Ebooks and audiobooks didn't exist when I was a kid; or if they did, they weren't as popular as they are today. Beyond that, I don't think that the culture of reading, and books in general, has changed too much. I personally have become more interested in online fanfiction than I am in actual books. I also have an interest in ebooks for the convenience.
I don't really see the culture of reading changing. There always has been, and always will be, those who enjoy reading and those who don't. I don't see schools changing how they approach reading. I imagine that physical books may become slightly less common in schools, if textbooks and class materials become available digitally.
I see big house publishers slowly being replaced by small-time publishers and self-publishing authors. E-Publishing will likely also continue to rise.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Week 15 Prompt
Prompt: What do you think are the best ways to market your library's fiction collection?
1. Facebook/Website: A lot of people are turning to the internet for answers to their questions. A good way to promote the fiction collection would be to put an announcement on the library's website and/or Facebook page.
2. Fiction Display: Having a display section of classics, recent favorites, and new fiction can get the public interested in what else the library has to offer.
3. Reading Programs: A lot of libraries have summer/reading programs. The fiction collection can be highlighted in one such program.
1. Facebook/Website: A lot of people are turning to the internet for answers to their questions. A good way to promote the fiction collection would be to put an announcement on the library's website and/or Facebook page.
2. Fiction Display: Having a display section of classics, recent favorites, and new fiction can get the public interested in what else the library has to offer.
3. Reading Programs: A lot of libraries have summer/reading programs. The fiction collection can be highlighted in one such program.
Week 14 Prompt
I would not separate LGBTQ fiction or African American Fiction from the general collection.
1. It's generally easy to determine if a book has LGBTQ or African American subject matter. If someone doesn't want to read it, it's fairly simple to avoid. Personal autonomy and responsibility are things; we must be responsible for the media that we choose to consume, and not try to dictate the media someone else chooses to consume.
2. I agree that it promotes segregation. To me, it makes it seem like these books don't belong with other books, which I disagree with. It brings a focus to anyone in those sections; someone may want an LGBTQ-themed book, but may be embarrassed or uncomfortable with letting others know.
3. By separating these books, you decrease the chance of a reader stumbling on them and discovering something new. We tend to stick to what we know and like, and if someone doesn't usually pick books on these topics, then the chances of them discovering these subjects on their own greatly decreases if the books are separated.
Over all, I don't feel that the desire to separate LGBTQ and/or African American Fiction comes from a good place, and I couldn't in good conscious do so.
1. It's generally easy to determine if a book has LGBTQ or African American subject matter. If someone doesn't want to read it, it's fairly simple to avoid. Personal autonomy and responsibility are things; we must be responsible for the media that we choose to consume, and not try to dictate the media someone else chooses to consume.
2. I agree that it promotes segregation. To me, it makes it seem like these books don't belong with other books, which I disagree with. It brings a focus to anyone in those sections; someone may want an LGBTQ-themed book, but may be embarrassed or uncomfortable with letting others know.
3. By separating these books, you decrease the chance of a reader stumbling on them and discovering something new. We tend to stick to what we know and like, and if someone doesn't usually pick books on these topics, then the chances of them discovering these subjects on their own greatly decreases if the books are separated.
Over all, I don't feel that the desire to separate LGBTQ and/or African American Fiction comes from a good place, and I couldn't in good conscious do so.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Week 13 Prompt
I definitely think that we should be serving adults (young, new, whatever) who enjoy YA/NA/Graphic Novels. It's not our place to gatekeep. If the material isn't hurting anyone, patrons should be allowed access. It's no one else's business to decide what should or should not be promoted in the library. Those who feel that YA/NA/Graphic Novels aren't legitimate literary choices are wrong; just because it doesn't mesh with what someone thinks is proper writing/subject matter, doesn't mean that it's not legitimate, that it's not enjoyable, or that it should be excluded from being accessible to the public.
That said, listening to patrons who do enjoy those genres is the important thing. Supply what they like, then encourage them to branch out. Maintain a variety of styles, both writing and drawing, to entice patrons to do just that. I don't feel that YA/NA/Graphic Novels need treatment different from say, romance or sci-fi, in terms of promotion or application. Treat these genres/styles as the other genres are treated; like they belong there.
That said, listening to patrons who do enjoy those genres is the important thing. Supply what they like, then encourage them to branch out. Maintain a variety of styles, both writing and drawing, to entice patrons to do just that. I don't feel that YA/NA/Graphic Novels need treatment different from say, romance or sci-fi, in terms of promotion or application. Treat these genres/styles as the other genres are treated; like they belong there.
