[Michlib-l] Shelving Adult Fiction by genre, or not

[Andrew Calvetti]

Here at Salem-South Lyon - we had Mystery & Science Fiction/Fantasy separated out - and the rest done by author.

But a few years ago - we merged everything together by author.  I did a poll to see what libraries did - and it was basically 50/50.  It didn't matter what size the library was or where they were located - it was basically preference of the library.  And yes - we have had a handful of patrons upset that they can no longer browse the sections - but the stickers really help - so they can still find big groups of Mystery or Fantasy or whatever they are looking for (except Romance - we don't have a sticker for that)...

Combining them saves room I am told...  But you are always going to have patrons (or employees in my case - it was ME!) resistant to change...  But at the end of the day - it was fine...

ANDREW CALVETTI


________________________________
From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org> on behalf of Lisa Craig via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2024 10:36 AM
To: michlib-l at mcls.org <michlib-l at mcls.org>
Subject: [Michlib-l] Shelving Adult Fiction by genre, or not


Good Morning,

For a long time we have grouped our Adult Fiction books into several major genre areas: General Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction and Westerns. As genres become blurrier and authors move between genres more freely, we are considering combining these genre areas into one large Fiction Area. However, we also believe that many patrons appreciate being able to browse their preferred genre, so enjoy the area as it is configured now.



If you have either consolidated fiction or separated it into genres, how did it go for you? In particular, how did your patrons respond?



Lisa Craig

Collection Development Specialist

Canton Public Library, Canton MI

734.397.0999 x1253

craigl at cantonpl.org<mailto:craigl at cantonpl.org>


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