Genrefying Fiction, Part 2.5

So the idea to wait until all the books were returned for summer to scan in sublocations didn't work! We've found that Genrefying is GREAT for browsers, but tough for those that search from the catalog. Instead of one Fiction section to look in, there are now eight! We've started assigning sublocations through the catalog.

This should help students find titles and can be seen from the Title Details or Copy information in Destiny. 

At this point we are not assigning Subject headings for the Genres...but that may help students search in the catalog. I'm still trying to decide if we need data by Genre or if Fiction data can just stay lumped together. With the books separated by shelving areas, it is much easier to see the size of each Genre.

Here's an example of how things look in the online catalog:

Genrefying Fiction, Part 2.0

Last year we started adding color-coded spine labels to our fiction section (transparent colored label protectors) to help identify different genres (Genrefying Fiction 1.2 and Genrefying Fiction 1.0). We left books in their regular shelf order by author. Students commented that they appreciated the color-coding but we found that the colors on the shelves were overwhelming!

We finally found a bit of time and separated out our sections. What a project! It's really hard to judge how much shelf space you need when the sections are separated out. Special thanks to Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Grabenbauer and countless students that pitched in and moved almost 6000 books!

We left Realistic Fiction (the largest section with no colored label protectors) on the shelves and pulled our labeled genres. Then consolidated Realistic fiction and created separate sections at the end of the shelving stacks. Our new fiction sections include: Realistic; Historical; Sports; Fantasy; Science Fiction; Horror; Graphic Novels; and Books in Spanish.

   

Our next task is signage. We've placed a sign at the door and made announcements that we've changed the arrangement of fiction. Book Tasting Menus are available on our website and at the door. Displays also steer students to the different sections. We'll also "advertise" through announcements and our newsletter.

At the end of the school year, when most books are returned, we'll scan in Sub-location in our Catalog to help students better find books on the shelves.

  

Before we had even finished, students were already remarking that they love this!