New Adult Annotation
Author: A. Meredith Walters
Publication Date: October 2012
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Number of Pages: 290
Summary:
Maggie Young lived a relatively normal life, up until she met Clayton Reed. With a past he want to escape and personal demons that continuously threaten to bring him down, Clayton's connection to Maggie offers a light in the darkness. Together, they struggle to remain true to themselves and each other as Clayton's demons threaten to tear them apart.
Characteristics that fit in with New Adult:
- Deals with the "experimental years"; ages 18-26
- Deals with "first-times": college, full-time jobs, serious relationship, moving away from home, etc.
Read-Alikes:
- When We Collide by A.L. Jackson
- Definetly, Maybe in Love by Ophelia London
- Wait for You by J. Lynne, Jennifer L. Amrtentrout
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Week 12 Prompt
Reader's Advisory Matrix:
Author: Frank McCourt
Title: Angela's Ashes
Publication Date: 1996
Number of Pages: 368
Geographic Setting: Ireland; U.S.A.
Time Period: Depression-era
Subject Headings: Irish Americans Biography, Irish Americans Ireland Limerick Biography, McCourt Family, Limerick (Limerick, Ireland) Biography
Type: Non-Fiction, Biography, Autobiography-Memoir
Series Notes: First of three memoirs
Book Summary: Angela's Ashes: A Memoir is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Grank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York, but focuses mostly on his life in Limerick, Ireland. It also includes his struggles with poverty and his father's alcoholism.
Reading Elements:
1-3 Annotation: In Angela's Ashes, author Frank McCourt details his life as an Irish-American, which begins and ends in New York but primarily takes place in Limerick, Ireland. This book explores McCourt's childhood as he's born in Brooklyn New York, returns to Ireland and poverty as a young child, and struggles to finally return to New York as a young man of nineteen. McCourt deals with poverty and the alcoholism of his father.
Similar Works:
Name of Annotator: Brittany Vanzo
Author: Frank McCourt
Title: Angela's Ashes
Publication Date: 1996
Number of Pages: 368
Geographic Setting: Ireland; U.S.A.
Time Period: Depression-era
Subject Headings: Irish Americans Biography, Irish Americans Ireland Limerick Biography, McCourt Family, Limerick (Limerick, Ireland) Biography
Type: Non-Fiction, Biography, Autobiography-Memoir
Series Notes: First of three memoirs
Book Summary: Angela's Ashes: A Memoir is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Grank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York, but focuses mostly on his life in Limerick, Ireland. It also includes his struggles with poverty and his father's alcoholism.
Reading Elements:
- Narrative Context: The work is shaped into a compelling page-turning read that can read much like fiction.
- Subject: The subject of this memoir is Irish-American Frank McCourt and his life growing up.
- Type: A memoir is a type of non-fiction that relies more on the narrative that other types, say an essay.
- Pacing: The pacing of Angela's Ashes is fairly linear, going from young childhood to early adulthood.
1-3 Annotation: In Angela's Ashes, author Frank McCourt details his life as an Irish-American, which begins and ends in New York but primarily takes place in Limerick, Ireland. This book explores McCourt's childhood as he's born in Brooklyn New York, returns to Ireland and poverty as a young child, and struggles to finally return to New York as a young man of nineteen. McCourt deals with poverty and the alcoholism of his father.
Similar Works:
- The Liar's Club by Mary Karr
- The Road from Coorain: A Woman's Exquisitely Clear-Sighted Memoir of Growing up Australian by Jill Ker Conway
- Growing Up by Russell Baker, Gilbert Riswold
- Memoirs, 1925-1950 by George F. Kennan
Name of Annotator: Brittany Vanzo
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Week 11 Prompt
I am a fan of both traditional paper books and e-books. I haven't used audio-books, because they don't really appeal to me.
The physical differences between books, e-books, and audio-books don't really affect my knowledge of genres. The genre of a story is determined by the writing, the pacing, the language, the setting. I don't believe physical does, or should, have any part of what makes fantasy, fantasy, or fiction, fiction. The readers' ability to change font, line spacing, and text color enhance the pacing and tone, in my opinion. Same with track length, narrator choice, and possible music in audio-books. All this is doing is making stories more accessible. People with reading issues such as dyslexia probably find it easier to read an e-book where they can pick a font that makes it easy to distinguish letters, at a size that they can see easily. Audio-books are great for people who have severe reading disabilities, are blind, or simply find actual reading too tedious. I suppose the narrator does influence how the story is told by choosing the inflection and pacing.
