So You Want a Good Book... I Have Just the One.

First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?   My personal reading habits have certainly changed, because of course I have less free time, and I have obligatory tasks that must be done without book in hand. So I listen to audiobooks—while driving, doing dishes, exercising, gardening, etc.—and read on my phone while waiting in offices or lines or in crowded spaces. Honest-to-goodness physical books are a treat, but I do usually have one in my purse, just in case. Audiobooks used to be a treat only indulged in while traveling or during hurricane season. E-books did not exist when I was a child. Physical books were what I usually read.   Reading has also changed in that I used to read “the classics” and try to get to the point where I would have a workable knowledge of “western” culture because I did not grow up solely in America and I wished to belong (I didn’t get jokes from ‘The Simpsons’ until I was maybe 15 years o...

I think the best way to market anything is by word of mouth. Personal recommendations, tailored by someone who knows you and how you go about furnishing the inside of your brain, are the way to go. A dedicated reader’s advisory librarian who is allowed to spend time talking to people and keeping up with what people like to read would fit the bill. Before I began to think of taking classes in library science, a friend of mine who was a librarian often magically found me books I loved and it was such a godsend, and a gift. Saricks’ idea of the signs pointing to the desk of a librarian with RA duties (Saricks 2005, p. 139) is a cheerful idea to me. However, I sincerely doubt this to be practical. Having moved so often during my lifetime, I dislike having to do all the groundwork of getting to know staff before I find the book I’m looking for, and often staff has no time to spend with me as a reader. Sometimes librarians are quite simply not approachable people even though th...

Respectfully, I would not shelve them outside of the general collection unless they were being displayed for a specific, temporary function such as a topical or seasonal display. Of course, it would depend on the reasons why the patrons requested the separation: if it was to make the books more easily found by those who would read them, I could suggest an alternate method (making up an annotated bibliography, doing a few blog posts of “So you’re interested in…”, a passive display, etc.). If it was for the purpose of censorship, I could provide the concerned party with a copy of library policy and explain that libraries (and other services subsidized by the federal government) must serve a diverse community.   If the collection is not separated by genre, starting a new system for one subset of books is not appropriate to the organization of the library. We probably—to be perfectly honest—do not have the space to set up a completely different set of shelves for a small su...

I think the opinions of the general population to graphic novels will change just as they have towards comics and cartoons and animation—as well as romance and detective fiction before them. It may take a few years but it will happen.   In the mean time, we can add them to our collection development plan. We can put them on display and facing outwards on the shelf so people see them and add them to the background of their memories. We can do programming for children on drawing their favorite cartoon characters, if they seem interested. Teens can learn the difference between lettering, coloring, drawing, and writing. Adults can attend talks with the artists and writers of these works. We can add them to our annotated bibliography lists and “read-alike” lists for popular novels if they’re applicable. We can read them and be seen reading them. While we’re waiting for the world to change gears we can also provide links and digital collections of comics so people can view t...