William Maddy Book Blog
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Week 15 Prompt Response
Friday, April 12, 2024
Week 14 Prompt Response
Whether or not to separate out genres in a library is an interesting discussion. At the library that I work at we only have a few genres that are separated from the collection. They used to shelve mysteries separate, but during the height of the pandemic they interfiled them. The choice to separate out what they do truly makes no sense to me. We currently separate out westerns, science fiction, and short stories. I find that this only creates more confusion because patrons do not know and thus miss out on those books. For the prompt this week the conversation revolves around whether or not Urban Fiction and LGBTQ+ Fiction should be separated from the main fiction collection. I have differing opinions on both so I will talk about each separately.
For Urban Fiction I lean more towards either separating it out or creating a flyer with the popular authors in the genre. The main reason for this is because Urban Fiction is a genre with distinct characteristics. It is the equivalent of having a romance, mystery, or fantasy sections. I speak from experience that when patrons want these books they seek them out specifically. I have had patrons where this is all they read, so they do not usually come to our branch because we do not have it separated out. This genre is also still relatively niche. I think that having it separated with pamphlets in the aisles to explain what it is could actually help the genre rather than hurt it. The only thing that I have an issue with, in regards to separating out Urban Fiction, is that it does limit discovery. As I mentioned earlier in the post the library that I work at has things separated out and it does limit findability. I think that I have checked out only one Western, a handful of Science Fiction, and no Short Stories to patrons since I started working there close to a year ago. This is why I would personally lean towards doing what my library does do for Urban Fiction which is have lists available of the popular authors within the genre. This allows patrons who just want Urban Fiction to have a list of where to go to find it and still keeps it in the general collection to allow patrons to naturally discover it.
For LGBTQ+ Fiction I am vehemently against separating it out from the main collection. The main reasons for this is: it is a broad description that covers books from all genres, it segregates queerness from the main collection, and it can out people. The first reason revolves around the idea of what makes the work in question "LGBTQ+." Is the author queer? Does the book feature a prominent queer character? Does the book have queer themes and subtext? What age ranges would be in this section? What genres would this section cover? As shown by my questions this section would require a lot of thought and would require the librarian to make a ton of choices that would be influenced by their bias. This section would also be huge for the reasons listed above. The idea of LGBTQ+ Fiction is not a genre like Urban Fiction is. LGBTQ+ Fiction does not have defined tropes, does not fall within genre conventions, does not (usually) have set age ranges, and many other aspects. Just from a logistical standpoint this would create more work to do something that the reader is most likely already doing themselves if they want those books. Speaking from my own experience as a nonbinary person who loves to read books with queer characters I am used to seeking out that information on my own. The next main issue I have is that it separates queerness from the main collection. This seeks to other queer people. You are effectively shunning a specific group to one section of the library. By doing this you also limit exposure of queer authors. There are plenty of book that would fall under this classification that wont get read because they are in a special section. The last issue I have with it is that it creates a safety issue. A great thing about the library is that people can seek out materials without judgement. If a library created this section there would have to be a new call number or sticker on the spine, so library staff could shelf the materials properly. This would out people and thus you cut off most of the LGBTQ+ fiction from queer people who are not out of the closet.
For both I think that the best way to separate them out for discovery and to better help patrons find what they want to read is by creating both book lists and displays. Book lists effectively do what separating out items does, but allows patrons to opt into it. If a patron knows that they only want Urban or LGBTQ+ Fiction than they can seek out these lists. With displays it allows the library to call attention to these genres while separating them out for only a limited time. It works to allow patrons who want those items an easy place to get them and it allows for people to discover something new. These options have the benefits of separate shelf locations without the drawbacks.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Week 13 Prompt Response
I personally believe that it is the purpose of the library to carry books of all kinds regardless if some people think that they pointless. The idea that the genres of young adult (YA), new adult (NA), and graphic novels are not being read by adults is laughable. The second in charge at the library I currently work at only reads manga, Japanese graphic novels, and I myself read a fair amount of YA because I can just shut my brain off while reading them. These genres are just as important as the more traditional genres.
Speaking from the experience as an adult who likes to read YA and NA from time to time I love them because of their simplicity. I love to read a dense fantasy novel or a heady science fiction epic, but sometimes I want to read something that I know will have a simple plot with likeable characters where the good guy always prevails. For the teen reader they serve as a place of transition. The teen has outgrown Diary of a Wimpy Kid and wants something a little more stimulating. It is good to have a place where that teen can get books that both challenge them without scaring them off. If you gave a fifteen year old the first Wheel of Time book with its slow pace and almost 800 pages they might never read again. It is good to have a place in the library where adults can go to seek out a more simple story and teens can seek out a place for them between children's and adult fiction.
For graphic novels I feel as though the conversation is different. Here in the West we tend to see things like graphic novels to be inherently childish. The fact that the books have pictures makes them seem lesser to these people, but I would argue that the best graphic novels use the pictures to only enhance the words. I am currently reading the manga series, Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui. A coworker and I kept hearing about it on social media, so we are both currently reading it. The story of this series revolves around cooking. Each chapter features a dish being prepared and the artwork really captures the food in a way that words cannot. In a different vain one of my favorite graphic novels, Uzumaki by Junji Ito, is a horror manga about a town in Japan being haunted by spirals. The story takes so wild a bizarre turns but the art is really what brings it home. The book deals with a fair amount of body horror and it is so much more horrifying to see it drawn out rather than just being words on a page.
