Need a little help from my friends...collection arrangement

[Stephanie Kellner]

Hi there!  I'm in need of a little help from those who know best...

I'm getting settled into a new library and I'm considering rearranging fiction by genre.  It's a shared space/collection for the Middle School and High School.  My district is investing in a remodel (I'm so lucky!!!  It's going to be such an awesome space when it's done!!!) and I'm doing some heavy (much needed) weeding in preparation.  

So...I have a couple of questions for the group...

1)  While there are some YA books, most of the "older" reader books are adult best sellers.  What do you think of a "Best Sellers" section?  Or should these just be incorporated into YA?

2)  There is a Story Collection...some books I think might see better movement if they weren't under this label.  Has anyone broken their story collection down?  How did you do it?  Incorporate into fiction or nonfiction?  

3)  For those who do shelve their books by genre in the MS/HS library, what sections do you have?  

I think that might be it for now...I think...;-)

Thanks to the collective brain out there!!

[Rebecca Carson]

Hi,

I work at a district level, but am located at a high school media center.  It's great that you are getting a remodel, and hopefully have had input into the layout!  In response to your questions:

1)  You could do a New Arrivals/Bestsellers section or display that has rotating stock as new books come in.  If you have a permanent Bestsellers section, you'd still have to decide how long the individual books remain there -- as long as they are on a bestsellers list, or?  I have done and want to do a more extensive "Didn't they make a movie from this book" display at all of our media centers.  I display new arrivals on top of the stacks.  If putting the bestsellers in one place makes it easier for students (and you) to find books, then definitely consider a permanent section/display.  If they are looking for books by author, then it may make it harder, unless you have duplicates, one in the display and one by author in the fiction section.

2)  I am planning to incorporate my HS (and MS) Story Collection books into the fiction section.  I haven't done so yet, but I think that the story collection section gets very little use because students are looking for a particular author, or are looking in the fiction section for pleasure reading anyway.  Because of this they never see the short stories.  The only problem is if books are shelved in the fiction section then the miscellaneous anthologies go under an editor's name, someone that no one knows.   I think shelving them in nonfiction (e.g. in 808, etc.) although technically "correct" would not be a draw for students looking for fictional stories to read.  Our nonfiction literature section is only used when students are required to find a book for a class, so it wouldn't be a place someone would look for pleasure reading.  I would also be interested in other people's thoughts on this.

3)  I am not ready to shelve by genre. I know that there are passionate proponents on both sides (Dewey/LC vs. genre).  I started out my life in the book world working in trade and college bookstores, but I don't find the bookstore model very easy to locate items.  In fact, it is designed to sell books, just as the grocery store model is designed to sell food by making you walk to the back of the store to get milk and eggs!  Yes, school media centers also need to "sell" books and reading.  But they also need to teach students how to find things.  As students go on to college or out into public libraries, they will have to learn either the Dewey or the Library of Congress system to find books in a library.  Maybe that will change, but it hasn't yet.  As things go more digital, they become more searchable, but without a standard system it also gets more and more confusing.  I am good at finding information, but if something doesn't have the tag/keyword I decide to use, I still have difficulty finding it.  Students tend to get frustrated easily and quit looking much more quickly.  That's my two cents on the topic.   

Whatever you decide, good luck with your new remodeled media center and with your new school year!

 

[Marian Royal Vigil]

Hi Stephanie:

 

I really have to strongly concur with everything Rebecca has said here.  I also am at a district level and don't currently work in a school, but just came out of 9 years in high school library. 

 

Although I hadn't done it yet, integrating my Story Collection into the Fiction section was on my list.  Yes, it does mean those books get shelved under an editor's name, but if you have good access with your online catalog, that's not an insurmountable problem.

 

I also agree that shelving by genre may have immediate :"bookstore" appeal, but will make finding specific items unnecessarily burdensome.  Many books just don't fit neatly into only one genre and, as Rebecca pointed out, the students don't become familiar with the classification systems they will need to know after leaving school.

 

Congratulations on your remodel!  It's always fun to reimagine our spaces.  Good luck!

[Kara Ross]

Hi there!

As someone who worked in a shared middle/high school library for 9 years the only thing I would suggest would think about giving your middle school readers their own nook/area--we did eventually split the MS fiction from the HS fiction because we had a number of community concerns over a fresh into MS student discovering books selected for HS students. This may have been an issue particular to my community but I have heard it discussed at conferences, etc...

We labeled HS fiction Fiction and the MS fiction YA so hopefully there was little stigma for a HS student to wander around the YA section and of course, MS kids were told about the 2 areas and were allowed to check out books from either section.

Have fun! and let us know how it goes.

[Erin Graff]

I'm in kind of the same boat you are now!  The few books I have are all donations and not in very good condition.  They are either too young or too old...I don't plan on putting Dean Koontz in my middle/high school library!  What I've done is pull those books that are too old aside and place them on a shelf for staff in my office.  I'm interested in seeing what other replies you get because I'm feeling very lost with it all!