At the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) 16th National Conference, held in Hartford, CT, November 14–17, common themes and hot topics of discussion emerged. One topic popped up numerous times—the issue of “genrefication,” or reorganizing one’s collection away from Dewey Decimal Classification into student-friendly, genre-based categories.
At “Ditching Dewey: Genrefication in Your Library,” a concurrent session on Saturday morning, five librarians who made the switch shared their reasons for the change and the positive feedback from their students.
For Tiffany Whitehead, library media specialist; Megan Scott, school librarian and English teacher; Shannon Miller, teacher librarian; Sherry Gick, school librarian; and Kathy Burnette, library media specialist, the benefits are clear. Here are their top reasons to ditch Dewey and genre-fy your library:
1. It’s student-centered. School librarians (especially solo ones) spend an enormous amount of time helping students locate the book they want. The easier it is for kids and teens to locate materials, the more content-rich conversations can be happening about the actual books!
2. It makes browsing easier. Like materials are grouped together. Students and patrons looking for their favorite kinds of books can find them faster and often without having to rely on the catalog.
3. It allows for closer arrangement of related fiction and nonfiction sections. Some genrefied libraries group fiction and nonfiction subject in the same section or side by side. Students who love sports fiction will also find sports biographies nearby. It’s a great CCSS tie in; students read more nonfiction because it is more visible.Students read more broadly.
4. It can be adapted to meet the changing needs of students. As curriculum changes or trends in student reading habits shift, the collection can evolve and grow with them.
5. Students discover new authors and read more broadly within their favorite genres. For a child who loved reading J.K. Rowling, she may branch out to enjoy C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, Norton Juster, or Ursula K. LeGuin by browsing deeply within that genre.
6. It allows librarians to examine, evaluate, and really get to know the collection. By separating into genre-based sections, librarians can see clearly which areas need weeding and which ones need an influx of new titles.
An informal poll of conference participants revealed, as expected, a lot of support for the concept and how it can improve student learning and inquiry.
However, dissenters made their case, too, in informal learning sessions throughout the weekend—and none so vocally (and boisterously) as during Joyce Valenza’s late-night “unconference.” Midway through the high-energy event, Dan Callahan, co-founder of EdCamp, presided over several rounds of “Rocks/Sucks,” in which participants took sides over various issues.
Of all the various topics—including the integration of technology and the use of Facebook to communicate with students—ditching Dewey inspired some of the most spirited debates. With those in favor of the new concept and those opposed rushing to cluster on opposite sides of the room, the lines became drawn. Though slightly more participants came down on the side of favoring the shift, many in attendance were quick to point out why “Genrefication sucks!”
Their top reasons for why they are against rushing to ditch Dewey?
1. Because student collections should resemble those in the public libraries. School librarians should be encouraging students to be lifelong learners by teaching them the rigors of the type of library organization that they’ll find in academic and public libraries when they get older.
2. Because genrefiction could encourage administrators to reduce the librarian’s time with students helping select materials, or rely on classroom collections instead. After all, bookstores specifically began creating genre-specific collections in order to eliminate clerks and other employees.
3. Because reorganizing one’s collection “is a siren taking me away from keeping me in the classroom,” as one naysayer put it. Although the idea is interesting and attractive, the time and resources required for such a switch is out of reach for many school librarians, she noted.
In all, though, perhaps the most persuasive argument ended with the Common Core. “It’s supported through genre, and putting fiction and nonfiction together” as one pro-genrefication unconference attendee said, “is the best way to do that.”
What do you think? Are student-friendly and librarian-friendly collections mutually exclusive?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.