Week 16 Prompt

This week's readings were interesting and thought provoking for me. While I read on my Kindle for pleasure, and computer for work or school, I still am slightly annoyed by doing so. To me there is something soothing about holding a printed book. Nostalgia? Possibly. I also think that even with a Kindle, there is always knowing that I can check my email, go shopping, check Twitter, read the newspaper, etc. on it instead of reading the book. Having a printed book doesn't offer those distractions when it is in my hands. And if I do find myself distracted, well, I have forced myself to stop wasting my time and quit reading it.

The best part of working at a library, to me, are the books. Whether I am selfishly grabbing some for myself, or helping someone find a book, it's always been a main source of enjoyment and satisfaction for me. I have always liked to read, although I started reading like a maniac after I had my first kid. I would go to the library or used bookstore, grab a bunch, then after putting her down for the night - read like a fiend. It was a cheap and easy way to be entertained (we were very young and poor, now I am older and still somewhat poor). It became an ingrained habit and now? I don't know what I would do without books. So regardless of the format, even though I will probably always prefer a physical book, I will keep reading. 

I do see electronic books to be the main way people will read in the future. I have seen it already with my kid's text books. More than half of their books are on their laptops given out by the school with worksheets and tests done online, while the others are physical books - even though most of those assignments are online, too. We have already been informed that the school is putting in another book on the computers for next year. So out of the 7 classes, only two will be in physical form. I do think it makes sense for academics to do most of their work electronically, they do go through a lot of paper! BUT with at least one printed version. It just seems to me that having everything in an electronic format is folly and a ridiculous form of hubris. I also find it a bit odd that someone would say that printed books are more damaging to the planet. I am not saying that they do not, what I find odd is - what these people think happens to old tablets? Not everyone is so environmentally friendly and having computer components that seep poison into a landfill certainly isn't any better than cutting down trees. (If anyone has any facts regarding this one way or another, I would be curious to know.)

However, I do not think that traditional publishing will stop anytime in the near future. The way the publishing industry is intertwined with (or owned by) corporate powerhouses makes it unlikely that they will let it happen anytime soon. There are too many people that will lose out and have an invested stake in traditional publishing. The other issue that Ursula Le Guin mentioned was that if publishing houses keeps expecting huge profits, midlist authors may get cut out and new authors are unlikely to be picked up. These authors are still going to write - they may just have to self-publish. Hopefully, they will pay to have a professional editor because that is part of the problem of many of the books in the self-publishing industry today, and they are gods awful books because of not doing so. Or they may have to do what Sarah Monette had to do as she explains in the second question to get a contract. http://www.mybookishways.com/2014/04/interview-giveaway-katherine-addison-author-of-the-goblin-emperor.html  (It was a great book, btw!)

I thoroughly enjoyed taking this class, have learned a bunch and am now in charge of all the RA work at my branch! Eek! Congratulations and good luck to those of you who are graduating! As this is my first semester I will be seeing some of you in other classes. Have a great summer if you are taking a break!  

Week 15 Prompt

Displays - at our branch my coworker is in charge of a display, and we give suggestions if needed, for both fiction and non-fiction. We don't have one display set aside specifically for random fiction that rotates. But no matter the books that are displayed, it generally circulates well and is a good place to showcase different genres.

We also have a half wall with shelves that holds all the new fiction, including Large Print titles, right next to the general fiction section. These titles stay on for a year, and then are added into the general collection afterwards. (We have a new non-fiction shelf, as well, obviously, by the non-fiction section.) Some patrons go straight to the New Fiction shelf and just take titles from there, whether it's because they have read the older titles or it's exciting because the books are dubbed "new".

Another display we have is the most anticipated, or popular books, that are our 7 Day Books. These books have a paper band marking them as such, so it's very visible. Rather than having them checked out for the "normal" two weeks, these are titles from authors like Patterson, Evanovich, and Steel that may have 50+ or more holds on them. These 7 Day Books cannot have requests put on them, and are not renewable. They have higher fines if overdue, so that determines whether some patrons are willing to possibly be late, or can finish the book within a week. As soon as we check these books in, we put them on the shelf immediately, and they fly off the shelves. Many patrons have holds on these books and they act like they are winning something grand when they can get a 7 Day book and don't have to wait. Depending on the circulation of the 7 Day Books, they will be taken off that shelf within 6 months and added in the general collection.

Booklists - many of our booklists are outdated. I am in the process of updating some of the genre lists, and hope that after the print lists are done, then our webpages will be updated, too. Having booklists in bookmark form, or even a printed half-page or page, where patrons can see and pick one up has been helpful in the past. Even having them at the circ desk, even if not on display, is great for library workers who may blank out when trying to think of an author or title to suggest. When we have bookmarks, they are taken quickly, and many times patrons request for titles that are on them immediately after looking the bookmark over.

Book Clubs and Summer Reading - in our staff meetings the issue of how to get people to read more has been discussed thoroughly. While Book Clubs are great, patrons may not know who is hosting one (if it's not library sponsored), nor may they have the time to go to the meeting. Our library has always had a good turnout for the children's, and even teen, summer reading programs, but I think it would be beneficial to target adults. A librarian from another branch in my system sent this link, and I think it may be helpful to remind the people that make financial decisions that programs like these should be allotted funds, and womanpower to make them happen.

http://www.infotoday.com/mls/apr99/story.htm

Week 14 Prompt

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 African American 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.

