LJ Series “Redefining RA”: Keeping Up With Genres

Genre is a hot issue in readers' advisory (RA) circles right now. Many people are looking at how genre functions and morphs. Joyce Saricks is the author of The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction and is currently revising this seminal work. In doing so, she is offering a new framework for considering how genre affects readers (See “An RA Big Think,” LJ 7/07, p. 41). Michael Chabon issued what amounts to a manifesto on genre in Maps and Legends. The Reading List Council, the American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) committee that selects the eight best genre books each year, is fast becoming a genre think tank, constantly questioning genre and its signifiers. Readers and librarians alike are noticing the way horror elements are showing up in suspense, thrillers, and urban fantasy and how, in turn, urban fantasy is sending tentacles into the romance genre. Genre terms such as slipstream and dieselpunk are slipping into our RA conversations. All of this is an indication of how genres surface and resurface, combine and create anew. Since genre is such boggy and shifting ground, RA librarians have to find ways to keep up with each new face of the re-created genre scene. Genre studies provide a map through this uncertain terrain.

Studying a genre is not a new idea. Over two decades ago, and even longer in less formal ways, librarians began gathering to study genres—asking such questions as in what genre does this book fit and why, what are its features and categories, what are readers responding to, and which authors are they reading? This is how we came to consider collectively adventure novels fast-paced and determine that the key element of a mystery is that justice is upheld.

Today, what most RA librarians take for granted—that there is a framework of knowledge that can be applied to broad classifications of books—did not always exist. The frameworks were developed through genre studies—the concentrated focus on a genre to discover its appeal. Genre studies also examine how the various genres can be divided into narrower groups (subgenres), identify key authors and titles, and consider how readers both respond to the genre and talk about the books within it. The “genre study helped identify trends and types so we could understand the genre better—and thus help readers,” says Saricks.

Well constructed and considered, genre studies should be a part of ongoing RA practice. They provide a mechanism for connecting titles and grouping the vast outpouring of books available each year—not to mention the backlist. They give us the structure to read strategically in a deliberate and focused manner, guided by RA goals and intended outcomes rather than the lure of the next book in the ever-growing to-be-read pile.

No one can read everything, of course, but it is hard to do RA well without reading methodically in a way that provides both depth and breadth. Reading widely through the year is the best way to keep up with the ever-changing publishing scene and with reader interest, but it doesn't offer enough depth. Genre studies do. Through the focus of a genre study, RA competencies and skills are built and honed, and connections among books are made clear so that reading can be put to contextual use.

There are many manifestations of the genre study. Some last for two hours while others extend over years. Some prescribe what to read. Some are self-directed. Genre studies can closely resemble a classroom lecture, a focused book group, or a casual coffee-break conversation. Entire library staffs or just the RA team can participate. There is no one-size-fits-all genre study, but there are some fundamentals: what to read, how long it should last, and who is included.

Opinion varies widely on what to read. Kathy Leahy, RA librarian, Hingham PL, MA, suggests that you “start with the genre that's most popular in your library so that participants can put their skills to work right away.” Others prefer to begin with the genre they collectively are most interested in to help build enthusiasm. When Liz Elgosin of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections led a genre study for other prison librarians, mysteries were the top choice. Still others decide to focus on the genre they know least about. Janet Campbell, director of the Mansfield PL, MA, says that her group “chose to read thrillers as it was a genre that hardly any of us read.” Jen Baker, a fiction librarian and readers' advisor at the Seattle PL (SPL), concurs. “Choose a genre most of you know little about [to] be exposed to new subgenres and titles/authors,” she says.

You need a good leader to help facilitate a genre study—one who knows the genre well enough to be a guide and who is willing to dig in and learn more. You can spend a lot of time “wandering in the wilderness,” says Saricks, “unless you have someone to direct the reading choices.”

How much time to devote to each genre is another issue with a wide range of solutions. The shortest studies are lectures designed to distill the core elements of the genre. Alan Ziebarth, West Lawn branch manager, Chicago PL, has been conducting genre studies for over 15 years. He often gives two-hour talks on individual genres, supported by detailed handouts. “I usually create my lectures around a chronological history of the genre, emphasizing the ways in which past authors and trends influence current writing. I always give a very long bibliography covering all of the different trends within the genre.”

