Week 16 Prompt Response

   At first, I didn't think the way I read books has changed all that much since my childhood, but once I started considering it, my reading habits and the way I interact with the library has changed dramatically. Where once as a kid I would borrow multiple books in one genre at a time, I now spread my reading across multiple genres at a time. I find I don't like to binge-read any more; perhaps that's because of my advancing years and I've realized I don't have time for bad books, or maybe it's because there's just so much more out there than one genre to explore and (hopefully) enjoy.
   I also don't browse the library shelves as much as I used to or as much as I had to. The advent of searching the library catalog online has been an enormous help to me, as I can look for books whenever and wherever I am able to. The ability to add books to a list in my account or to immediately place a hold on them has also made my library searching much more efficient. Ebooks, which I didn't think I would be that interested in ten years ago, have also been a delightful surprise, especially during this pandemic closure. Books I wouldn't think of trying to find in hard copy because while they sound interesting, they just aren't that interesting, I can now pull up on my mobile device and try it out. If I don't like it, it's not that bad of a thing. If I do like it, I can then read it (most of the time) immediately.
  A drawback to the technological aspects of the library is I don't know my librarians. I recognize a few of them, but I don't know any of their names, not like when I was a kid when I was on first-name basis with them (well, including Miss or Mister). I still feel comfortable asking for assistance, but it's not the same.
   I realize I have less time now than I did growing up to just spend time in the library and browse, but I'd like to be able to just spend time in the stacks to see if I can find a hidden gem.
   What will the library look like in ten years or so? The traditional rows of books will be mostly replaced with open-space concepts for multi-person engagement. Patrons will have more access to ebooks, possibly including not only the text of a book, but the book’s various manuscript iterations, background materials, notes from the author and editors, commentary by critics and reviewers, and audio interpretations. We'll be on the way to virtual-reality, fully immersive experiences that include artificial intelligence interfaces guiding patrons to explore not only the texts of books but also the researched material as video game-like walkthroughs.
   We'll continue to read. In general. And when I say "we" it will be that portion of the population that reads now, as Ursula K. LeGuin stated. The entire population has never been readers. If someone isn't a reader by the time they graduate high school, it's unlikely they'll suddenly become a reader later in life. We'll have to continue to expose children to being read to and reading on their own as early as we can so that portion of the reading public grows and doesn't diminish.
   And lest you be concerned about the total disappearance of print books in libraries, there will still be physical books and quiet areas just to read and enjoy a slower-paced mode of learning. Libraries are for everyone and for every type of learning speed. We will have progressed to the point where we can interact technologically with books, but also to the point where we will realize we won’t have to in order to enjoy them.

Week Fourteen Prompt Response

Should libraries provide special places for certain types of books, such as LGBTQ or Urban Lit?

In a word, maybe.

If we're talking about a temporary display in conjunction with a month dedicated to that particular group of people or to highlight a local event, then there's not a problem. We do that already anyway with African American History month and various holidays.

If we're talking about a community that has shown it is interested in having certain genres separated because the community reads them more than others, then it's okay to cater to one's community to make finding material easier.

If we're talking a permanent and completely separate section based on a negative reaction to the material, then that seems counter-productive to the inclusionary nature of libraries. The news report prompting this response makes it clear the segregation of LGBTQ material in that library is to keep it away from other material in an attempt to minimize its presence.

It would depend on one's library, but I would argue against doing such a thing in general:

1. It's exclusionary. We don't separate other books by or about certain groups from the general fiction area. Imagine if we were to have an all-white author section, or an only heterosexual section. Those sections would give the impression that if you're not part of those groups, you can't use the books contained within or that those groups are somehow better than others since they have their own special area. The same principle would apply to LGBTQ or Urban Lit books, but possibly from the other side of the spectrum, that these are not worthwhile and need to be kept away. Many libraries have mystery sections and fantasy sections and western sections within the general fiction section, but all mystery, fantasy, and westerns fall into those sections; we don't pull out those whom some feel are not worthwhile and sequester them.
2. It's not easily doable. What are the criteria for inclusion? Is it just that the book itself falls within those categories, or does the author have to adhere? If a book has one LGBTQ character, does that suffice? If a book has anything to do with urban life, does that qualify? What if an LGBTQ author doesn't write about LGBTQ issues, but writes Urban Lit? Which one would it go under? Would we then separate all types of fiction into their own areas? Where do you put those collections? Way in the back where there's room to do so, but where few will find it, or up at the front to bring attention to it and risk upsetting some people?
3. It's limiting. Not only does it prevent patrons from finding a book in one of the "off limits" section when browsing the shelves and possibly discovering they like that author, it also presupposes that readers of the "off limits" genres only want to read those genres. This is not only short-sighted, but insulting. Urban Lit readers and LGBTQ readers are non monolithic segments of our patrons any more than readers of other genres.

One response to this problem would be to just put all fiction genres together alphabetically and note the genres with stickers on the spines. That way patrons can easily see which books are in their favorite genres, but also be exposed to everything else the collection has to offer.

As with all decisions about a collection, no matter what we do as librarians, someone won't agree, will take offense, or not like it. The best we can do is know our community and patrons, as well as adhere to the open and inclusive nature of libraries to make everything available to everyone and allow people to choose for themselves whether or not to read something.

African American Literature Annotation

Escaping Exodus

by Nicky Drayden

Synopsis

Seske is heir-in-waiting for Matris, head of her people, who are emerging from slumber after their society has moved from inside one space beast to another. As her people begin making the beast into their own place to live, as they have done for generations, Seske must prove to the current Matris she is worthy to be leader of their people. But when she discovers the beast is pregnant and the Matris has ordered it killed, or it will devour the beast's resources meant for her people, Seske is unsure of the direction her people are going.

Characteristics that fit into African American

• This was an interesting "genre" to choose as the guideline was simply that it be written by an African American or Black person. Nicky Drayden fits that bill, so off we go. Beyond African American as a genre, this fits nicely in the speculative fiction genre, with it being science fiction. Another aspect is the characters are all of African or African-esque descent with certain aspects of their culture derived from African or African-inspired cultures.

Characteristics about this Book

• Pacing: The pacing doesn't actually start as slowly as sci-fi usually does, but drops us right into the action, expecting us to keep up without overexplaining everything.
• Characterization: With the plot revolving around the society's rigid caste system, it depends on whose point of view we're currently reading (the narrative switches between Seske and her best friend, Adalla, a beastworker) as to who is a good guy and who is a bad guy. And the characters nicely evolve over the course of the book.
• Storyline: The plot revolves around Seske and her status as heir, which is complicated by the mere existence of her sister, Sisterkin, who was not supposed to have survived birth (the rule is only one child per family and whoever is born first gets to live). Seske is always getting into trouble and does not fit the ideal of what an heir should be, while Sisterkin seems perfect.
• Tone/Mood: The tone starts off optimistic as they are emerging into a new beast, but it gradually becomes more pessimistic as the rigidity of the caste system rears its ugly head and the status of their new beast isn't quite what they thought it was. 
• Style/Language: The language is descriptive, but not flowery. There is a lot of new terminology, taken directly from their history, but not explained outright. We get a good sense of the different castes and how they approach life and what is expected of them through the differing styles of language they each use.
• Setting/Frame: The setting is some time in the distant future; we only realize they are colonists from Earth far into the book. It seems each group of people on Earth created their own spaceship to escape the ravages of overpopulation and now each one is isolated. Seska's people are of dark skin and a matriarchy, while another are of light skin and a patriarchy.

Read-a-likes

• "War Girls" by Tochi Onyebuchi
• "Akata Witch" by Nnedi Okorafor
• "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" by Marlon James
• "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir
• "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi

Personal Note

I enjoyed this novel. One of the good things about it was the style of narration. We are dropped right into the action of a people coming out of slumber into a situation they've generally seen before, but we haven't. But we aren't given the normal type of explanations to bring us up to speed; we see everything through their eyes as they'd experience it and have to figure out what's going on by what they naturally comment on. This made the book harder to read to keep up with all the new words and situations that weren't explained, but worth it because it felt more natural. No "voiceover" here to bring us up to speed. And I appreciate it. It's often so easy for an author to do so.