No. For one, it doesn't make sense. Not every AAF or GLBTQ is in the same genre. It is ridiculous to put them together when one may be an Urban Fiction and another may be a Fantasy. I saw another student use Jesmin's blog post http://nkjemisin.com/2010/05/dont-put-my-book-in-the-african-american-section/ and I agree. I have read her Inheritance Trilogy and frankly, I didn't think about what color her characters were (or even was aware she was African American, who cares?!), it's not an issue for this genre (fantasy), and shouldn't be stuck next to a contemporary African American coming-of-age story. Having a gay detective protagonist in a mystery title should not be shelved next to a lesbian romance. I don't agree with Zane, who wants to be separated in the AAF section, in that I think that she might find more readers of all colors and genders if she were in general fiction. http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2012/02/where-to-shelve-african-american-authors If she's worried about her readers finding her, well, she's shelved in the Z's.

Secondly, when a patron is at my library perusing the fiction shelves, or non-fiction for that matter, no one hovers over her/him to see what they are looking at. I do not judge them when they bring their materials to the circ desk to check out. I feel like this is truly a personal thing. I may not always like what they are getting from a personal view, but I really don't care as I don't have to waste my time reading it! I don't feel that patrons should have to wave a red flag by going to a section separate from the general fiction. At my branch we don't even separate the romance from general fiction, and when I casually inquired to some romance readers about moving the titles they were more than content that it remains the way it is, even though it was sometimes hard to find. If there is reluctance in moving romance to a new section, I highly doubt any GLBTQ section would get a lot of circulation in my branch if readers like the anonymity of finding their vanilla romances.     

Lastly, I would not create a separate place as I just believe it continues to perpetuate the "they", "us", "them", "our", and "other" mentality which certainly does not help anyone and not how I want my world to be. If I end up at a different library where there is a large community of GLBTQ's, or African Americans, so what? I'd be happy to create stickers and create lists of authors and titles, or even a romance or urban lit section, but it still should be shelved by genre.
      

Week 13 Prompt

One reason this prompt took so long is that I was having a hard time finding Street Lit at my library. I was vaguely aware of this genre but haven't read any of it. I have two requests for titles put in, if only so I can get a better understanding of the appeals even though I have read the assigned readings.

I have read one NA title and have two DNF (did not finish) NA titles I have checked out from my work. I can somewhat understand it's appeals. However, a plot trope or setting that I find unappealing may be reading crack for someone else, and it's best if I just read them for myself to better understand what's making these books all the rage to better help patrons rather than judging them. My library doesn't have many NA titles that I have seen, yet. I also wonder if the catalogers will end up cataloging them in general fiction, and hope they don't stick them in YA. The one title I DNF'd was all about the character getting sexual experience and whatnot and don't think that would be appropriate for the YA section. Considering I wrote a positive review about book where a human has sex with a lizard, it's not the sex part I have an issue with, I just thought it was written badly. I don't think all of NA may be appropriate for my (or anyone else's) 14 year old to read.

It has only been within the last year or so that I have read any graphic novels. My initial reasoning not to read them was because I like to imagine things in my head - I don't want someone else's version of what I envision a character or setting to look like. Then I read a rave review of the Saga series, bought the first one, and loved it. I also realized that I am a dork, because I DO like some visual versions of things. Maybe not more than the original, but I do like the movie versions of The Hobbit, LOTR, the Marvel movies, Pride and Prejudice, etc...So if a patron can actually read one, or of anything in a genre that they have not read, they may find it enlightening. My system does order quite a bit of GN's, for juvenile, YA and adults. 

As far as libraries not spending money on these genres, it doesn't make sense to me. A library shouldn't scoff at purchasing at least a few popular, or award winning, titles in these genres but buy 25 copies of a Patterson title. It is keeping the collection too narrow, and risks turning off some patrons from using the library (I am using my library as an example as to size and what they purchase). One problem that may occur is that if a patron does not ask, or know how to request a title that we may not have for purchase, the library may be unaware of patron interest. Since I do not order books, I have no control over what titles are brought in. I may have some control if I know that some patrons are looking for a particular author/title/genre and can send in requests on their behalf.

RA Matrix

Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the 

World's Best Playwright     

by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

 

Where is the book on the narrative continuum?  Highly fact based.

What is the subject of the book? Shakespeare's plays, the 16th c. in  England, and what little factual information there is about him. 

What type of book is it? Reference.

Appeal

       Pacing: It reads quickly as it presents facts with a lot of humor.

 

       Characters: Shakespeare, his contemporaries, and the characters in his plays.

       Feel of the story: Informative.

       Intent of the Author: To introduce and educate readers about Shakespeare's plays through humor, without being overbearing or overwhelming.

       Focus of the story: Shakespeare and his plays. 

       Does language matter? No, there are only a few quotes of his plays.  

       Is the setting important and well described?  Yes. The authors refer to where the plays were performed and who performed them, where Shakespeare lived and worked, and what life was like in Elizabethan England. 

       Are there details and, if so, of what? Yes. There are many details about who may have been Shakespeare, the Elizabethan era and random facts given throughout the book about his plays.

       Are there sufficient charts and graphic materials? Are they useful and clear? There are some graphics which are useful and educate.

       Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding or experience? Yes. The authors inform the reader about who Shakespeare may have been, what it was like to live in England during his lifetime, the political climate during that period and how those living there would have experienced his plays. The book also discusses what the plays are about, and if they are well-written or not.

List of book sites and publications that may be of interest.