Overall, I think the use of newer media in books is a good thing, and offers a greater appeal to reading. Personally, anything that makes stories more accessible can only be a good thing.
The physical differences between books, e-books, and audio-books don't really affect my knowledge of genres. The genre of a story is determined by the writing, the pacing, the language, the setting. I don't believe physical does, or should, have any part of what makes fantasy, fantasy, or fiction, fiction. The readers' ability to change font, line spacing, and text color enhance the pacing and tone, in my opinion. Same with track length, narrator choice, and possible music in audio-books. All this is doing is making stories more accessible. People with reading issues such as dyslexia probably find it easier to read an e-book where they can pick a font that makes it easy to distinguish letters, at a size that they can see easily. Audio-books are great for people who have severe reading disabilities, are blind, or simply find actual reading too tedious. I suppose the narrator does influence how the story is told by choosing the inflection and pacing.
Overall, I think the use of newer media in books is a good thing, and offers a greater appeal to reading. Personally, anything that makes stories more accessible can only be a good thing.
Fantasy Annotation
Title: Trickster's Choice
Author: Tamora Pierce
Publication Date: 2003
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 448
Summary:
Alianne is the daughter of Alanna, the first lady knight in Tortall. The blood of the Lioness runs thick in her veins, but is the quieter nature of her father that young Aly follows as she learns the tricks and tools of being a spymaster. After being captured and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in islands far from her home, Aly must make use of all of her skills to survive in a world filled with bloody politics, conspiracy, and a Trickster God looking to take back his throne.
Characteristics that fit in with Fantasy:
- Magic frames the story
- Story lines feature Good versus Evil
- Mood ranges from humorous to dark; ultimately optimistic
- Language and style frame everything
- Emphasis on landscape
Read-Alikes:
- The Traitor's Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Book Club Experience
The book club that I observed
was hosted by a friend of mine, and the members were friends of hers and mutual
friends of ours. I’ve gone to the club occasionally, but usually don’t find the
time. It’s not a very scheduled thing, but they do try to meet at least once a
month. There’s a group chat that explodes when one member or another reads
something they think is great and wants to share with everyone else. I got
lucky in that my friend found a book that the rest of the club was interested
in, and we met. The book discussed was Trickster’s
Choice by Tamora Pierce.
My friend was the leader for
this meeting. Usually, whoever recommends the book is the one who leads. They
usually open with how people liked the book, just to get a general sense of how
people feel. The meetings usually take place at someone’s house, but occasionally
we like to go out to eat and have a very informal discussion. The general atmosphere
is easy and informal. It’s just a bunch of friends, eating and drinking and
talking books.
The questions asked are
pretty open ended. ‘How did you like it?’ ‘What did you think about this scene?’
There were a few yes or no questions that could be expanded on, such as one
that the leader asked: ‘Do you feel that the Trickster is being truthful with
Aly with his ambitions?’. This question took up a good portion of the
conversation, and led to other members asking related questions.
Anyone who attends is assumed
to have read the book. There were a few that just listened to the conversation,
chiming in with a ‘yes/no’ type comment here and there, but were generally
pleased to just listen along.
There wasn’t anyone who
really tried to steal the spotlight. There was a question posed over the possible
colonialization-narrative, and this sparked off a very heated, but very detailed
and informative, debate. However, no one was overtly offensive, and no one took
great offense to opinions stated. This probably has to do with everyone being
friends and used to talking to each other like this.
There isn’t a set genre or
style of books that this book club likes to read. All genres are pretty well
covered because all of the members like different types of books. In this
instance, the book was overall a hit with the members.
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Special Topics Paper Summary
I did my paper over a brief history of readers' advisory in the United States. I specifically wanted to look at when RA services really became a thing.
What I learned was that while the first libraries were being built in the 1600s (starting with Harvard University's library), RA services weren't discussed until the 1870s, when Samuel Green wrote a paper titled "Personal Intercourse and Relations between Librarians and Readers in Popular Libraries." This is the first instance of RA services being an idea, though they weren't called such back then. Research on the subject found that while these services could be available in the academic libraries, students were mostly taught to rely on their textbooks rather than outside sources, and thus the service wasn't used. When public libraries started being built in the 1830s, RA services became more necessary.
