Before doing the readings for this week, I had never heard of Urban/Street Fiction. I think it’s probably because Street Fiction sounds like the exact opposite of what I’m drawn to as a reader. I don’t like things that are too graphic or disturbing, and it sounds like Street Fiction is very heavy on those things. However, as a future librarian, I need to make sure my own personal reading preferences do not influence the books that are available for library patrons.
I do not think Street Fiction or LGBTQ fiction should be separated from the rest of the collection for the following reasons:
When I visit my local library as a patron, I see all adult fiction books arranged by author last name. There is no special section for Historical Fiction, or for Mysteries, or for Science Fiction. Why then should Street Fiction or LGBTQ fiction be separated from the rest of the books? If these books were separated and put in their own section of the library, I think it sends a message to patrons that these books aren’t of the same caliber as the other fiction books. Like the old Grover song from Sesame Street:
If Street Fiction and/or LGBTQ fiction are in their own separate sections, it might discourage patrons who wish to look at those books, but are afraid of other people looking at them, making fun of them, judging them, etc… I can especially see this happening in a middle or high school library. In an article in School Library Journal, a librarian said she doesn’t separate LGBTQ books so that she “can do my best to provide a non-judgmental environment for ALL of our students to find a book of their liking, without getting sideways glances from their peers.”
As we’ve seen this semester, many authors write books that can be classified in multiple genres. For example, when I annotated a book for the Adventure category, I noted that it could also be classified as Historical Fiction. Since I’m sure the same is true with Street Fiction and/or LGBTQ fiction, it doesn’t make sense to pigeonhole them into just one genre and put them away from the rest of the books. If libraries did that with all of their books, they would need multiple copies so they could put one book in each section. That doesn’t seem very efficient or affordable. Not to mention, readers may miss out on great books because they were shelved elsewhere.
References
Shelving Debate: To Separate or Integrate? by Kara Yorio and Kathy Ishizuka.
https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=shelving-debate-separate-or-integrate
A House Divided? Two Views on Genre Separation by Barry Trott and Vicki Novak.
https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/article/viewFile/2993/3091;A
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I think shelving them separate sets the books up for more harsh judgement and unnecessary prejudice from other readers. These books can be classified so many different ways that when I think about categorizing collections by subject it makes me question how effective it would be. Thank you for the Sesame Street reference. I think it fits perfectly!
Abby
Hi Abby,
DeleteThanks for your comment. I know, I wonder about the effectiveness as well. There are so many books that fit in multiple categories, I imagine it would be a huge headache for staff to try to pick just category for each book if you were setting up a library that way. Also, I think it might get confusing for patrons.
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI had also never heard of Urban Fiction before this class. I know that the word "urban" comes with certain connotations depending on the context, and I agree that separating them out from the rest of the fiction collection could inadvertently label them as "less than."
Hi Nicole,
DeleteThanks for your comment. I'm curious to know if the reason you were also unfamiliar with Urban Fiction is like my reason - because it's not a genre you usually read?
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteYou made a good point that in addition to the judgement separating these sections puts on people, it is also simply not very practical. Most books cross multiple genres and it would be difficult to try to decide which books should go in these sections.
Hi Christina,
DeleteAbsolutely! Then I wonder who in the library would get the final say for books that are classified in multiple genres? The person who has read the book most recently? The person who feels the strongest about their choice? The person who has worked there the longest? I can see situations like this ruffling some feathers.
Hello Sara!
ReplyDeleteYour response to the prompt made me wonder what will happen if we start to separate everything. I would think that this separation subtly tells patrons that everything should be exclusive and segregated, which is the total opposite of what libraries stand for. If the library is seeing a need for historical fiction, for example, to be separated from the general fiction section of the collection, then I can see how the separation would be beneficial for patrons, which is still dependent on the library’s shelf space, of course. However, it is an entirely different story to permanently change the library’s system of maintaining a collection just to please some personal beliefs and biases of a group of people.
Hi Alisha,
DeleteThanks for your comment. Yes, I agree that changing things just for one group is not a good idea. There's a good chance that this (hypothetical) group is made up of a very small percentage of the library patrons, and their views do not necessarily reflect the community's views.
Seems we found the same two exact articles! :-) I thought the School Library Journal article was really interesting because it showed a lot of different perspectives on why they did or did not separate out sections in their libraries. I agree that one of the main problems with separating them out is that people will worry about being judged if they are browsing in that section. It feels like a way to shame people out of reading these books, when that is not what the library should be doing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I support all blog posts with pictures of Grover. :-)
Hi Amber,
DeleteIt's funny we found the same two articles! And, yes, I enjoyed reading the different perspectives in the School Library Journal article as well. I've been spending some time this year volunteering at a school library, and it has been eye-opening for me to see that in this particular school (a Catholic elementary school), it's not an issue about the LGBTQ books being shelved separately because they are NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO HAVE THEM in the library collection. It's really solidifying my goal to work in a public library, so I wouldn't have to deal with issues like that.
Also, Grover = :)
I like your cute Grover meme. I agree if they are going to separate Urban/Street fiction and LGBTQ fiction, they need to separate it all into genres then. After reviewing an article on the topic of separating genres, I can see how it could cause people to not read a selection because it is in a particular genre. The other disadvantage to separating the collection by genre is that a couple of authors could fit in multiple genres and the patron would be confused with having to find where their author’s books are located. I would rather create interesting displays to spotlight each of the genres to generate interest.
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
ReplyDeleteYou make some really good points here. Even though I said we should give them their own sections like mystery and science fiction items, I'm still slightly changing my stance on the issue. The reason why is that I'm seeing more viewpoints on the matter that make a lot of sense to me. If a library doesn't separate mystery, science fiction, and so forth then why would they give LGBTQ and Urban Fiction their own shelves? Instead they should have their own displays for a month like a library would have a horror display in the month of October.
Fantastic response. I love all three of your reasons and I think the Grover meme/quote fits perfectly into this scenario. Fantastic job and full points!
ReplyDelete