by Sarah Statz Cords
The other week I treated myself to a coffee date with a friend of mine who works in a bookstore. While we enjoyed our beverages and treats (what’s the point of a hot drink without a cookie?) we covered a variety of topics from personal tragedies and hopes for the future, what books we’re reading, the history of the twentieth century, the politics of vaccinations, and many other subjects.* As we were talking about the Internet and how we find books, my friend suddenly said:
“I really miss browsing.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. Although I find most of my books by searching my library’s catalog for specific titles and subjects, I’d also had an epiphany earlier that week (while browsing a Barnes and Noble) when I realized all over again how pleasant and full of possibility it is to scan a finite shelf of books.
I have thought of what my friend said, and the heartfelt way in which he said it, so many times this week. It has made me think: How will be browse in the future? Of course, because my whole life is wrapped up in books, I mainly wonder about how searching for and instant access to ebooks (in any format) and searching for specific audio titles to download on our computers and mp3 players, all without ever going to a place or looking at actual things will affect us, but I also wonder how this will play out in other media as well. Where will people meet if not at bookstores and video rental places? How will we replicate browsing on the Internet, which is weighted heavily in favor of exact searches on Google, and which offers so many choices as to be overwhelming? Will we forget what it feels like to make any serendipitous discoveries? What will that do to our brains?
Or am I just being hysterical? Do you browse for books and reading on the Internet? Has the way you find books and other media items changed considerably over the past decade? I’d like nothing better than to hear I’m nothing but an alarmist and a pessimist (neither of those charges against me would be ones that haven’t been made before).
*You can see why he’s one of my very favorite people to have coffee with.
What a great comment, Marnie! And you’ve put your finger on one of the biggest problems library users have. Sometimes I think library staff forget what it’s like to come into the library and use the place as an outsider. We’re just so comfortable with the place, and we have access to things the average user does not. The question is not really “Do you have all the new good books in your library?” which is where many librarians tend to begin and end. The question is “How can Mrs. Smith the ordinary avid reader know what new good books are available in your library?”
I think libraries should:
1) Publish lists of what’s coming…not just bestsellers, but those titles that are getting a lot of buzz for being a good read. That’s what our New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer lists are on this site, but Mrs. Smith would probably appreciate having those lists earlier (with an annotation) so she can place a hold.
2) Display, display, display…especially staff favorites and Indie Next books…and books that are movie tie-ins or on a particular subject, and if you like xxx, then try these. The more browsing choices readers have, the better their life will be. Studies show that a very large majority of public library patrons browse for things to read. For those who say there’s no room to make displays, take an hour and watch the people who come into your library. Chances are they either head straight for the computers, or they head straight for the displays, browse there, then pick up their holds and leave. Is all that wasted real estate in the stacks worth it? How many people nowadays go into the stacks? You might be surprised.
3) Get to know the patrons and offer suggestions on what’s coming soon. Some libraries allow patrons to have an automatic hold placed on particular authors. But there’s always the opportunity for librarians to read about or see a new book and think, “Oh, Mrs. Smith might like this.”
4) Feature circulating magazines about books. This includes Bookmarks, the only glossy journal available that covers all genres of books and is aimed at the avid reader, Romantic Times, Mystery Scene, Locus, Historical Novels Review, and other genre magazines are great as well. In these bad economic times, many people are canceling their magazine subscriptions. And many may not even know that these specialty magazines exist. Put them out where readers can see them.
As someone now in the position you will be in shortly, Marnie, I would say that the holds list is your friend! I scan many blogs and websites to stay up-to-date on what’s coming out, and when I see something I might like to try, I immediately place a hold on it. (I do wish library holds allowed you to leave a note to yourself, as I often have books come in and I can’t remember why I placed the hold!) If I had to pick just one consistent, dependable site to scan for upcoming good reads, I would suggest Library Journal’s PrePub by Barbara Hoffert, which is available free on their website, and will keep you apprised of the new hot stuff that’s coming. That and a subscription to Bookmarks will keep you well stocked with titles you’d like to request.
