Week 14th Prompt Response
Week 14 Prompt
As part of the collection management committee of my local library (which as a location/branch manager I kinda am), I believe there is a good reason to consider an "and" rather than "or" solution. First let me say I think the Orange City Public Library was wise to consider including more library personnel on their selection committee. The reason in the article was "in response to concern from the community over individual librarians pushing an agenda" (Siouxcityjournal.com, 2018). Sometimes, if we are not careful our selection committee scope can become too narrow. I think it is good to have a diverse selection committee to assure the collection's breadth and depth.
I know of a library that has it's GBLTQ fiction for children in a special collection for "diverse families". I think this can be good for families who are looking for this as a resource and don't want to have to look through the entire collection, or roam the shelves to find what they are looking for. The location I manage is known in our system and our community as having a strong Urban Fiction collection. When I came, I noticed several titles had a spine label that read "African American" - but not all of the titles. What I later discovered (when I asked the current Collection Manager) is that at sometime in the past it was considered a good thing, people were asking for particular authors/genres and this was the solution. Much like the Mystery, Romance or Sci-Fi spine labels you might find in some libraries. (sorry, I didn't have any at home for the picture). The practice was stopped and the question was asked, "well why aren't there labels for Indigenous American authors, Asian American authors or GBLTQ authors ?"(see where this is going?). I was also told when I was asked about having GBLTQ authors identified that some people considered that not a good thing, because then those books would be readily identified for those looking for censorship opportunities, or individuals may not want to be seen going to this collection if it was segregated (???).
One of the articles mentioned using the BISAC system , my branch is the only one in our system that uses the BISAC system. I'm not sure in this context how that in itself makes a difference though. In summary, 1. I guess I think for the children's collection to have books designated "Diverse Families" as a subsection- would be setting the books apart, but in a good way for the reasons I stated above. On another note for "segregating" books, at this time (for the past few months) in our branch we have a nice size "1000 Books for Black Girls" display of books - a year from, now -6 months from now, they may again be part of the general collection. 2. I believe I would leave the adult collection interspersed rather than segregated. I prefer to see the collection as a whole and highlight certain portions of the collection through displays throughout the year. This has made the staff step up and learn various Urban Fiction authors and publishers , so they are prepared when customers have requests. I also agree with the thought that separation "disrupts the serendipitous discovery" of other authors and books. In a 2006 Reference & Users Services Quarterly article, Editor Barry Trot states,
"When fiction collections are separated out into specialized subcollections , we are trying to create a library that is easy for readers of genre fiction to use. But at the same, we may also be creating a library in which readers can simply ignore parts of the collection because they are labeled science fiction, fantasy, or mystery. As readers' advisors, this should give us pause because our goal is to make connections between readers and books and not to artificially wall off parts of the collection. " (Trott, 2006)
Trott, Barry, Novak, Vicki. (2006). https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/article/viewFile/2993/3091;A
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/03/21/library-change-lgbtq-content-grouping-change-orange-city-iowa/445970002/
As part of the collection management committee of my local library (which as a location/branch manager I kinda am), I believe there is a good reason to consider an "and" rather than "or" solution. First let me say I think the Orange City Public Library was wise to consider including more library personnel on their selection committee. The reason in the article was "in response to concern from the community over individual librarians pushing an agenda" (Siouxcityjournal.com, 2018). Sometimes, if we are not careful our selection committee scope can become too narrow. I think it is good to have a diverse selection committee to assure the collection's breadth and depth.
I know of a library that has it's GBLTQ fiction for children in a special collection for "diverse families". I think this can be good for families who are looking for this as a resource and don't want to have to look through the entire collection, or roam the shelves to find what they are looking for. The location I manage is known in our system and our community as having a strong Urban Fiction collection. When I came, I noticed several titles had a spine label that read "African American" - but not all of the titles. What I later discovered (when I asked the current Collection Manager) is that at sometime in the past it was considered a good thing, people were asking for particular authors/genres and this was the solution. Much like the Mystery, Romance or Sci-Fi spine labels you might find in some libraries. (sorry, I didn't have any at home for the picture). The practice was stopped and the question was asked, "well why aren't there labels for Indigenous American authors, Asian American authors or GBLTQ authors ?"(see where this is going?). I was also told when I was asked about having GBLTQ authors identified that some people considered that not a good thing, because then those books would be readily identified for those looking for censorship opportunities, or individuals may not want to be seen going to this collection if it was segregated (???).
One of the articles mentioned using the BISAC system , my branch is the only one in our system that uses the BISAC system. I'm not sure in this context how that in itself makes a difference though. In summary, 1. I guess I think for the children's collection to have books designated "Diverse Families" as a subsection- would be setting the books apart, but in a good way for the reasons I stated above. On another note for "segregating" books, at this time (for the past few months) in our branch we have a nice size "1000 Books for Black Girls" display of books - a year from, now -6 months from now, they may again be part of the general collection. 2. I believe I would leave the adult collection interspersed rather than segregated. I prefer to see the collection as a whole and highlight certain portions of the collection through displays throughout the year. This has made the staff step up and learn various Urban Fiction authors and publishers , so they are prepared when customers have requests. I also agree with the thought that separation "disrupts the serendipitous discovery" of other authors and books. In a 2006 Reference & Users Services Quarterly article, Editor Barry Trot states,
"When fiction collections are separated out into specialized subcollections , we are trying to create a library that is easy for readers of genre fiction to use. But at the same, we may also be creating a library in which readers can simply ignore parts of the collection because they are labeled science fiction, fantasy, or mystery. As readers' advisors, this should give us pause because our goal is to make connections between readers and books and not to artificially wall off parts of the collection. " (Trott, 2006)
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/03/21/library-change-lgbtq-content-grouping-change-orange-city-iowa/445970002/
I used the same quote by Trott in my response!! I like the label 'Diverse books", but isn't it too broad? What one library or patron would consider 'diverse' another would not. Which book would fall into this category? What about cross genres? Many 'diverse' books can be labeled within several different genres. These are just a few questions to consider.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, right. These section - designated Diverse Families includes not only GBLTQ families, but grandparents raising grandchildren, blended families, foster families. This particular collection only deals with families that aren't our cultures "norm". I agree "diverse" is a very broad label. The library would have to define what that meant for their purpose.
DeleteI think it helps to have a "diverse" collection, and it could be wise to highlight without totally separating, because it could open the eyes to more people who wouldn't necessarily be looking at the collection for this content.
DeleteI like how we do have the committee for this, too, because putting the decision on one person would be the worst. And the fact that the board doesn't make that final decision, but trusts our staff, is another amazingly beneficial thing for our community. :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic response! I love the Trott quote that you used and I love that you really tried to look at it from both angles with the patrons in mind. Full points!
ReplyDelete