Others, such as Diana Tixier Herald, author of Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests, and Saricks often give short genre sessions at conferences like the Public Library Association meeting or teach three- to four-hour workshops on genre topics. This easy way to get genre information works well as an introduction or as a refresher, especially when bolstered by individual reading either before or after the session.

On the other end of the spectrum, the year-long study is the gold standard and has been widely adopted. However, with increasing time constraints it is now being revamped. While groups such as the Adult Reading Round Table (ARRT) still hold two-year genre studies devoted to a single subject, many libraries are experimenting with shorter time frames, with breaks for either free reading or different types of RA training. For instance, Lucy Lockley, collection development manager, St. Charles City-County Library, MO, divides her multiyear genre study into 14 genres, one genre every other month, interspersed with RA technology workshops and other training sessions. Some libraries spend six to eight weeks per genre and take a break in between.

The final preliminary decision is whom to include. Genre studies can encompass the whole staff, patrons, trustees, and others involved with the library, or just the RA staff. Opinion as to what works best varies. SPL's Baker, who led a summer mystery genre study for patrons, reports that most enjoyed it, but a few said that “studying mysteries in-depth took some of the fun out of reading.” Hingham's Leahy suggests only including a small group to make it more manageable and focused and then have that group share its learning with the whole library. “It's just easier and quicker for four or five committed staff to delve deeply into a genre and become something approaching expert. Our plan,” she says, “is to begin sharing what we've learned with staff at the circ and AV service desks through optional early-morning or lunchtime presentations.” Mansfield's Campbell, who included trustees in her genre study, reports that the mixing of staff and library leaders was “terrific…it was great for staff to interact with trustees in a somewhat informal setting, and trustees enjoy it because they're interested in learning about the genres as well as what our readers are looking for.”

The point of genre studies varies. Some are designed simply to get staff up to speed in a genre. Others are meant to produce RA tools such as booklists and read-alikes. However, at the heart of every genre study is something called the framework, the document that integrates the findings of the group, lays them out by appeal, and creates what Leahy calls the “geography of the genre.”

To create a useful framework, every genre study needs a leader. This person chooses the books to read or makes the lists from which participants can select, brings the background information, sets up the genre and explains its history, points out the resources (web sites, blogs, books) that participants might need, and keeps everyone on track for what can be a lengthy period of time. Saricks believes that the role of the leader cannot be too highly stressed. “It is key,” she says. “Studying the genre requires that someone draft the framework, based on all the reading and staff discoveries, so staff can react to the draft and refine the framework as they read.” Good characteristics for a leader include the ability to plan projects over time and keep up with many moving parts, a solid knowledge of the genre or a willingness to read ahead and learn before starting the session, skills in leading teams and keeping them on track, and, most of all, the ability to collect data and synthesize findings.

Beyond picking the right leader, there is no magic formula for conducting a genre study. What is important is finding a comfortable system that works well for everyone involved. Various forms of meetings include groups sharing their appeal findings about different books in a genre, mini–book discussion groups on the same title, round-robin book talking, or a talk about the key elements of the genre (supported by individual input based on outside reading).

Most genre studies organize themselves around certain objectives. The first step is to read the key authors in the genre as well as a range of popular authors in each subgenre in order to figure out the appeals. Next, discuss those appeal discoveries, examine the history and classic core works of the genre, and make opportunities to practice book talking, write annotations, and build skills to listen for appeal in conversation with the reader. All of these activities help participants contribute to the construction of the framework and provide practice of key RA skills.

Just as the ideal genre study varies, there are no perfect models for frameworks. Each will be different based on the needs of the participants. At best, however, frameworks are customized to each group and are illustrated with specific books and authors identified as vital.

Some elements typically found in genre frameworks include an outline of key elements that exemplify the genre's appeal, speculation as to what readers of the genre are looking for and where they might be going next, lists of key authors and titles, and details of the ways readers talk about books. Frameworks can include suggestions for further reading, point out awards and important resources, and even add tips and things to keep in mind about the genre (see “Genre Study Examples and Templates,” p. 33, for a variety of options).

While there are many genre frameworks available off the shelf, such as those in The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, Genreflecting, and ARRT, developing a framework that is specific to your library system and reading history is invaluable, as it provides a common set of examples and a similar understanding of what you and your colleagues mean by fast paced, character centered, detail rich, beautiful language, etc.