I personally think that the best first step that we can do to promote this books to the library users is to put out displays. There could be a display of YA/NA books that have appeal to adults or a display of some of the best graphic novels that are in the library. I personally think that the best thing that you can do to convince someone of these genres right to be promoted is to be exposed to them. Most of the critique towards these genres is from people who are coming into them with preconceived notions of what they expect of "literature." We should work to introduce readers to their next favorite thing.
Young Adult Annotation - The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
- Adventure
- Fun
- Relatable
Friday, March 29, 2024
Non-Fiction Annotation - Readme.txt by Chelsea Manning
- WikiLeaks - Nonfiction
- U.S. Army - Nonfiction
- Leaks (Disclosure of Information) - Nonfiction
- Compelling
- Important
- Well-Written
Week 12 Prompt Response
The Readers' Advisory Matrix
Readme.txt by Chelsea Manning
1. Where is this book on the narrative continuum?
- Highly Narrative (Reads like Fiction)
- A Mix (Combines Highly Narrative Moments with Periods of Fact-Based Prose)
- Highly Fact Based (Has Few or No Narrative Moments)
- The subject of this book is the story of how and why Chelsea Manning nearly 750,000 documents about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book chronicles her early life, her time being homeless, her time in the military, the leaking of the documents, and the fallout from that decision.
- This book is a memoir.
- What is the pacing of the book?
- This book is fast paced. Each of the chapters are a small look into a specific time point in her life.
- Describe the characters of the book.
- The main character of the book is Chelsea herself. She is the only consistent character throughout the entirety of the book. The other major characters are her family, other soldiers in the military, and her defense attorney.
- How does the story feel?
- The story feels important and harrowing. If it was not for her we might still be in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- What is the intent of the author?
- The intent of the author is to finally tell her story. She feels that everyone around her has been speaking for her for years.
- What is the focus of the story?
- The main focus of the story is her life and what led to her decision.
- Does the language matter?
- Yes, the language matters especially in this story. She still cannot say the full details because if she did she would be arrested again. She had to be very careful when writing this memoir.
- Is the setting important and well described?
- The setting for the most part is not important expect for the Army base in Iraq. She describes the base in rich details. This allows the reader to get a better picture of what it was like in Iraq at the time.
- Are there details and, if so, of what?
- There is so much detail in this book. She breaks down her home life, her transition, exactly how she leaked the documents, her time in Iraq, her time in prison, and many other things.
- Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?
- There are no charts or graphic materials in the book. The only thing that could be considered a "graphic" is the redactions in the book. She had to submit the book to the Department of Defense before publishing and if they told her to remove something she replaced it with redactions. This makes it clear to the reader that she wants to say more but cannot.
- Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience?
- The book stresses all three. She really wants the audience to learn what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, to understand why she did what she did, and to see her experiences from her perspective.
- Subject
- Storyline
- Pacing
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Week Eleven Prompt Response
I think that I will always love the physical book. There is something so magical about holding a book in your hands and being able to feel the pages. I love seeing a book that has been read, with tape on the spine to keep it together. I also love ebooks and audiobooks for wildly different reasons. In a world post the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the landscape around books has changed. When people were not allowed to leave their homes they switched to ebooks and audiobooks, and some have never come back. I personally love ebooks and enjoy audiobooks.
For ebooks the biggest appeal factor for me is the ability to change the font size. I have not great vision. I need to wear glasses constantly and without them I turn into Velma from Scooby-Doo. I have realized that I most likely need to read large print books. I can read a standard print book, but it takes much longer. With my eReader, a Kobo Libra 2 to be specific, I can change the font size to something that is comfortable for me without the upcharge and limited selection of large print. The other main appeal factor for me is weight. I mostly read large books and they can hurt my hands after reading for a long time. With a lightweight eReader I do not have to worry about that. I also love that I can either borrow a book from the library or buy a book and then read it immediately without having to leave my house. It is a simple thing but it is very nice.
With audiobooks I am more on the fence. I do not like to use them as my first read, and that is my main issue with them. When I am reading a book I cannot do other things, but if I am listening to an audiobook I can. When I am multitasking and listening to an audiobook I do not retain the information in the same way that I do when reading the book. The fact that I can multitask while listening to an audio book is why I love them though. The main place in which I listen to them is on my waterproof MP3 player while swimming. I love being able to load a few chapters into the MP3 and swim until they are over. I have not done this in a while because of both work and school, so I look forward to being able to start doing that again. With audiobooks the most different appeal factor is the person reading the book. That can make or break an audiobook. I am lucky and all of the audiobooks I have listened to over the years have had great narrators, but I can easily see how that could ruin the experience.
Week 15 Prompt Response
An important thing that libraries can do to, hopefully, increase circulation is to market the collection. I think that the three best ways t...
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I do not read as much as I would like. When I was in K-12 I read a lot. I did not work until my senior year, so I had plenty of free time. ...
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I completed this assignment a little bit away from my local library. When I got to the information desk there was no one there. I looked ar...
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An important thing that libraries can do to, hopefully, increase circulation is to market the collection. I think that the three best ways t...