WEEK SIXTEEN PROMT RESPONSE

Both of our readings this week talk about the culture of reading and the future of the book. So I have two questions for you as readers, pulling on your own experiences and all of the readings we have done over the semester: First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically? Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing? This is a very free-form question, feel free to wildly extrapolate or calmly state facts, as suits your mood!

 First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?

As a child, reading was my main source of entertainment and enjoyment. I grew up in a pre-technology era. There were only a few TV stations back then. My parents besides reading the newspaper, they read books every night. I loved to read. Of course, Nancy Drew was my favorite series. I belonged to several book clubs and I could not wait for the summer reading programs at the library. Also, I grew up reading the classics. When I was in high school, we read books like James Joyce’s Ulysses, Antigone, The Iliad, and The Odyssey and Shakspeare. In Latin class, we translated Jason and the Argonauts. We did not have the ‘fluff’ type of books kids read now. 

Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing?

Sadly, I have gotten away from reading books for pleasure. Of course, I devoured the Harry Potter Series loved Anne McCaffrey books and enjoyed Janet Evanovich for fun. But, since I went back to finish college and then on to my Masters, I feel brain dead, plus I am working part-time at the library. I have read so many textbooks and articles, that I am so tired and all I want to do is vegetate when I get home. Unfortunately, Netflix and being able to tape my favorite TV shows is my main source of relaxation and entertainment,  because all I have to do is sit there.

This being said, I think many people can relate to this. We are so busy mentally and physically in our daily lives, when we get home we are in a catatonic state. That is why I took this class. So, I knew I had to read and I now had the choice of reading what I wanted for pleasure too! It was a win/win situation. 

As an observation, while working at the library, there are many children reading books and they seem to be overjoyed to have them. Their parents have instilled a love of reading which is great. But, I do think many young adults who both work, go to school, workout, socialize…do not have the time to read for pleasure. It seems the older crowd or retired people are more into reading. Also, some of the book clubs that I have seen at the library are mostly retired people and it seems more of a social gathering rather than stimulating conversation and thought-provoking interaction. There will always be a need for books whether it is hardcover, audio, ebooks as a source of acquiring knowledge or just for pleasure. I think of reading being interactive only if the reader can relate or if she is being challenged to use her brain. 

But, I question the quality of the books that are being published by said authors. I know the last Janet Evanovich book I read in her Stephanie Plum series I was really disappointed. She needs to end the series. It was like she just keeps cranking them out. As far as publishing, I wonder if they are concerned about quality or just the bottom line $$$?????I do know what I found out is you can self-publish your own material. My friend’s son self-published two of his own original poetry books. That to me is wonderful. So, publishing has evolved and in this case, cuts out the middleman. My main concern is the quality of writing, just like the movies that are made today. It seems that the authors, publishers, movie makers….start out with quality work and then there are all these sequels which fall short of good stuff. Money seems to be more of a priority rather than content……

Sorry…I am not a pessimist by nature….Great books are written by inspired people who want to share their experiences or visions…or have a basic idea with a new twist; we will always enjoy these …but what I do not like is the stories that are retold or rehashed and then are presented in a subpar way which falls short of the mark.

WEEK FIFTEEN PROMPT RESPONSE

What do you think are the best ways to market your library’s fiction collection? Name and describe three ways you do or would like to market your library or your future library’s fiction. These can be tools, programs, services, displays-anything that you see as getting the word out.

I have worked in several of our branches and this is what they do. At our Central branch, because it is so large, the displays are at the entrance in the library in a separate room dedicated to show all new and current popular fiction books by authors or genres, plus all the new other genres for adults and children. Then at the actual fiction section, they have a similar display that patrons see as they enter that area. At the smaller branches, they have displays of all new books and they are divided by genres and the displays are located in a way, that patrons see them as they enter the building. I think this is very effective. I know that is the first place I check out when I go to the library for something new to read by my favorite authors. It is a quick browse and gives me some reference point, plus it gives me some ideas about trying something new to read.

Another great concept is to have staff picks and staff and patrons’ review of materials that they have read and to display the reviews on a current list by the reference desk. Not all people use our website, so to have a hard copy for them to have in hand would be ideal. I know I have read books, because of other peoples’ suggestions and I suggest books that I really like to patrons. People usually will take your advice on the materials you have read. Personal opinions are really valuable, especially when you see the same patrons frequently. I value theirs and the staff’s opinions rather than a professional one who is trying to sell the books.

I reviewed our library’s website. What they have is ideal to advertise new materials. There is a link showing ‘New Arrivals’ and ‘View New Titles’. They have an annotative book list and reviews of all materials online on the library’s website. They also have ‘Staff Picks’ and recently rated books, along with bestsellers. Another neat idea that they have is ‘in case you missed it’ which is great for patrons because there are just too many books to keep up with. Also, on the website, there are patrons and staff reviews of materials which are always current. After reading all the suggestions that Saricks had described, the library system that I belong to uses most of these suggestions to provide the best possible techniques to keep the patrons well informed about library materials on hand. 

