This is a decision to make for this week’s prompt, and one that I am not 100% positive of my decision. I think it will be interesting to see other people’s responses and what their reasoning was for their choice. I decided to justify keeping street lit, African American lit, and LGBTQ lit mixed in with the rest of the collection, not on a separate shelf. My reasons are below:
1. Avoid segregation/ separation that may upset some patrons. I think that by treating every book the same we can avoid alienating patrons for their reading choices. I feel like this can kind of go along the same lines as my prompt points for the young adult books last week. Some people may not feel comfortable venturing to a certain area that is designated for one type of books, like adults not feeling comfortable going into the young adult section to look for books. For those patrons that are requesting the genres be separated we can have resources available for quick searching the genres such as lists of titles in each genre along with spotlights available for quick recommendations.
2. Improve likelihood of exposure from being in the general collection. So, in a similar train of thought, if people aren’t having to venture off to another section of the library to seek out street lit or LGBTQ lit, or otherwise, than those that are browsing through the stacks might be more likely to stumble across one of these books and pick it up. So, by not separating these books out of the collection, we may improve the chances of patrons deciding to read them. By not labeling the books to indicate such a niche genre we take out the factor of patrons dismissing the books as non-relatable or otherwise simply because of the genre. If they are mixed in with the collection they may be perused more, and discovered by patrons.
3. Avoid controversy with any patrons that may not feel comfortable with separated displays. While I personally think it is important to have street lit, African American lit, and LGBTQ lit, some patrons may not feel the same way. And while I don’t agree, it is not my place to dictate their beliefs, but to make the library as welcoming and comfortable for everybody as possible. So, I think in some instances a separate display may makes some patrons uncomfortable and could cause backlash in a decrease in patrons of backlash from committees or community groups that control funding. While these books have a right to be on the shelves, this is just another scenario that feeds into the decision of keeping these books shelved in the general collection.
A lot of my reasoning for keeping GLTBQ and African American lit interfiled with the rest of the fiction collection is similar to yours, if that makes you feel better about your decision. I also thought patrons might dismiss the entire genre of street lit once they saw it in a separate section, thinking "well, that's not meant for me." (But then will pick up the latest Amish book, even though they don't live in that community either.) I also worried for questioning teens and adults...this is a conservative community, and it may not be safe to be seen in the 'gay' section, thus cutting them off from an easy and vicarious way to explore their sexuality and connect to others who have had similar struggles in coming out.
ReplyDeleteFantastic reasoning! It's not an easy decision to make and you did a great job backing up your choice!
ReplyDeleteMy reasons are also similar to yours. I think libraries try to avoid as much controversy as possible. This could be something to ask the public about their thoughts and make suggestions. But overall, I think there should not be separating A.A. and LGBTQ books at all.
ReplyDeleteI struggled with my decision, too (although opposite of yours). You make many valid points. One that I struggled with (and agree with you) is that by separating the collections, particularly LGBTQ lit, is that it could have the opposite effect and repel some interested patrons. I could see this as a potential problem with youth in particular, who may be more susceptible to criticism and embarrassment. Wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteWhile writing my response I also could see both sides of this issue. In the end, I decided to separate the genres but I think if I had decided to keep them integrated I would have used some of the reasoning you did. I think it's hard to please everyone and whatever any library decides to do, someone will be unhappy - unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI also had difficulty with this issue.I think what may be the best decision for one library may not be in another library. Just as collection development addresses the needs of the community it serves, so location of parts of the collection can also be affected by the community. I chose to keep items together in my response, but I think it would be entirely dependent on the community.
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