Connecticut: A Public Library Moves To Genre-Based Shelving in Young Adult Department

From a Column Appearing in The Berlin Citizen by Helen Aveline, library director of the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library:

The fiction section in the young adult department is now a genre-based collection.

[Clip]

So now our teen department looks a lot more like a bookstore than a traditional library.

[Clip]

Reorganizing young adult resources in a bookstore fashion is meant to help patrons ease of use within the library and alleviate confusion by using words and signage that are relatable and easily understood. Statistics are showing that around 75-percent of patrons come into the library to browse. Genre shelving creates a browsing atmosphere by keeping all resources with the same theme together. Also, research shows that teens are more likely to check out a book if they find what they are looking for in a relatively quick manner. Many of them spend 10 or 15 minutes in the library and are frustrated if they have to go to a card catalog and get the number.

Read the Complete Column

See Also: Two Pittsburgh Area Public Libraries Using BISAC Subject Heading to Organize Some Materials, More Libraries Possible (August 12, 2012)

See Also: Are Dewey’s Days Numbered?: Libraries Nationwide Are Ditching the Old Classification System (via School Library Journal; September 28, 2012)

See Also: See Also: To Dewey or Not to Dewey: Libraries Go Dewey-Free (April 27, 2011)