9 October 2020

Arranging a high school library collection by genres has both advantages and disadvantages for its community of users. This essay will briefly analyse and evaluate these, relating to fiction and non-fiction collections. Whether a high school library should retain the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system, or ‘ditch Dewey’ in favour of genrefication, will be discussed with reference to recent research and practitioner experience.

The organisation of collections by genre-based categories has been mainly applied to fiction collections in school libraries (Martin, 2019; Sannwald, 2015; Wall, 2019). Recent research and observations regarding the genrefication of these collections, however, doesn’t always distinguish between primary and high school contexts. Reasons for and benefits of genrefying fiction, include an increase in circulation, due to simplified browsing, which is particularly helpful for reluctant readers and students who require learning support (Martin 2019; Wall, 2019). This is relevant in both primary and high school contexts. Martin (2019) elaborates that reader independence and student engagement with the school library is a result of genre classification schemes which offer cues, which help students to independently find books they like. Since genrefying the fiction collection of her school’s secondary library, Davenport (2017) has received positive feedback from her students and teachers, as all users can more easily locate books and new authors within a preferred genre. A disadvantage to this classification scheme is that users and content can become ‘pigeonholed’ (Sannwald, 2014). Students may not be exposed to new genres and authors as they aren’t browsing beyond their preferred genre, and teacher librarians are forced to label texts which don’t neatly fit into one category. As well as the challenges of defining genres, time and resourcing issues are another disadvantage of genrefication, as the process is time consuming and labour intensive (Martin, 2019; Sannwald, 2015; Wall, 2019).

These observations highlight some valuable benefits of user-driven collection management. Although, the benefits discussed relate to the recreational reading of students, rather than the finding of specific resources for research. Outhouse (2017) discusses how genrefication supports ‘browsability’, which is in contrast to the DDC system, which prioritises findability (p.38). Browsability is the “leisurely investigation leading to self-motivated, independent learning and reading” (p.38). It does not, however, allow for relational or hierarchical organisation, vital for specific information retrieval (Kaplan, 2013, p.47).

The genrefication of nonfiction collections has not been as widely adopted in high school library contexts (Martin, 2019; Outhouse, 2017; Sannwald, 2015; Wall, 2019). Wall (2019) specifies that the main purpose for genrification in NSW secondary school libraries has been based on “quick access to specific content, such as HSC study materials” (p. 12). Advantages of genrefying nonfiction collections in high school libraries includes the ability to categorise resources “based on curriculum rather than the Dewey system” (Wall, 2019, p.13). Kaplan (2013) argues that the DDC system actually operates in synchronisation with school curricula, given that the main classes are all standard elements of the school curriculum (p. 47). Advocates for the continuation of the DDC system emphasize the importance of communicating the categories which the Dewey numbers represent. Panzer (2013) argues that the DDC system provides verbal resource description through captions and Relative Index terms (p.24). These captions and category signs simply need to be revealed to the library users, for an enhanced experience (Kaplan, 2013; Panzer, 2013). Other benefits of genrefication for nonfiction are similar to those for fiction, and include an increase in circulation, due to the ease of browsability (Whitehead, 2012; Wall, 2019).  Despite some benefits for high school students, Martin (2019) states that in his research, all high school librarians chose not to genrefy their nonfiction collection. Teacher librarians often choose to keep the DDC system to help prepare students for tertiary education and academic libraries (Gordon, 2013; Martin, 2019; Sannwald, 2015). Other noteworthy disadvantages of genrefying the nonfiction collection include the disabling of quick resource retrieval, as mentioned earlier, a lack of consistency across libraries and the loss of standardisation across the profession (Outhouse, 2017; Wall, 2019; Sannwald, 2015).

Genrefication clearly has some positive, user-friendly outcomes for high school libraries, particularly for fiction collections. However, for nonfiction collections, the DDC system, when encompassing digital tools which support online browsing and research, may still be the better option. While the Dewey system has flaws, such as social and cultural bias, and a tendency to scatter similar resources across different classes (Panzer, 2013; Wall, 2019), the advantages of consistency, global reach and standardisation, together with an ability to support effective information retrieval, potentially outweigh these pitfalls. As Kaplan (2013) states, classification numbers and “hierarchically linked resources” are more important than ever before (p. 47). If the DDC system continues to be adapted for 21^st century users and technologies, such as in Dewey.info, the platform for Dewey linked data (Panzer, 2013), then it certainly is relevant and powerful. If harnessed for its full potential, the DDC system could continue to support the description and organisation of resources in current and future school library systems.

 

References

Davenport, S. (2017). Genrefying the fiction collection. Connections, 102, 6-7. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-102/tinkering-making-and-building-in-the-school-library/

Gordon, C. (2013). Dewey do Dewey don’t: A sign of the times. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), E1-E8.

Kaplan, A. (2013). Is it truly a matter of “Dewey or don’t we?” Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 46-47.

Martin, C. (2019). What school librarians have to say about genrefication. https://ideas.demco.com/blog/what-school-librarians-say-about-genrefication

Outhouse, R. (2017). Genrefication: Introducing and explaining the exponential trend in public and school libraries. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/masters_papers/kk91fq479

Panzer, M. (2013). Dewey: How to make it work for you. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 22-29.

Sannwald, S. (2015). In defense of library genrefication. http://genrefication.weebly.com/

Wall, J. (2019). Genrefication in NSW public school libraries: A discussion paper. Scan, 38(10), 10-17.

Whitehead, T. (2012). Ditching Dewey. http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/?p=668