Early readers' advisory services were focused on furthering the education of the public. There was little thought put towards leisure materials. The early RA interviews were very private, having separate offices to conduct the interviews. As more and more of the public became educated, and with Depression-era free time, leisure reading began to rise, and RA services had to adapt.
Today's readers' advisory services are much less formal and less geared towards knowledge only. Most RA interviews can be conducted by any library staff, or anyone at all that cares about reading and wishes to share that with others. There aren't separate rooms for conducting the interview. RA services continue to change as our society continues to change.
What I learned was that while the first libraries were being built in the 1600s (starting with Harvard University's library), RA services weren't discussed until the 1870s, when Samuel Green wrote a paper titled "Personal Intercourse and Relations between Librarians and Readers in Popular Libraries." This is the first instance of RA services being an idea, though they weren't called such back then. Research on the subject found that while these services could be available in the academic libraries, students were mostly taught to rely on their textbooks rather than outside sources, and thus the service wasn't used. When public libraries started being built in the 1830s, RA services became more necessary.
Early readers' advisory services were focused on furthering the education of the public. There was little thought put towards leisure materials. The early RA interviews were very private, having separate offices to conduct the interviews. As more and more of the public became educated, and with Depression-era free time, leisure reading began to rise, and RA services had to adapt.
Today's readers' advisory services are much less formal and less geared towards knowledge only. Most RA interviews can be conducted by any library staff, or anyone at all that cares about reading and wishes to share that with others. There aren't separate rooms for conducting the interview. RA services continue to change as our society continues to change.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Week Seven Prompt
I read the article from the smoking gun, "A Million Little Lies". I'll start off by saying that I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with embellishing the truth when you're writing a book. It helps the story, as a story, flow better. However, stories that are "based on true events" are advertised as such. They are based on true events. This tells the reader, or viewers in the case of television/movies, that while the plot itself is true, there may be some details enhanced, removed, or added.
Frey's book doesn't do that.
He insists that it's all true, that he may have embellished a little bit, but that everything in the book really happened. The Smoking Gun disagrees, and so do I.
In interviews, Frey reveals that he tried multiple times to get his story published as fiction, and was denied time and time again. The moment he tagged it as a nonfiction memoir, it was snapped up and thrown on Oprah's list.
In my opinion, this is the author version of clickbait. Advertise in such a way as to draw in viewers, when the actual material is bland and banal.
Frey's book doesn't do that.
He insists that it's all true, that he may have embellished a little bit, but that everything in the book really happened. The Smoking Gun disagrees, and so do I.
In interviews, Frey reveals that he tried multiple times to get his story published as fiction, and was denied time and time again. The moment he tagged it as a nonfiction memoir, it was snapped up and thrown on Oprah's list.
In my opinion, this is the author version of clickbait. Advertise in such a way as to draw in viewers, when the actual material is bland and banal.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Science Fiction Annotation
Title: Dawn
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Publication Date: 1997
Genre: Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 256
Summary:
Lilith Iyapo has lost her husband and son to the final nuclear strike that has devastated the Earth. In her final moments, she sleeps.
Lilith awakens hundreds of years later, aboard a spacecraft of unimaginable design. Humanity's saviors, the Oankali, live on this craft as they travel from world to world, forever searching. Forever changing.
For the Oankali do not live and grow and change as the humans do. They are in complete control of their evolutionary designs, and they have settled on humans as the next link in their genetic shift. Humans will return to Earth, to live and grow, and to be the bearers of the next generation of Oankali.
Whether they want to or not.
Characteristics that fit in Science Fiction:
- Speculative fiction set in the future
- Explores moral, social, intellectual, philosophical, and/or ethical questions against a setting outside of everyday reality
- Setting invokes otherness of time, place, and/or reality
- Characters are used to underscore issues and atmosphere; aliens emphasize the otherness
Read-Alikes:
- Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
- Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Week Six Prompt
For promoting romance novels, the first idea that comes to mind is setting up displays in the month of February to promote romance books during the 'romance month'. Maybe soft romance near the front desk (i.e. romance with light/no sex, no darker themes) and a mix of romance in displays around the library. Maybe do a romance reading program, where people sign up for the month, and whoever reads the most gets a small prize; special bookmarks, assorted treats, coupons to any business(es) that want to participate in the promoting. Appealing to people's competitive streaks is a good way to get them to read things they might otherwise ignore. Outside of the month of February, promote a different genre each week with displays near the front of the library, and some fliers promoting books in said genre.
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