Genrification in the Joanne G. Yancey Library

Even though it is only my third year being the Pre-K to 8 librarian at Darlington, I have already seen a difference in circulation since I implemented a new organizational system in the library.

This summer I decided to reorganize the books based off of their genre instead of by author’s last name. While it took some heavy lifting and some relabeling; I believe this new system will be worth it.

The term for the type of organization I did is called “genre-fication” and it just means that the books are now organized by their genres instead of just by author’s last name. It really is more like a bookstore now rather than a library and students are able to find their favorites quicker and more efficiently.

So, for my third and fourth grade patrons, I put together a short tour video, talked about my summer project, and gave the students the rundown on where books were now. We even took a little personality quiz on genres to figure out our favorite(s).

I was amazed at the results. Every student checked out at least one chapter book and some even checked out two. I usually am bombarded with questions as to where certain books are, but this time I wasn’t. This gave me a chance to really help those who needed help finding the perfect book.

I’ve also been asking students as we roll into our third week of school and they tell me they love it! I am very happy with the results and hope to continue to see students check out books throughout the year.