There are many many other book review sites, of course, but I’m ashamed to have to agree with you…at the current moment, browsing in bookstores is almost always better for the reader than browsing in their home library. Can we fix this in the future? I truly hope so, because it’s what our readers want.
Thanks for this thread. It has brought up something I had not considered about my impending retirement after 30+ years of library work. I won’t have access to new books as they come in [definitely browsing with intensity]. I’ll be a customer/patron who doesn’t see the newest titles because they have gone out to the folks who knew they were being published and who reserved them in advance. In the library where I work we do post bestseller lists, but that is not the same as browsing new titles. We also have a new books shelf, but those books are avidly sought after and only contain the second tier of popular titles. None of our five copies of “Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” are on the shelf. I’m going to have to try some new strategies including continuing to read this blog and visiting bookstores, probably small independent ones where I usually find appealing titles. Web browsing is NOT the same. I wouldn’t even think of going to Amazon to look for “something to read”.
So what could libraries do to help the likes of us?
- continue displays – Using lists generated by RAO, Fiction_L and Novelist, volunteers can pull books for display. We place small typing tables covered with fabric remnants at the ends of stacks and put an 8.5×11 poster on the stack end. We also put books face-out in any space that might be left on the end of the shelf
-use shelf-talkers to feature authors – authors rather than specific titles work best because the first reader will take the specific title
-post any publications featuring new books – IndieNext list, BookPage, NextReads, Bookmarks, this week’s publications from this blog- in a prominent place near the new books shelf
-promote active reader’s advisory among all staff.
-publicize the time of week or month that you usually put out new books if that is somewhat regular .Do our customers know that we usually put out new books Tues., Wed., Thurs? [wonder what the purchasing schedule is for the library I'll be using?]
-consider a rental collection or a “hot titles” collection with multiple copies and a short circulation period
Maybe I’ll just have to volunteer to do displays in my hometown library. However, one of my colleagues who looks for books requested for other libraries, jokingly [I think] suggested that she was going to ask all candidates for my job if they promoted displays and blackball any who did.
Any suggestions for my anticipated withdrawal symptoms are welcome.
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Wendy,
I’ve enjoyed the thread too. Thanks for keeping it going!
I too think browsing is one of those things people enjoy but don’t give a lot of thought to. I’m worried we won’t notice it’s gone until too late! I too will be interested to see what the web produces for browsing, but then I’ll probably just have to upgrade my computer every year (how obnoxious and costly will that be?) in order to keep up with the downloading capacity necessary to quickly browse stuff. Amazon already takes forever on my machine with their flippable/browsable pictures and titles in the middle of the screen.
And I’m glad you’ve had good luck with floating; I think the positive nature of the “new library every day” really does lend some support to how much people still like looking at actual books and things.
This is a fascinating thread, indeed! I do think customers want to browse……what I think librarians and bookstore owners and website designers need to remember is that as the reading experience changes, they have to be more intentional when it comes to creating that browsability. I work for a large library system that floats its collection, and floating has actually increased the browsing experience as the newer, more interesting items move around. Customers tell us “it’s a new library every day” and love it, but that is in no small part due to the staff’s committment to filling those displays and helping to shape that browsing experience.
I think what will become really interesting is whether or not web people can design a real browsing experience (as opposed to a searching experience) online. Whoever can truly replicate that fun part of “shopping” will win big. Di is not the first person I’ve heard comment favorably on Audible in this regard.
Di,
Well, you’ve certainly hit on one of the main reasons I avoid clothing stores. (Or stores of any kind, really, that aren’t bookstores.) I laughed when I read that, because one day I realized that the way I love book shopping and can do it for hours is the way many other people feel about shopping in general, whereas many people are as intimidated in bookstores and libraries as I am in any other retail outlet. It was an eye-opening day.
I agree that browsing is an important way to combat overload. Sometimes, frankly, I like and need the illiusion that a finite grouping of books will help me becoming reasonably informed on any given topic, or will entertain me in a certain way. I think that’s an important way to combat feeling overwhelmed, which I think is becoming a more common sensation.
