Week Thirteen Prompt

 To Separate or Not to Separate? A Shelving Debate

Does LGBTQ and Urban Fiction belong on the shelves with the rest of the fiction collection or should it be shelved in its own section? I believe this depends on the library and the community that it serves. At the library where I work, we have a large collection of Science Fiction, Mystery, and Westerns so they have been separated out of the general fiction collection and are kept in their own shelving spaces. The Large Print collection is also massive, consuming half of the library space for fiction in the library, and therefore has its own space. The rest of the genres are mixed together with spine labels identifying special sub genres such as LGBTQ, Christian Fiction, local authors, and even Christmas themed stories. 

Initially, my thought was that LGBTQ and Urban Fiction materials belonged on the shelf with the rest of the fiction collection because I believe in the serendipitous discovery of new books. Also, based on the shelving spaces available in my library, these books would be more visible on the shelves with the general fiction. I agree with Yorio & Ishizuka (2018) when they point out that some librarians chose not to separate books with certain characters and themes because of the concern that some may not want to be seen going to a special section for fear of being judged or revealing something about themselves before they are ready. 

It was brought to my attention by a patron that mixing LGBTQ materials in with the rest of the collection was, in a sense, hiding the materials. It was suggested that the library display these materials openly as a way to say to the community that the library welcomes them and is here to serve them too. It did not occur to me that in some communities, these signals of acceptance are extremely important and the library should strive to outwardly reflect the community it serves, especially to those members who may have doubts that they are welcome. 

My library does not identify Urban Fiction with spine labels and the title we own are mixed in with the general fiction. I do think, however, that as the interest in this genre grows, libraries should promote the titles they have procured through displays and book lists. Overall, whatever patrons are looking for should be easily identifiable in the collection and the library should commit to staying abreast on the emerging genres and trends in reader interests and promoting the titles they own in these areas. 

Yorio, K., Ishizuka, K. (2018, October 26). Shelving debate: to separate or integrate? School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=shelving-debate-separate-or-integrate