If you've been to a local bookstore lately looking for teen fiction, you might have noticed how the most popular genres are now spotlighted. At Barnes & Noble, fantasy and paranormal romance have broken out of the pack and are highlighted separately. Fans of these books will be happy campers - they will be able to locate the newest and hottest titles immediately. Others might not be sure where to look for their favorites.
This system is provoking a growing controversy in the world of secondary school libraries. Some schools are taking the major step of breaking up their fiction collections by genre. As I see it, the benefits of this are that teens will be able to go straight to the genre of choice, not even having to scan the shelves where other categories are listed.
On the other hand, the chance of a serendipitous discovery is considerably lessened. That wonderful ah-hah moment where you stumble upon something you might not otherwise have seen. You would seldom notice an intriguing new historical romance if you only zeroed-in on the paranormal romance section.
There could also be some confusion over how to categorize a book. Would you put Gone, by Michael Grant, under fantasy or maybe in the paranormal section? Under post-apocalyptic fiction?
What do you think? I would love for Clint Small students to weigh in on this issue.
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