Week Thirten Prompt Response

   Do libraries have the responsibility to promote or provide materials that "many" think are not "legitimate literary choices"?
   Absolutely.
   If we are to adhere to the belief of "every reader his book, every book its reader," then, yes, we have a responsibility to promote all kinds of material, regardless of what "many" think of it. Otherwise, we put ourselves in the position of arbiters of what constitutes "good" or "acceptable" material, and that is not in the purview of librarianship. At the beginning of the American profession, there may be been the notion librarians or libraries were responsible for making sure Americans read only what is worthwhile, but that is no longer the case and hasn't been for quite a while. This most visually gets represented by the use of library computers; we can't prohibit what a patron looks at on a library computer, regardless of what "many" (including ourselves, possibly) think of the nature of what they're looking at.
   Graphic novels are probably the format that most often gets questioned for their inclusion in a library's collection, since on the surface they seem to be just comic books. But even "just comic books" should be allowed in a library's collection if there is demand, and graphic novels are more than just comic books. Many graphic novels are retellings of novels and short stories, designed to present the content in a different, new, and appealing way, just as audiobooks are designed to present novels and short stories in different, new, and appealing ways.
   However, there is always the problem of what do we include in a collection and what do we keep out? Unless a library has unlimited space and resources, it cannot include every single title, so librarian acquisitions staff have to make judgements on what to include and what not to include. Theoretically, this decision should be made based on available resources, the nature of the collection, the appeal to readers, and any demand for titles, not on merit alone. Librarians will have to, in a way, decide what is worth including and what isn't, so our role is still somewhat of the "gatekeeper" is used to be, but if we can keep a balanced and fair approach to all materials, we can limit the amount of instrinsic bias we have toward certain types of mateirals.
   And as we've looked at before, as long as our patrons are reading, whether novels, non-fiction, audiobooks, ebooks, or graphic novels, then it doesn't matrer what or in what format that material is presented. We're doing our job in making those resources available.

Non-fiction Annotation

Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare

by Jonathan Bate

Synopsis

Professor Jonathan Bate examines William Shakespeare's life through the prism of the seven ages of man speech from As You Like It, corresponding to how a typical man of his age would have lived, what he would have experienced, and how that would have affected his development as a writer.

Characteristics that fit into non-fiction

• Where does the book fall on the narrative continuum? The narrative of this book is much like that of a novel, taking us through the journey of a man's life as it would have been in the late 1500s to early 1600s. It is informative, but easy to read and follow, with stories and examples in place of numbers and dates. Not only is the seven ages of man speech prevalent throughout, but other quotes and scenes from Shakespeare's works are used to illustrate Bate's points.
• What is the subject of the book? The subject is, of course, Shakespeare and what would have shaped him, but more broadly it's the effect of one's culture, surroundings, upbringing, and society on the development and maturing of one's mind. It's also a good general history of Elizabethan and Jacobite England.
• What appeal elements are present in the book? The book is richly detailed with descriptions of towns, fashion, tools and implements, methods of transportation and manufacturing, and sundry other things, as well as explanations of the impact of then-current events, such as international affairs, court intrigue, religious considerations, popular entertainment, and the plague. There are illustrations and maps throughout relating to the ages of man, as well as certain of the items described. We are also given a thorough description of the contemporary information we have about Shakespeare himself.
• What type of book is it?
       This is a biography, as well as a general history of the Elizabethan and early Jacobite periods. It is also a mini-treatise on literature.

Read-a-likes

• "The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West" by Patricia Nelson Limerick
• ""Milton and the English Revolution" by Christopher Hill
• "Hamlet in Purgatory" by Stephen Greenblatt
• "God's Fury, England's Fire" by Michael Braddick

Personal Note

This is an excellent "biography" of Shakespeare. I say "biography" because the information we have about Shakespeare is pretty scant for a full-length biography. Here, Bate uses the seven ages of man speech and looks at what a typical Englishman at the time Shakespeare was growing up and thriving would have seen and experienced at each of those stages of life (infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and oblivion). Those experiences he then links to Shakespeare's writing to see how they would have influenced the Bard's poetry and plays. This is the biography I would recommend for anyone wanting a good idea of who Shakespeare probably was, as it also details the relatively extensive amount (for a relative nobody of the time) of information we have on Shakespeare.

