>
> > No offense, but I think your library is in the
minority. (Public,
>> right?) I've never seen a library that didn't
break their collection
>> down by genre.
>
>> ...while I've never been in one that does. And
I've been in quite
>> a few.
>
>You've never been in a library that had Science
Fiction, Mystery,
>Western, Horror, and/or Romance sections?
Ever?
>
>Maybe it's just my experience, then.
I've been in both types. I think it has to do with the size
of the library more than rather it's rural or urban (some big
city libraries have sub-branches all over). Big ones divide,
small ones don't. Of course, in Montreal, the big divide is
between French and English, so even larger libraries are
actually often really two small libraries rolled into
one.
As for categories, though, I've never been in a library where
there were western or horror sections. The western category
is probably an American thing --although I see western
sections in some of the larger bookstores, I never seen them
in their own section in libraries. I just don't think there's
a huge fan base for cowboy lit in Quebec. Maybe out west
more. But horror? Are there libraries that have so many
horror books that they actually have their own section? I'm
boggled.
It's nice to have books divided by genre, for the ease of
browsing Anthony pointed out, but you also run the risk of
missing out on writers like Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen
who don't really write
"mysteries." Or "serious" writers who dabble in the form. No
system is perfect.
And, of course, us genre readers aren't very smart, anyway,
so every little bit helps....
-- Kevin -- # To unsubscribe from the regular list, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to # majordomo@icomm.ca. This will not work for the digest version. # The web pages for the list are at http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/ .
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