With this model---in the area of fiction---all the mystery books are shelved together rather than shelved in Fiction by the author's last name. All historical fiction is shelved together, all graphic novels, all fantasy, etc.
How do you feel about this?
What can you see as the positive aspects of this trend?
What can you see as the negative aspects?
My first thought is that our library rooms are really not designed nor is the furniture placement conducive to book arrangement other than the customary Dewey Decimal pattern.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your opinion?
I think kids would not have the opportunity of finding books they would absolutely love just because it is sitting with another genre than they prefer. I consciously choose to fight against practices in our society that support the trend to seek out only the information or entertainment sources with which we are already familiar and comfortable. I feel shelving books by genre falls into this category. So much good happens when we confront opinions that are new for us or different from our own, and when we think about these things. They do not necessarily change our own thinking, but they enrich it, inform it, help us be more critical thinkers. Besides, our goal is not to sell the most books possible, as it is for a bookstore. Ours is to help develop an informed citizenry.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we want kids to read, read, read. If sorting books by genre would increase their hours of reading, it would definitely be something to consider.
Another thought about this issue is that many books would fit into two or more genres. Unless you have multiple copies of the same book, it can only live in one spot. Where would you place them? I think genre spine labels work fine for this same purpose, while allowing us to keep books in author order. Of course, looking them up on the catalog is always an option as well, and the best one, I think. Books can easily be included on two or more lists online, and kids are learning an important information literacy skill.
OK, back to work...
I have 30 minutes with 30 students. I want them to read. I will do anything to make it easier for them to find a book they are interested in. Its my job to sell them on the other genres. I would be totally 100% game to redo my library this way and keep detailed statistics and provide reports. Then change it back if requested.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note it would really allow me to visually see holes in my collection and better attend to them.
Pretty please?
I like your comments, especially to see holes in the collection.
DeleteI think that it is good for students to learn to use a library. The public library, university libraries, etc.all use the Dewey Decimal System. It is an opportunity to help our students learn to use this system. By the time they are in 6th grade they are pretty good at finding what they need in the library. I also want them to know how to use the catalog to find books.They should have skills, as Napoleon Dynomite would say
ReplyDeleteDitto you all.
ReplyDeleteDitto you all.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought. The Dewey way kids get practice using the catalog subject areas.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought. The Dewey way kids get practice using the catalog subject areas.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the points that Pamela made. But I am an old fashioned librarian and find that genre stickers seem to help while keeping the books on the shelf in author order. Another thing to consider is that some author's don't always write in just one genre and if a child finds author they like they may miss a book because it in not on the shelf next to the others the author has written. So many things to consider. I would just love a good solution to where to shelf the ever increasing graphic novels. Do the go on the fiction shelves with the other novels, or in the 700's where they come cataloged from our vendors. Oh MY???????
ReplyDeleteJeane,
DeleteMy thought on graphic novels is that are stories just like any other fiction book. Since the 700s are how-to books, like drawing, they don't belong there. I guess the only dilemma is that its a pain to recatalog and label them.
The more graphic novels I get , the More I am inclined to agree with you Stephanie. Currently I have some in the 700's and some in Fiction, but I may end up changing all mine to Fiction.
DeleteI like the idea in that when teachers assigned a genre they could easily find a book. My concern, however, is that books don't fit neatly into a genre any more. So many of the books are a combination. Would we lose students from reading some of those wonderful books that are in the genre but have been placed in a different genre because they are both.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Julie, it sounds like a nice idea, but books don't just fit one genre, and I also like them to peruse the shelves for 'something outside their usual'
DeleteI would like to refer you to the discussion I sparked on the State Librarians Listserve last Dec. I have worked in both bookstores and libraries, and there are good reasons that Libraries use one system for shelving, and bookstores another. Though the methods can be cross-used, it is like putting a hexagonal peg in a square hole - there will always be gaps and the fit is sloppy. For those of you who didi not see the listserve discussion, I will try to copy and paste what I can.
ReplyDeleteColleagues,
ReplyDeleteHere's a spitfire article from a passionate librarian. You probably have favorite library blogs as well, but library girl - the real person - is one of my favorite contributors to LinkedIn. The article really hits too close to home for me; I just need to move on past some of my go-to topics of library conversation. http://www.librarygirl.net/2013/12/five-more-conversations-about-school.html
Fawn Morgan - Layton High
...But I’m not so sure that I see huge value in abandoning Dewey. Having worked in one of Utah’s largest independent retail bookstores for 8 years before becoming a librarian, I can tell you that genres are very arbitrary, can be very difficult to assign, and sometimes so large as to be overwhelming. Take, for instance, one of my favorite books to read to 5th graders who are studying American History, “Mountain Man, the story of Hugh Glass.” It is written as fiction, but his experience and all the principle events described in the book are firmly established as historical facts. It’s the details that were created to tell the story. So do you classify it as Historical, Biographical, or Western? Do you use Explorers, Mountain Men, or US History? And since it does tell the story of an historical event – do you perhaps even put it in Non-fiction, as I have seen some catalogs do? Any one of those classifications could be overwhelming in size.
The whole idea of Dewey is to be genre oriented, Mammals have their place, Weather has its place, Fairy tales, and Myths are separated between the 200’s and the 300’s. If you are worried about whether a book is in the right place you can decide for yourself how you want to align the classification of Dewey to fit your library and your readers. There is no governing body that is going to come to your library and condemn, or down grade it just because you chose to put the book about the movie Dinosaur under 781 instead of 567 where the CIP put it. Make your own choices and decide these things for yourself.
And all this comes with the added bonus of helping students learn to use decimals.
Joseph Nielsen - Hawthorne Elem.