Week Eleven Prompt Response

E-media and Appeal Factors

E-books allow us a great deal of ease and flexibility in our reading. When I hear of a new title I'm interested in, I see if it's available as an e-book first. It's easy to check the different e-book services available through each of my library cards to see if it's there for me to read. This has allowed me to read immediately a number of books I otherwise would not have been able to read or would have needed to wait a while before getting it. I've found that in those periods of time waiting for a print copy, I've sometimes become uninterested in the title I thought I was interested in before and don't end up reading it. For ease of use, it's hard to beat an e-book, especially since we can read them anywhere we have our devices, we don't have to worry about losing or damaging the book, and they return automatically.

All that being said, I do still prefer the feel and heft of a book in my hands. I like being able to see how much more of a book I have left just by glancing that way and judging whether I can get through it in time. Some print books are also formatted in ways that take advantage of page breaks and placement of text or images on the page, which oftentimes gets altered and possibly ruined by the reformatting of the text to the size of whatever screen we happen to be using. I've found I have more of an interesting trying to finish a print book than I do an e-book, possibly because I've gone to the trouble of actually finding it in a library or bookstore and carried it around with me (this does not alter my 100 pages or 1/4 book rule, though).

Audiobooks, both traditional (which now means on CD) and digital, are less of a problem for me as audio is audio regardless of the format. It's again easier to use the digital format of an audiobook if one has the equipment, but that can be said nowadays for CD books as well. I like the all-in-one aspect of e-audiobooks and how it takes up no space (physically) at all; I don't have to change out CDs every so often and keep track of which one I need to listen to next or carry them all around with me (remember selecting CDs for a road trip and making sure the CD wallet was stocked and ready to go?). But I also find the same thing with e-audiobooks as with e-books that I don't have the same sort of investment in them. If I don't get through an e-audiobook, it doesn't bother me as much as if I had not finished a set of CDs.

For readers advisory, it's all about matching the right title in the right format to the reader/listener. I recommend e-books all the time to the patrons who chat in with me as an option to getting the title they want as soon as possible, but sometimes it's just not the right fit. Some patrons don't have the equipment or the desire to deal with what they think is the hassle of digital media, but many of them simply prefer the feel of a book in their hands. These patrons seem to be older patrons, so it's possible with the advent of younger generations as the major drivers of media consumption that will change. However, many older patrons are turning to e-books and e-audiobooks for the very reason of ease of use, as well as that the text size for e-books can be changed to suit diminishing vision, or the speed of e-audiobooks can be changed to suit one's ears. After listening to audiobooks for a living for twelve years, I can listen to narration at higher speeds than most others, but not at the speeds many blind patrons can! The varying speed option is a consideration for many patrons we should be able to mention. Those without the ability to hold a book in their hands for long periods of time benefit greatly from e-books they can simply prop up via a tablet or phone case or stand.

An aspect we do have to consider is how do we get digital media in the hands of those who don't have the ability to use them? So many of use have smart phones and other mobile devices we don't think of those who do not, so the recommendation for someone to use an e-book when they don't have a device doesn't work. There are, of course, such things as playaways that come pre-loaded with digital content on a tablet-like device. Playaways are certainly options to expose patrons to digital media, but those can be expensive and less-flexible options; once the content is loaded, it's there and can't be easily swapped out. And if a patron loses or damages the playaway, much like with a print book, it then is unusable for another patron until it's replaced and a playaway is not as easily or as quickly replaced as print copies. E-books and e-audiobooks don't have these problems.

So the answer, as with print and traditional audio, is to do our jobs and do a thorough (or as thorough as we can) reader's advisory to determine if our patron is interested in digital media or has the ability to use them, without assuming they can and certainly not being disappointed if they don't!