Of course, this only happens when everyone reads at least some of the same key titles. Some studies assign key authors who must be read and then require additional reading from a select list. Some assign every book, while others simply provide a lengthy list of suggestions and everyone can read what they want. Still others mandate that no one can read the same title.

These decisions in turn impact how the framework gets made. If everyone reads the same book, then that title can be deconstructed and used to start a pattern for the genre. It can then be supplemented by all the other titles read either together or as free choice, building knowledge until the genre study concludes. If no one reads the same book, then the pattern-making works reductively. As each person “booktalks” their book and shares what they have learned about its appeal, layers and layers of discoveries about the genre are interpreted and expressed until a common understanding of how the genre works is achieved.

Participants gain a great deal from genre studies. Active genre study members develop a set of transferable skills that can be applied from one genre to the next. They increase their skills in book talking, identifying read-alikes, writing annotations, listening for appeal in the give and take of a conversation, and identifying and sharing authors based on that appeal. They learn how to apply appeal to other titles and become familiar with the key authors in the genre. They learn how to place books in context by using the framework as a standard and then considering books in comparison to it.

As the comfort level with the genre increases, staff feel more confident offering assistance. Genre studies widen what everyone reads, which allows for more interesting read-alike suggestions—and thus the quality of RA service improves. Also, staff get a chance to stretch a bit and “read outside of their favorite genres,” notes Mansfield's Campbell. RA tools, such as booklists, staff picks, displays, and sure-bet carts, are also enriched through this wider perspective and deeper knowledge of the collection.

Genre studies also help build teams and establish a thriving RA tone in the library. Leane Ellis, reference librarian at Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, MA, describes the teamwork's lasting effects. “Because the genre group came from every department in the library, team-building was an amazing by-product of the genre study,” she says. “The collaboration among departments continues in RA conversations among staff and with readers and has positively influenced how staff members regard other departments and personnel.” A year after her genre study concluded, Ellis adds, “members of the staff on all service desks are still talking to each other about process and genre appeal factors as we work though our days on the public desks.”

With such great outcomes, why don't more genre studies exist? Time is a problem. Even in libraries as big as Seattle's, Baker reports that it takes “a lot of jockeying and tweaking of schedules to make it possible,” so much so that while SPL's fiction department experimented with doing genre studies in several forms, the members decided to provide a wide selection of booklists and RA training as a more comprehensive way to support staff throughout the citywide system and save genre studies for their staff retreat. Leahy, who works in a one-building library serving a population of nearly 20,000, found the same thing. She suggests that libraries appoint someone to be in charge and “keep the group on schedule and not permit the myriad other library tasks to get in the way of regular meetings.”

To succeed you should make sure the administration knows the importance of conducting a genre study and fully supports it. “Unless you're blessed with a director who really supports the initiative and the time it entails,” Leahy says, “I don't think it's possible to sustain a credible RA effort.”

St. Charles's Lockley reports that participants sometimes find their schedules just cannot stretch to include one more thing and so has also tailored her three-year study to welcome staff who need to rotate in and out over time. Shelly Quezada, consultant for Library Services to the Unserved, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and developer of a grant project entitled Reader's Advisory in the LibRAry: Putting the “RA” Back in Library, got Library Services & Technology Act funds to support genre studies around her state. She built into the project funding a mechanism to pay staff to attend genre study meetings outside of their regular work hours. Campbell, who took advantage of the grant's flexibility, scheduled her monthly meetings on Friday evenings after the library closed and paid staff $27 per session. Making it an event, the trustees paid for inexpensive dinners, and the participants contributed dessert.

While it is inescapable that genre studies take time and energy, they pay dividends long after the last page is read and the last book is examined. There can be little better way to build RA skills and create both functional teams and a public service tone in the library than sinking into a genre for a while and working together to discover its appeal.

With the explosion of new genres, the merging of others, and the whole collection implications of formats, genre studies are even more important. Twenty-odd years ago, the RA community figured out what readers loved about fantasy and horror books. As the RA renaissance rages on, we are figuring out why they love graphic novels, nonfiction, and audiobooks, and in the not too distant future we might be talking about the graphic intensity, first-person point of view, and sound track of games. When that happens, we will be witness to the genre formation process anew and will know just how to map it out.