved from
http://nkjemisin.com/2010/05/dont-put-my-book-in-the-african-american-section/
Wyatt, N. &
Saricks, J. (2019). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction: Third
edition. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions.
Yorio, K. & Ishizuka, K. (2018), Shelving debate: To
separate or integrate? Retrieved from https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=shelving-debate-separate-or-integrate
Shelby, you referred to the problem in a better way when you said it creates a sense of "other," whether that's an other that is good or bad. Other by itself is a problem since, as you said, it separates us from each other. In thinking of the libraries I know, their collections don't move much and I wonder how much the location does affect those genres. For example, if westerns are always way in the back, is that making it okay that they're back there all the time and therefore an "other"? I know it's hard to move collections around, but I also think rotating things might work every once in a while to make sure certain genres get "their time in the sun," especially in a lot of the older libraries that are set up with just long stacks.
ReplyDelete"Subjective cataloging" another term for bias really. I like that term because that's exactly what happens when libraries and patrons categorize novels. Even with the Library of Congress and SCIC labels, there always some kind of bias. It looks like many of us are against separating these novels from the rest of the fiction literature. And for the majority of us, the 'best' solution seems to be placing genre labels/ stickers on the spine, along with having pull out displays.
ReplyDeleteAmazing point that people have to purposefully seek out separated categories- I hadn't considered that at all, but it's so true! You say early on that genres can be denoted by a sticker sometimes- would you consider adding stickers for these "genres"? (I put "" because any genre can have LGBT+ characters or authors) I don't think I would, since stickers/labels can still lead to readers making snap judgments, but I'd love to know what you think! Awesome post- you made so many excellent points here!
ReplyDeleteYour response is full of so many excellent points! Excellent job baking up your beliefs with quotes and resources. There is no one size fits all approach and you do an excellent job stating your beliefs. Full points!
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