How Libraries Work: Why Did They Move My Books?

Hmm... Maybe we should arrange books by color...

QUIZ: Why do libraries rearrange their collections?

• A.) To give themselves more space
• B.) Because we're preparing for book-shifting to become an Olympic sport
• C.) To make old men cry

The library I currently work for has rearranged their collection. Previously, they had a mystery section, a science fiction and fantasy section, and a western section. They have interfiled all their genre sections into one adult fiction section, which is library-speak for arranging all the fiction from A-Z by the author's last name. Genre books still have stickers distinguishing them from other books.

We had an uproar, particularly from the fans of our western section. I found this interesting because I once read in Neil Gaiman's blog that he used to see western sections in bookstores all the time but hadn't seen one in years. I have to agree with him. I've never seen a western section in my lifetime outside of the library where I work. This might explain the vocal protest from already marginalized western fans, but if you find yourself in a similar situation, I promise libraries don't make these kind of changes to vex you.

One of the reasons a library would make this kind of shift is to save space. If you think about it, a genre section that's not growing as fast as the rest of the fiction section, westerns for instance, are taking up space that could be used by other books.

It also makes it easier to rearrange books. You have one section to shift as opposed to four different sections to negotiate.

The reasoning most cited by my own library was organization. Oftentimes, authors in a genre section could be found in the general fiction section as well, particularly in the case of mystery. There are many reasons why a library would have the same book in two different sections. If we did it on purpose, it could be because we want people in either section to find the book. If we did it on accident, it could be that the person / program, in charge of cataloging the program was unaware of its genre.

With the A-Z organization, when you go to author's name in fiction, all of their books are there as opposed to some. This makes browsing easier if you're browsing by author. You don't have to worry that you missed a book that wasn't in the section that you assumed held all of the author's books.

So, those are some of our reasons. I can see both the pros and the cons to either organization. I admit I'm an avid fantasy reader. I've been branching out more lately, but it is nice to have a designated section to search (NOTE: Fantasy is NOT the same as science-fiction, and anyone who thinks it is is dead to me). On the other hand, I can understand another of Neil Gaiman's sentiments--that libraries and bookstores should all be arranged A-Z so people would be exposed to books outside their ordinary interests. Shelving books has really shown me the worth of this. I see books when I'm shelving that I wouldn't normally ever look for, but which capture my interest.

However, if people would still prefer not to bother with books outside their genres and your library has an A-Z organization, you can always make a list of authors or ask the library staff who are there to help you find what you're looking for.