I am adding some more that I forgot I had wanted to write about...Atmosphere is very important. It would be nice to have 'comfy' furniture with the book displays nearby to invite patrons to sit and read. Also, the displays could have information letting people know that many of the books have been made into popular movies and they need to read the books to compare the storyline. I know I started to watch A Discovery of Witches and I had to wait for the next episode. I found out it was adapted from the book. I got a copy of the book and it is so much better than the show, which I am still watching to compare the two.

Saricks, J. (2005) Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160.

  

WEEK FOURTEENTH 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 Urban 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. 

This is new to me. So, before I decided to respond one way or another I took a survey among some of our other branches in the library system to see what they do. Central where I work, because of its size, Urban Fiction has its own space, while GBLTQ materials are intermixed with the regular books. Franklin Branch intermingles both of these and there is no separation. First, I thought it had to do with the size of the branch, but when I talked to the branch manager at the West Indy location, she said both the Urban Fiction and the GBLTQ Fiction each has its own separate section. This is a very small branch and I was quite surprised. But, after talking to her, she mentioned the different branches ‘pick their battles.’

I can see both sides of the issue, but it is not ‘one size fits all.’ I am not concerned about the staff. They are there to serve their patrons in the best possible way. I think that it has to do more with the culture and demographics of each location. What needs to be addressed is we are here for our patrons and must provide the materials in such a way to make them available so our patrons feel safe, a ‘no judgment zone’. No one wants to be singled out; there is a way to provide the materials in the best possible light. People need easy access to feel free to peruse their interests, without having to always rely on the reference librarians such as Urban Fiction collection will follow as a grouping like Science Fiction, Mysteries and Westerns materials.

SO, I lucked out and found this wonderful website and it had all the information I needed in support of separating the GBLTQ Fiction.

https://www.slideshare.net/elloyd74/serving-our-glbtq-customers-at-the-library

It mentioned there are 3 barriers. Findability: Patrons are less likely to ask a librarian and catalog subject headings do not make GLBTQ materials easy to find. Browsability: Browers are not likely to find the materials. For example, picture books with GLBTQ content often are cataloged and shelved with Children’s Fiction, Easy Fiction. (In)visibility: You have more GLBTQ customers than you think and the library has more GLBTQ resources than the patrons think we have.

This says it all “having adequate visible GLBTQ Collection is not promoting homosexuality….it is serving our community.”

WEEK THIRTEEN PROMPT

Though this week's group of "genres" all seem very different, they all have in common the fact that many people don't feel that they are legitimate literary choices and libraries shouldn't be spending money on them or promoting them to adults. The common belief is that adults still don't or shouldn't read that stuff. How can we as librarians, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we? I can't wait to read your thoughts on this. Thanks!

Why must there be some type of division imposed by the ‘literary police’ that applaud ‘educational material’ and put down ‘purely, entertainment material’ for readers? What is wrong with some type of escape from reality? As far as YA literature, I could not wait to read all of the Harry Potter and Twilight series. I still think the books are for adults or the ‘kid in us’ who love 'make-believe' and fantasy. I took a Children’s Literature Class several years ago and I got to read many great books that I had missed in between my oldest child’s age group and my youngest. I was introduced to the Giver, The Fault in Our Stars, The Golden Compass and the rest of Philip Pullman’s books. 

As far as graphic novels, when I did the research on this genre, I found it has become very popular among all age group, adults, teens, and young children as a great source of entertainment. It is appealing because the novel is a combination of words and larger than life illustrations which meet the needs of all readers on whatever their reading skills entail.

Graphic novels have the same features as a novel which are a plot, setting, conflict, and characters (Murray, 2017). Over the years, graphic novels have evolved in becoming an essential part of the popular culture, plus an integral aspect of the literary community. Despite the fact that graphic novels have been criticized for aiding to juvenile delinquency, blamed for their portrayal of violence, and been overlooked to claims of poor physical quality, they are now acknowledged as a valuable resource for educators, librarians, and other professionals (Pinkley & Casey, 2103). Graphic novels contain artwork and text; they also have meaningful themes and allow readers of all ages to develop critical thinking, learn visual literacy, and improve comprehension and literary interpretation skills (Pinkley & Casey, 2013).

We need to support our readers no matter what their age or tastes in materials and formats. We need to stay on top of new books, mediums, etc…so we are able to effectively help them and introduce them to the wonderful variety of information we have to offer.

Works Cited

Graphic Novels. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.illustrationhistory.org/genres/graphic-        novels

Murray, C. (2017). Graphic Novel. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from          https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-novel

Pinkley, J. & Casey, K. (2013). Graphic Novels: A Brief History and Overview for Library     Managers. Library Leadership and Managers, 10. Retrieved from            https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/article/viewFile/7018/6233

Tychinski, S. (n.d.) A Brief History of the Graphic Novel. (n.d.). Retrieved from       http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/Home/1/1/20/164?articleID=64513