Defending Genre Fiction

[RefLibrarian]

I recently posted an article on the Teleread blog describing the benefits of popular fiction. The article is "Why libraries should offer popular fiction—in both print and e-book...". Stephen Abram's reaction and comments about this post can be read on his blog, here. I think that we have a hard time promoting Library 2.0, when some people do not even think that libraries should provide popular fiction!

[Judith Fischer]

I am a strong advocate of give the people what they want. We are a service industry. If you want patrons to come to the library, then they must find what they are looking for, even if it's romance novels. Just because that's not my choice of reading material doesn't mean there is no place in the library for it. It is not our place to judge people's taste in literature.

I'm also an advocate for gaming in the library. It gets people in the door who would probably not set foot in the library otherwise. Perhaps they will discover the perfect book for them while they're waiting for their turn. Does it matter if it's a graphic novel or Tolstoy, as long as they enjoy reading it?

[Jill]

It's true that this debate continues even now; I have encountered patrons who believe that librarians have been abrogating their professional duties by not insisting, particularly in times of tight budgets, that *only* the very best materials be housed. Now when people are talking about bringing gaming into their libraries, it will revive the debate. The upside maybe that a public debate ensues.