This IS a great thread; I’m enjoying it immensely. Thank you for participating.
Elaine,
Thank you so much for providing the school library perspective. I’m glad students still respond to the lure of covers, and sometimes, who has time at work to do anything more complicated than turn a few books face-out? Whatever works, go with it.
I know what you mean about favorite authors keeping one busy, but oh…the thought of never finding anyone new would make me sad. Even if they’re just new to me. Last year was the first time I discovered Helene Hanff (she of “84, Charing Cross Road), and honestly, it felt like my whole reading life changed when I did.
And thank you for sharing your public library system as well. It would hurt me a bit to give up requesting the newest books, but I do think your system is at least trying to be fair about things.
I am a school librarian and I have found the students respond to any books I place face forward on the shelf. I do not have to create a display at all.
Personally, I rarely browse libraries or bookstores anymore. There are so many authors I follow that I am scared to find anyone new. I can’t keep up now with my TBR pile.
Our state public library system (Georgia) has the policy that all new books remain in the purchasing library for six months before they can be borrowed on ILL. That is frustrating for me sometimes, since my library is very small, but I do believe it is a fair way of handling things.
Browsing is so important to avoid information overload. When I go into a clothing store I am immediately overwhelmed by all the possibilities I most often leave without even trying anything on. I know lots of people who go into libraries experience the same thing in relation to books. It is so important to have that smaller set of face out books to peruse. I think so many people are attracted to the new books section in libraries because the books are displayed. I loved visiting the San Antonio library last year and walking through the fiction stacks. They had displays on almost every aisle. I was there the month a popular author had died and they used the section near his section of the alphabet to put up a photo of him, an article about him, and all the copies of his books that were checked in displayed face out.
Using Reader’s Advisor Online is a great way to find groupings for display.
I often browse for books, particularly audio books, online at Audible. I look at new titles by genre and it really is very much a browsing experience. I also browse shelves on “friends” GoodReads pages to get ideas. It is kind of nice because people aren’t always adding new books to their shelves but sometimes old favorites.
This is a wonderful thread. Thanks for the great blog starting it off.
Sarah,
I agree with you agreeing with Joyce! I know it prolonged the life cycle of books but I used to hate seeing novels come back with the plain covers from the bindery–you could never put them on a display again.
Christina,
All good points about the book buying, selling, and finding process. Because I tend to use Amazon (if I do at all anymore; they’ve started to strike me as a behemoth that needs protesting against) to buy books for gifts, its recommendations based on my buying history don’t work. Plus Amazon takes so much time to load on my computer (even with a fairly new computer and wireless it still seems to be a bandwith hog) it takes all the fun out of browsing or even clicking around.
Thanks for the tip about Shelfari too, and for the comment. Glad you found the topic interesting!
I don’t go to traditional bookstores very often anymore (there aren’t any regular bookstores in close proximity). I tend to do any book buying online. In a way I still “browse” Amazon.com by looking at their list of bestsellers but it loses something because of the lack of displays and looking at a list of bestsellers is not really browsing. Even “browsing” by subject is annoying. Amazon does however generate recommendations for me based on past purchases or wishlist/shopping cart items and that is something I don’t get from a traditional bookstore.
I do enjoy going to traditional bookstores when I have the opportunity. Last Saturday I was able to go to a Barnes and Noble in another city and it was nice to look at the displays and staff favorites, etc. and to pick up the books and glance through them. Amazon does its best to allow us a similar experience online by letting us browse inside the book but it isn’t the same.
In my library I have noted that most patrons still gravitate towards the new books shelf first. When I was weeding fiction I saw that so many books do not circulate once they are no longer on the new book shelf-these titles are mainly more literary titles or titles by unpopular authors. It is harder to browse the regular collection shelves even though we put titles on the endcaps there is not much space for displaying older titles. Each month there is a themed display and those books circulate but it is sad that so many books are being passed over. If only there was a way to have enough space to shelve the books so the cover is visible and not just the spine! Then I think we’d see more browsing like in a bookstore.
