LibGuides: Genrefication: Process

Introduction

This page dictates the process used to genrefy the children's collection, difficulties that were faced, and resources concerning genrefication.

Process

1. Research Genrefication and Classification

My research consisted of two parts: 1) how other librarians have genrefied their libraries and 2) how children categorize books. From my research, the other libraries that have genrefied their collections were school libraries with older children. The biggest difference between the uses of these libraries and the users of the children's collection at Red Rocks was the ability to read. With these other libraries, their students were old enough to read and understand what genre is. The ability to read allowed librarians to use more common themes for genres such as adventure, fairy tales, and humor. However, these abstract ideas do not always make sense to younger, pre-reading children. Because of this, I needed to find out how children categorized the books so I could make genres that they would understand. Overall, children seem to identify books most commonly by their appearances and their characters.

2. Review the Collection

The next step was to review the children's collection. Because this collection is relatively small and consists predominately of picture books, I was able to read each book. This part of the process took the longest. Even though they were picture books, it took a while to get through them all. As I was reading, I also indicated all themes, topics, and other unique traits of the books. These notes would typically include a brief description of the character, a reference to the themes of the book, and any indication if the book was written in a different language or without words.

3. Developing "Genres"

As I was reading through the collection, I began to notice common threads between the books that could be used as genres, After every book was read, I went through and noted how many books were in each genre. If a genre was too small, I tried to combine it with another similar genre. For example, I had originally separated "nature" and "seasons" but there were too few season-themed books to make them their own section.

4. Stickers

Due to the inability of some of the children to use this section, I decided to use stickers to identify books. At first, I looked for genre stickers that I could purchase through sellers like Amazon or Demco. However, due to the unique nature of the personalized genres I had created, many genres did not have a sticker that would well represent the selection. Instead, I created my own stickers for the genres with a simple graphic and the genre written on the sticker for caregivers and older children. Each book was labeled with a sticker and a protective, transparent sheet was stuck over the sticker.

5. Reshelving

When it came to resolving the books, I wanted similar genres to be grouped together. The larger shelf sections that I decided on were "Academics" (ABC, Art and Colors, and Counting and Numbers), Other People (Biography, History, Doctor, Dentist, Vet, and Stories), Kids (Favorites, Daily Living, Family, Me and You, Bedtime and Dreams, and Celebrations), and the World (Animals, Bugs, Nature, Building and Construction, Cars, and Food). When shelving, I intentionally left space between the genres to help visually separate them. Additionally, I added simple labels with an icon and the written genre.

Difficulties and Solutions

Some difficulties that arose when categorizing the books by subject were:

Multiple books could have been included in more than one genre
- Possible Solution: buying more than one copy of the books and putting one in each category
This collection serves at least four different user groups: children, caregivers, educators, ECE students
- Solution: display the books for the children and create other guides for the caregivers, educators, and ECE students
Relatively speaking, this collection houses a limited number of children's books
Certain categories like "biography" could be difficult for children to identify, but I was unsure how else to categorize these books
- Possible Solution: read children some of the books and ask them how they would define the books
Questioning if books with characters of the same race or ethnicity should be shelved together for findability or mixed throughout to avoid grouping races and ethnicities, creating an "us versus them" mentality
- Solution: sort the books by author's last name to avoid singling our or separating any races or ethnicities

Resources

Where are the Books about Trains? A Case Study Exploring Reorganization of the Children’s Section in a Small Public Library
This article addresses how organizing by genres encourages browsing which is more developmentally appropriate for children and states some of the benefits of genrefication. It is a helpful article to consider how we can organize books for children’s purposes and not a librarian's or other adult’s purposes.
“Why On Earth Would We Not Genrefy the Books?”: A Study of Reader-Interest Classification In School Libraries
This article consists of interviews with several school libraries concerning why they chose to genrefy their collection, any challenges they faced, and the benefits they saw. This article is especially helpful in addressing potential challenges and what solutions could be used to address those challenges.
Choosing Strategies of Children and the Impact of Age and Gender on Library Use: Insights for Librarians
This article focuses on the strategies and processes children use to select books and the beliefs and attitudes that underpin them. It offers ideas concerning how librarians can try and reach the group of children who tend to use the library less than others. These ideas could be applied to how the books are genrefied.
Analysis of Metadata Schemas for Children’s Libraries
This article examines children’s information-seeking behaviors for books and how to apply these behaviors to metadata and information organization. Even if not concerned with the metadata element of a collection organization, this article gives further insist into how children search for and choose books.
How can I find a doggy book?: Children's cognitive processes of physical characteristics of books
This study examines the information-seeking behavior of children regarding the physical characteristics of books. It can help librarians understand how children perceive books and organize the books according to the children’s perceptions.
The Value of a Library Catalog for Selecting Children's Picture Books
This study examines how parents choose books for their kids as well as which version of the same title they may choose. This article is helpful when considering how to present the books in a Children’s Collection to the parents as well.
Give 'Em What They Want! Reorganizing Your Fiction Collection by Genre
This article dictates a school librarian's process and experiences genrefying her collection. It can provide insight into different things to consider when genrefying a collection.
The Switch to Genrefication
This is another article depicting a librarian’s process and experiences genrefying her collection. It can provide further and different insights into different things to consider when genrefying a collection.
Children's Rights in the Library
This paper summarizes a presentation given concerning how the rights of children can affect their intellectual freedom and access to information. This summary focuses on barriers that may restrict a child’s access, giving thought to how libraries can be structured to respect children’s right to information.
A Preliminary Study Interrogating the Cataloging and Classification Schemes of a K-12 Book Discovery Platform through a Critical Race Theory Lens
This article explores the factors that influence book discovery for children through the lens of Critical Race Theory. This article is helpful when considering how to address racial diversity within a children’s collection.
BISAC Subject Headings List
This is a list of subject headings designed for children's books. It is a helpful reference to have when trying to decide what categories to use when genrefying a collection
Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors
This short essay talks about the importance of having diversity within a children's collection to reflect and represent children as well as give them insight and access into the experiences of children different than themselves.