On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 3:41 PM, Heather Tomlinson wrote:
I agree - Dewey is much too useful to abandon...
However - I'm with James Wilson (previous message thread) who asked if any of you have decided to organize fiction by genre. How did it go? Are you glad you did it? Any pointers for anyone else considering it?
I'm in a K-9 school, and have divided the library into two sections. One for everyone (K-9, but focused on K-2) and one for 3-9 only. I think genre shelving could be VERY useful for the older fiction section. BUT, then I think about logistics: multi genre books? labeling books (in the catalog and on the spine)? library volunteers who already struggle with two fiction sections (even adults...)?
On Fri, Dec 20, 2013 at 6:45 AM, Bill Goodrich wrote:
We need to do what is best for the kids. What does abandoning Dewey do for kids that are going to college? Do we leave Dewey just to creat temporary momentum and excitement? If we shelf by genre do kids get in a rut and never experience anything new?
In popular culture there is so much of jumping on every band wagon that comes by that we don't stop to consider the wisdom of those that have been on the trail for centuries. I may just wait to see if this trend is still popular in a year or two.
On Fri, Dec 20, 2013 at 7:52 AM, Luanne Olson_media wrote:
ReplyDeleteIt is essential that we maintain the focus of our purpose in the library. We are teaching skills to educate students to be life long learners. The skills they learn transfer to life--other libraries and learning environments. Elementary and secondary students are learning basic research and information skills. They are emerging readers. Don't confuse them with "specialty" collection trends. Assist them to identify and locate what they need. A library collection becomes fragmented with "pull-out" sections. It is my experience that a well maintained and organized library collection is the best for students.
JaNae at Weber State Univ. wrote:
From an academic librarian's perspective, I ask that you continue teaching Dewey. Most college and university libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System and knowing one number system helps students transfer to a different system. If interested, please take a look at the call numbers lesson found in the HeLIOS tutorial http://helios.weber.edu.
It sounds egotistical to say that I started this discussion, but it seems that what I wrote hit a chord with many others. There was much more that I did not include, but if you are interested, please let me know and I will forward the emails to you.
I recommend to you all to join UEN's listserve - sorry I said State listserve earlier - I have found it a good way to keep connected with the profession throughout the state.
I know that I would become bogged down trying to figure out which aspect of the novel that I would emphasize as its genre classification because I agree that each story can have more than one (i.e. funny and romantic). Non fiction shelves can be easier to label.
ReplyDeleteI did look at the Springville Library that has gone to the BISAC classification. I liked it for non-fiction (Subject - Book Title instead of Author). It did make sense and I was told that their non-fiction circulation had really increased with the change. A thought...
I am not ready to divorce Dewey yet, but I do sometimes pullout books for a highlight section. I also try to use colored dots and other stickers to help guide my readers in finding books.
ReplyDeleteLot's of great points already made and I think there's too many overlaps with multiple genres in each book to separate them. I use genre stickers on the spine or teach kids to search by genre if needed. Guess I'm "married" to Author arrangement/Dewey systems after all these years of it working for kids.
ReplyDeleteI have read arguments for and against genre shelving online throughout the year. I'm not afraid of trying something new if I'm convinced it will be good for the kids. But in the end what I heard is that there are problems with Dewey and problems with genre shelving. If there are problems with both it makes sense to me to stay with what I have instead of creating a whole lot of work...unless there would be a whole lot of benefit to counteract that whole lot of work.
ReplyDeleteI agree and really cannot add extra points to any of the previous thoughts and ideas. I have students ask me all the time where the mysteries are or the funny books, etc... I have to say that I like the DDS because of the simple fact that it is organized easily and some authors write more than one genre. If I can get a child to like an author and that author writes multiple genres, I feel like I have opened up more than one door to them. If I did organize by genre, I would probably leave the books where they are and add genre stickers to the spines.
ReplyDeleteKori, I have students ask me the same - "Where are your scary books?" or whatever it is they want. I take the cop out and tell them "What is scary to you, may not be scary to me, and vis-versa.". Then ask them to be more specific about what they want, and direct them to specific authors. After all, the scariest book I ever read was "A wrinkle in time" more because of the setting and circumstances where I was when I read it, than for the content.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of keeping Dewey and not going to the bookstore model. It is easy to label FICTION books with genre labels. You can pull out certain sets of books and put them in a genre section. I think there is a certain level of confusion when everything is separated out. For example, my mother, a self-proclaimed library ninny, absolutely had a melt down at the public library, trying to find a book when the fiction was all separated into genres. She melted down into tears and told me about it later. She also think librarians are scary. What have I done wrong? I am finding that even my first graders are great at finding nonfiction they like in Dewey. Once I show them where a number is, like 500s for animals, they are good little detectives at finding what they like.
ReplyDeleteI like Dewey and I don't think the bookstore model is the best in a library. I have pulled books kids love such as graphic novels, Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House and put into bins for easy access. Then I choose different genres through out the year and place them in bins next to the favorites. Kids often find something new in these ever changing bins.
ReplyDeleteI am not ready to divorce Dewey either, but we are headed in that direction. The Fiction section is really literature and belongs in the 800's, and so are the picture books. Making a separate section for Fiction was the first step in moving away from Dewey. Then we made a separate shelf for Holiday books and paper back books. Now I have a special shelf for graphic novels and easy readers. The students want me to put all the ghost stories and mysteries together in one place, too. I am resisting this, but wonder if it would save me time in the long run. Stickers would work if I ever got serious about using them. I pulled all the I Spy books and keep them by my desk along with all the drawing books. I don't have to show the kids where these books are and I can see at a glance if they are all checked out. I think I will keep my own special method that is a blended combination of some groups and Dewey.
ReplyDelete