Where is the fiction section Student Expectations

“Where is the fiction section? ” Student Expectations, Faculty Needs, & Staff Involvement in Academic Library RA Service Sarah L. Johnson Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University sljohnson 2@eiu. edu ALA Annual Conference ~ June 25, 2012

About Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University • Population of Charleston, IL: 21, 838 (2010 census), 3 hours south of Chicago • Student FTE: ~11, 900 • Public, Master’s/L (Carnegie classification) • Library collection: ~1 million volumes • No retail bookstore within 50 miles

EIU’s popular reading collections, 1950 & 2012 (photo at left, courtesy Booth Library University Archives)

Where is the fiction section?

“Students still ask for fun books and for current novels; they value this service, and in fact new students may expect it based on their prior experiences in public and school libraries. Academic libraries should be fulfilling and building upon these expectations rather than letting them languish, and losing a crucial opportunity for engagement with the larger community in the process. ” Smith, R. and Young, N. J. (2008). Giving pleasure its due: Collection promotion and readers’ advisory in academic libraries. ” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 34 (5), 520 -26.

Five collections of RA interest • • Best Sellers - hardcovers Read & Relax - paperbacks (both with assigned bibliographer) • Gra. FX – graphic novels (via LSTA grant; assigned to Art bibliographer) • Teachers Center Juvenile Collection (assigned to Education bibliographer) • Over. Drive e-book collection (selection by consortial committee)

“In the interest of maintaining an environment that stimulates reading and discussion, the library will acquire current popular recreational reading books in both hardback and paperback editions. All of these materials will be cataloged and will appear in the online catalog. Gift materials are a frequent source for the R&R [Read & Relax] Collection. ” From the Booth Library Collection Development Policy, http: //www. library. eiu. edu/pubs/policies/CDpolicy. pdf

Collection Promotion From traditional methods like reading lists and book displays… … to the up-and-coming

Staff buy-in and training… • If your library staff are avid readers, take advantage of it! • Creation of book displays and exhibits • Participation in one book, one campus discussions (Eastern Reads)

Staff buy-in and training… • Staff Development programs • • Searching Nove. List Using Goodreads Searching and downloading e-books and audiobooks via Over. Drive Cataloging books and discovering appeal factors via Library. Thing

Library. Thing RA training workshop Tags often represent genres, themes, other appeals: strong female characters, fast paced, thriller, dystopian fiction, violent, suspenseful, exciting, futuristic

Existing partnerships… • Exhibit programming • Coordination of supplementary exhibits with area public libraries • Over. Drive / My. Media. Mall • Virtual partnership with ~60 public libraries in north Chicago suburbs

Conclusions… • A little effort can go a long way • It offers many benefits for students, faculty, and library staff • It can be an excellent marketing and recruitment tool • The support for beginning a popular reading collection may already be in place