I have been using Shelfari and I find that is a way to browse other people’s shelves of books they’ve read or want to read and it kind of helps make up for the lack of store browsing. Then again it is limited to what these other people have heard of and if they only read bestsellers I am stuck once again. Thank you for your article. A very interesting topic!
I’m totally with the Joyce Saricks “small universe of books”. Her display guidelines are the best. Period. Clean copies, attractive copies, a mix of format (hc, trade pb, mm), genres, guy and girl books, and KEEP FILLED. Goes out every time. If someone puts out unappealing covers, too many “notables”/literary/abstruse titles, all the same type etc – NO MOVEMENT. Also have separate theme displays, and if they don’t go, change ‘em. I often find good titles to display while looking for something else. Be spontaneous. Count how many volumes you put out if you must, to prove you are influencing circ. “circulation” is “whole library” and not just a function of in/out processes.
Keith,
Thanks for your insight! I know sending out our newest books often bothered other librarians I worked with, but as I never really worked in collection development (and I tend to be more of a backlist reader), I never gave it much thought. The discussion here has been a real eye-opener. I wonder if your library couldn’t do just a little finagling–keeping a few new copies of things out of the hold queue, and putting the rest in the system, but I suppose working that out would be an administrative nightmare.
I’m glad you use your resources to put together displays! As this is the Reader’s Advisor Online blog, though, I can’t help myself, and would like to offer the reminder that if you subscribe to RAO, just click on “Browse” in the upper left corner, then select “Related Themes Lists.” We offer a lot of offbeat topics and ideas–I just revisited the list myself and my favorite was “Deadly Hobbies, or the Dangers of Quilting, Genealogy, and Gardening.” I’m glad your patrons are noticing and enjoying your displays, and taking the time to comment on them.
Melanie,
I agree this has been a very interesting thread, and made me think of several aspects of this issue that I hadn’t before.
I’m also fascinated that you’re emphatically not a browser. Were you ever a browser? I certainly don’t need to browse–goodness knows I can’t keep up with the titles I order on hold–but sometimes I just really like to, and I find things I wasn’t aware I was in the mood for. I wish we could do a survey of readers to find out how many of them just search, how many browse, and how many combine the two, and how. I would find that fascinating.
We, as a library, have been tossing around the idea of a floating collection. It’s not an idea I’m crazy about for innumerable reasons. Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts as a user of such a system – you’ve given me great ammunition.
I, personally, am not a browser. But, I think that’s becuase I have been doing the fiction selection for our library for 11 years. I read enough reviews and blogs and other selection sources that I know what I want to read and can place item specific reserves. I keep long lists of things I want to read so I have no need to browse for something.
Hi,
We’re one of the larger libraries in our region. I often feel like a disproportinate amount of our collection is being shipped out rather than shipped in. However, I don’t want us to become a library that withholds new materials from other libraries.
I’ll use resources like Novelist’s Recommended Reads to put together adult fiction displays. We’ve had many positive comments about the quality of books on our displays.
Laura,
That is a tough spot for your library to be in. Because library books get used so heavily anything older than 2008 is bound not really to sparkle on a display table, too, and of course, it takes time to put together a display, which in an era of lower staffing, probably isn’t a priority.
I figured you weren’t completely biased towards the latest and greatest, although it is always exciting to find new books. That was just something I always struggled with in my branch–if “Three Cups of Tea” was checked out, people would just leave, and a lot of them weren’t interested in talking over suggestions for alternate reads, which I always found frustrating. I would suppose because a lot of the experience with new and buzz books is not only reading them but talking them over with others who have suggested them. So that’s why I’m just always wondering how to make that backlist more accessible and appealing. Thanks for your insight. Maybe more traveling collections would help a greater selection of books to be “new to you” at your branch?
Hi Sarah S-C,
I would love if my library had displays of other books, but they don’t do much in the way of displays at all. They are a very small branch, though. Now we are even having trouble of keeping the “not quite as new” books on our shelves. I would say anything from 2008 on.
