We recently went through the process of organising our Fiction collection by genre. Similar to a bookstore, we have arranged our collection by category, making it easier for our students to browse and find the right book for them, whilst also encouraging them to branch out and find something new to read.
We are all aware of how important reading is for students. Research by Josie Billington (2015), points to just some of the benefits - academic achievement, mental health, increase in vocabulary, social and cultural awareness, communication, emotional intelligence. The decision to ditch the traditional Dewey System of organising fiction purely alphabetically by author surname in favour of organising by genre, whilst controversial for traditional libraries, was intentional on our part. Our sole focus is to increase student engagement and anything to get our students reading!
Students can browse the collection to find their next read from any of our 13 genres – Action, Adventure and Sport, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Dystopian, Mystery, Crime and Spies, General Fiction and Classics, Indigenous, Scary, Animals, Funny, Graphic Novels and Biographies.
Organising our fiction collection the way a bookstore is setup, gives our students the agency to find the right book for their mood. Initial indications are looking very positive and the informal feedback has been overwhelming - they know exactly where to look when they want to satisfy their need to escape into another world or just need a laugh for that long car trip into regional Queensland!
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