My decision for my story collection is to add them to the fiction
section and add a sticker with SC on the spine label. For the most part
I decided I would rather have them I'd rather have them being checked
out and read than to have to dust them off monthly!
Here are the responses I got...
Original question:
Does anyone not have a special section for story collection? I am trying
to come up with the pros and cons of doing away with mine.
I have a couple Stephen King books that are there and the kids miss
them. I am just nervous I guess about doing away with it.
* If your SC section is only a couple of books, I'd do away with
it and move those few books to FIC. On the other hand, if you have
several shelves of books, keep it.
* I have one. It's small (100 books approx.)and I make a point to
keep it well weeded. It is adjacent to the fiction collection and
benefits from that as students browse.
* I am a first year librarian, and my librarian has one, but I'm
not sure that I like the idea. I like it for anthologies and thematic
short story collections, but I don't like it for collections of stories
by one author or for collections of novels by one author. I will be
interested to see the responses that you get.
* I sort of do both - that is, I put the stories by a single
author with his other fiction, clearly marked as short stories. So,
King is with King, and Hemingway is with Hemingway. The collections
that are by multiple authors are still in a special SC section. These
books get "found" when kids are looking for scary stories. It's not
perfect, but seems to work better than the other way.
* I keep mine separate, and kids do miss those books. I've used
genre labels for my fiction books, and have thought about calling the
story collection FIC, but putting the story collection genre label so
they'll know it's a fiction book of short stories.
* I incorporated my story collection into the fiction section
almost 2 years ago. Guess what? -The books now circulate!
* A potential thought to work with - I haven't tried it to know if
that would help!
* I hear you. I didn't want kids to miss things like the Stephen
King collections, so what I've done, because it works for me, is put any
story collection by one author in with fiction, and collections by
various authors in the Story Collection section. Again, it works for us.
* I put only collections of stories by more than one author in
the story collection area (SC). Books of stories by one author are kept
with the authors novels (FIC). I do put a label indicating that they are
short stories on the spine.
* You might consider moving the story anthologies by a single
author (Stephen King and Ray Bradbury come to mind) to the fiction
section, but I don't imagine it would be practical for mixed
anthologies. I know short stories reach a particular audience in my
library - there's just a certain sort of student who likes that format.
Think about promoting your story collection before you get rid of it. I
usually do a big display for our ghost story and gothic anthologies
around Halloween to introduce students to the section and the surge of
interest lasts until Christmas.
* When I started, there was a separate collection for short
stories in the library. I don't have a problem with the special section
and actually like it for when my seniors do their short story analogy
project in the spring. What I did find though was that if a book is a
collection of short stories and they are all by the same author (ie
Stephen King), than I don't shelve it with the other short stories but
rather shelf it as a fiction book and place it with the other books by
that author. (so in my library, all the Stephen King books are the
together). The only books that are in my short story collection are the
books where there are many different short stories by many different
authors.
* Every so many years (5 or so), I switch the SC in and out of
interfiled with the main collection or by themselves. This puts all the
fiction books in a different place, browsing-wise, so that kids who see
King on the 2nd shelf every year, for example, and eventually don't see
King at all, will find new authors. It also helps to get some of the
books from the top or bottom shelves off the top or bottom and maybe see
some circulation action!
* I did away with our Story Collection section a few years ago.
The kids just didn't go to that spot to see what was available. I put
them in the Fiction section and added a red sticker above the spine that
reads "Short Stories" that I purchased from a library supply company.
The books circulate much more now! It worked out well for us.
* I just file them in our 808.83 section (collections of
fiction).
* In both libraries I have been in, I have had a section of
"story collection". Spines are labeled SC and the author or editors
first three letters of last name. The section usually has no more than
100 books or so in it. I usually have to do some sort of informational
lesson on why short stories are fun, etc...otherwise students don't
really know what a "story collection" is.
* We have one; at my previous school, it was used extensively.
Unfortunately at my current school, it is not well-used. Will you shelve
them with fiction? What about the anthologies?
* My short stories are integrated with my fiction mostly because I
had very few. My predecessor did have them separated out, but I made the
change to integrate them. We don't have a lot of call for short stories
by our teachers so it was an easy decision to make here. If you think
teachers will make an assignment requiring a short story collection, you
can either leave them separate or label them well in the OPAC and/or
pull them to a cart when students have to do book selection.
* I got rid of mine for the very reason you stated -- kids weren't
finding the books. Before I came, one of the English teachers had used
that section for specific assignments but she had retired shortly after
I came. When it was no longer a requirement, kids just didn't check
those books out. I weeded the section heavily, then moved the ones I
wanted to keep into the regular fiction section. Those books now have a
better chance of circulating.
* I have one (k-6 campus) but those books always get overlooked.
Let me know if you decide to do away with yours as I may join you.
* We *do* have our story collection separate here, however at my
last library we didn't. I think you are wise to interfile. Our SC hardly
ever gets read and I think if it were interfiled it would get more use.
However, my co-librarian is not ready to do this and she is the senior
librarian so it remains separate.
* I used to have a separate section and the book never moved!
Ever. But then this was before the big box Bookstore came in and
changed the way people think about book organization. Now that I have
interfiled all my Short Stories with Fiction, they all want the
"mysteries" or "horror" or "short stories" section. Damned if you,
dammed if you don't I guess.
* I just shelve them with the regular Fic. Waste of space
otherwise.
* I also want to do away with mine. It is ignored and maybe in the
reg. collection someone may pick one up.
* I did away with the separated story collection years ago. I put
them in a category in the catalogue just in case someone wanted short
stories in particular. The books circ better when they are shelved with
regular fiction.
* My short stories are integrated with my fiction mostly because I
had very few. My predecessor did have them separated out, but I made the
change to integrate them. We don't have a lot of call for short stories
by our teachers so it was an easy decision to make here. If you think
teachers will make an assignment requiring a short story collection, you
can either leave them separate or label them well in the OPAC and/or
pull them to a cart when students have to do book selection.
Alicia G. Moree
Media Specialist - West Forsyth High School
Cumming, GA 30040
770-88-3470 ext. 332005
amoree@forsyth.k12.ga.us
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who
can't read them."~Mark Twain~
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