Week 14 Prompt

Sometimes to remain impartial, we need to take a stance. A little one, but nonetheless a stance in order to preserve the nature of the library as an unbiased entity. I've found that many librarians first respond to this sort of questions with a slight cringe, and then a smile, because they know it is a loaded topic with a loaded question, and a simply answer is not in the works, but rather an appropriately loaded answer. In my experience, it's in the library's best interest to do their part as librarians and provide to the community that it caters to.

For example, the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana has several branches. Some are far east of the county where most of our Amish and farming communities are. Others are deep downtown where some of our more low-income families live. Others are far west in the tall bushes of the well-off, high-income earners. We have a branch for virtually every pocket of Allen County, which also means we also have a library with a different "flavor" than the last at each location. Sort of like a theme, but less like a party and more like a (mostly) quiet silent-reading club with a subtle shift in demographic depending on the branch. As an employee of our great library, I had the opportunity to visit all the branches over a course of five weeks. In two out of these thirteen locations, "urban fiction" was featured on its own separate display. Now, in this part of the city, I understood that this is the most popular type of media that gets checked out, so it makes sense for it to be at the forefront. Just like how "inspirational/religious fiction" is on display at the forefront at our farmer-friendly branch.

Now, that doesn't mean that these titles have a change in the Dewey Decimal System. We organize things as they natural befit this longstanding system and shelve them accordingly, sometimes separating them into their wider genres (science fiction, westerns, romance, fantasy, thrillers) by author. In a larger library, this makes sense, as seeing Nora Roberts right next to Bram Stoker might look a little bit weird when you're simply browsing for a general genre. For the sake of simplicity of search, some of these not-really-genres, like urban fiction or LGBTQ+ fiction, can be featured if the community demands it by popularity. However, I don't think hiding it away from its kin (genre-kin, that is) is necessary, nor is it okay to separate it from where it should technically be. Here are my reasonings why.

1. The true genre takes the forefront.
Simply because I am a big fan of organization, I think that the broad-sweeping genre and author system most libraries use lately should be our foundation of organization. Should we begin to separate these genres, I wonder if, in the future, we might separate other fiction based on vegan protagonists or not-too-much-gore-but-a-good-amount-of-gore horror fiction. It seems like the creation of these subcategories for these "special genres" may open the doors to more organization problems in the future.

I know many of my classmates have brought up the good point that some departments or small libraries will give a helpful sticker on the front of the book that describes it as a certain type of "special genre", like urban fiction, and that seems doable, too. I guess it could depend on the size of the entity that is serving the public, too.

2. Separating these "special genres" leaves the suggestion open that they are superior or inferior to the rest of its greater genre.
Seeing something other than a display set aside and placed in its own area begs the question of - "Why is that over there?" It creates an invisible barrier that I think we don't need. I am still in favor of featuring these titles, especially in communities where they might be more popular, but to be regularly separated apart from where it really should be in the system seems silly.

3. Highlighting through featured displays becomes meaningless.
This one's a little funny, and let me explain why. In my position at the library, I make bi-monthly displays. I try to get a little something for everyone, even seasonal if I can help it. Silly displays like "Thinky Movies for Thinky People" if you're looking for heavy movies with deep plots, or more serious displays like "Black History Through Film", which mostly features prominent members of black history in America through docudramas and movies. These require search through several of our genres and selections and finding them takes some effort, turns into a sort of scavenger hunt. The effort is done by us on behalf of the patron - we have curated a selection for them to try out based on the highlighted display. When I created our "musicals" display, it was quite easy.

I literally walked over to our "musicals" section, picked up thirty cases, and transported them to the display twenty steps away. And that was it.

No effort. No curation. I just walked a genre we've already separated into a sub-genre of comedies and kids films to another part of the department. Barely any more materials were checked out with the movie than if they'd stayed in their rightful places those two weeks.

So, if ,say, LGBTQ+ fiction were to be separated into its own category on a permanent basis instead of being incorporated into the general collection, what makes the highlight of its prominent figures so special if I just move the display from one place to another? That seems silly to me. We have horror displays that try to capture the essence of a film - like "monster flicks", for not all horror films have actual monsters, so we feature those apart from the rest in a separate display.

There is a lot to think about, a lot to consider, while still keeping in mind what makes everyone happy and content with their library. I can only hope that remaining professional and unbiased is enough to keep everything orderly - and make sure everyone's interests feel appreciated and acknowledged.