I am not trying to sound as if I’m biased towards just the “latest and greatest,” as a good chunk of my reading does tend to be backlist titles. Just if I have a few minutes to browse I do kind of like to see what’s new. I will look through the stacks occasionally, but it tends to be stuff that I’ve already seen (as I’ve browsed there many times before). I guess part of browsing for me is seeing stuff that I haven’t before. (Though when I do find a gem in the stacks, it is quite exciting!)
I’m not sure how we deal with holds–the comments from the librarians above make me curious.
Sarah, Keith:
Thanks for your comments. Sarah, I do believe this is the way more systems are going as resource-sharing becomes more important. It is that invariable truth that money for staff never grows that truly bothers me–I know the materials budget is important too, but it seems like adding a few new (even if they are part-time) people would be good for the library and community too. You’re right about it not being an easy decision no matter what you do.
Keith–do you find that patrons make use of your notable books displays? Or do they leave disappointed when they can’t get the new hot book they’re looking for right away? How do you think we can encourage “buzz” and a good reading experience out of older or less-publicized books? Or is that just fighting an uphill battle?
Our library works similar to what Sarah described but it only works the very first time a new book is checked in from processing. For example, our new copy of Stones into Schools would go to the first patron from our branch on the waiting list. After that it just follows the holds list.
Our display shelves tend to focus on older but notable books not new, high-demand titles.
I think one of the big issues with libraries is, as they merge with other systems into consortia and start offering more ILL opportunities, that their delivery demands become huge. And when the money for staff and vehicles stays the same or decreases, they find themselves with an unsupportable load. There’s also the issue of one library’s taxpayers footing the bill for another’s patrons, regardless of any reimbursement annually. Floating collections etc. is one of the ways being used. I think it’s poopy too, but I wouldn’t want to be the one having to make that decision.
Laura,
First off, we LOVE enthusiastic patrons here at RAO. Thank you for being you!
Before I left the public library where I worked, which was also part of a larger seven-county system, they had just changed the “holds” policy so that when new books were put into circulation, they would go, not to the first person on the list, but to the first person on the list who used that owning library as their home branch. This also happened wherever a book got checked in thereafter, to cut down on delivery. This was done to try and keep new books, at least in theory, in the hands of the owning library’s own patrons, and I think it did cut down on the amount of deliveries moving around. But I never thought it was quite fair, and it still didn’t really address putting new books on the shelves.
I am sorry your library’s new policy is taking the zip out of your browsing experience, which, let’s face it, is important. (Or at least once was.) Do you mind if I ask you a question? Is it important to you to have the new or buzz books right at first, or would you be amenable to better displays that perhaps offer slightly older (older is relative–in today’s publishing environment the buzz seems to have worn off after three months or so) but similar books? Or is that just not the same?
You also pose a good question to library staff out there: Do other libraries have policies like this too, offering floating collections and the like?
I was just thinking about this with regards to something that is happening with my local library. I’m not a librarian, just an extremely enthusiastic patron of my local branch, and recently there was a huge merger of two library systems in my area. Theoretically, this gives us a much bigger collection, but as a result we have moved to what I think is called a “floating collection.” (Not sure if this is the technical term for it?) The library I patronize is a member of the smaller of the two systems, and the result of this is that the larger group of patrons from the suburban system is basically requesting all of our new books away, and they then get returned to the larger suburban libraries, where they stay. This has resulted in the “new books” section of my local branch going from being a full bookcase to having only approximately 10-15 titles on it at a time. The same thing has happened with the DVDs and audiobooks. I am a huge browser, and that’s one of my favorite ways of finding new and interesting-looking books, but now I feel that I am only going to the library to pick up my holds, as there isn’t much there to browse for. Is this common? I’m guessing it has something to do with the transportation costs of bringing books back to their original libraries. Just wondering if any librarians out there had any comments.
If I’ve completely misrepresented the system in my ignorance, I sincerely apologize. Just commenting from the point of view of a patron who loves (and misses) browsing.