Are you thinking about genrefying your library? Learn how Follett helped me!

Genrefication is becoming more and more popular within school libraries as a way to support reading, enrich curriculum, and engage all readers. 

At Van Meter Community School, my library associate, Diana, and I flipped our collection almost 10 years ago. It was a big project and one that we worked on in the summer before we went back to school in the fall.  

Diana and I worked together to research the genrefication process and develop an organizational system that worked for our collection and for our teachers and students. 

First, we defined the categories we would need for our collection. We genrefied our fiction and nonfiction. This was the hardest part because we wanted to make sure we were making the right decisions and ones that would help our students and teachers find the books they were looking for on the shelves. 

After defining the categories, we made sticky notes with those categories and arranged how we wanted them on the shelves.  

Diana and I, with the amazing help of my daughter Brianna, moved every book into the area or “book neighborhood” where we thought it belonged. We used Follett Destiny to help us with the subject areas and other resources such as Goodreads. It was fun to watch our newly genrefied library come to life throughout the summer.  

This project took us about eight weeks that summer, but with the help of our students using the library, we refined it throughout the entire school year. Our students gave us lots of feedback and input which was one of the most exciting parts about genrefying our collection.

The most important thing we heard was how much they loved the way our library was organized and how easy it was to find the perfect book. Genrefiying our collection gave our students confidence in searching for books; excitement around what they found on the shelves in the different categories they were interested in; and a newfound ownership over the collection since they were able to help friends and teachers find books to read too. It was just one more reason for our students to love the library and reading. 

It proved to be just what our readers and teachers needed as we watched our circulation increase. With the new organization, our teachers could pop into the library on a daily or weekly basis to quickly find the books they needed to tie in to the curriculum through lessons and read-alouds. We heard lots of praise from the teachers on how they loved being able to help their students find books to read easier.  

One of the hurdles for us was finding enough information and resources to help with the genrefication process. Since we were one of the first school libraries to embrace genrefication, there wasn't a lot of information and help available. With a little more help and a few more resources, the genrefication process would have been even smoother and perhaps a little quicker for Diana, Brianna, and I. 

Have you genrefied your library? Are you ready to take the first step in bringing genrefication to your library? Do you have a lot of questions like we did?  

Well, guess what?  

Our friends at Follett support genrefication by offering amazing services including tips, tricks, guides, and best practices along with Genre Consulting Services to make sure this genre flip happens just the way you'd like...quickly and in the most efficient way.  

As Follett shares on their Genre Solutions page (click here to view): 

If you're taking the leap, or even just considering it, Follett is here to offer our help and support. Explore these tips, suggestions, best practices, and other opportunities to make your transition to genre as smooth as possible.

• Ship by Genre: Follett can now ship your books shelf-ready and in genre order.
  • Choose from our selection of genre labels.
  • Choose from our selection of color-coded protector labels.
  • Go through our Genre Checklist and contact Follett to get started.
• Tools to Help Identify Genre: Read suggestions to help identify the best genre strategy for your students.
  • View examples of elementary, middle, and high school genres for fiction and nonfiction.
  • Contact your local Follett Representative for help completing your Titlewave^® setup and Genre Helper Report.
• Follett Best Practices: Doing it yourself? Here are some best practices to help you get started.
• Updating Follett Destiny^® with Genre Information: Learn how to update your MARC records in Follett Destiny^®

You can start with Follett Genrefication Best Practices guide. This will guide you through the process every step of the way. 

Follett also created Genre Example Lists, which are very helpful when laying out all of the different categories you may use when genrefying your collection. 

Follett will ship your books shelf-ready and in genre order. You can choose from genre labels and color-coded protector labels they provide. 

One thing I really love is the signage for our library that goes along with the genre labels Follett uses in the cataloging process. They have spine labels, shelf strips, and signs that are bright fun, and look great on shelves. 

If you need more help, Follett now offers Genre Consulting Services that are perfect for those who don't have the time or need a little extra guidance in this journey through genrefication.  These services include pre-project planning and assistance with genre mapping, project management of the service, delivery, and much more.  

To learn more about Follett Genre Consulting Services contact us today.

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Shannon McClintock Miller
Innovation Director of Instructional Technology and Library Media
Van Meter Community School
Van Meter, Iowa

Shannon McClintock Miller is the Innovation Director of Instructional Technology and Library Media at Van Meter Community School in Van Meter, Iowa. She is also the Future Ready Librarians Spokesperson working with librarians, educators and students around the world every day as an international speaker, consultant and author who has a passion for education, librarianship, advocacy, technology, social media and making a difference in the world and lives of others, especially children. Shannon brings a special expertise and vision to conversations around school libraries, education, technology, creativity and student voice. Learn more about Shannon on her award-winning blog, The Library Voice. Follow her on Twitter @shannonmmiller.