My process began by researching ‘genrefication’. I follow a few bloggers and wanted to learn about their processes – what they learned and what they would do differently. I also read a few articles about the potential problems from genrefication,
For my process, I didn’t want to create a big mess in the library. I don’t like piles of books stacked on the floor or on tables. I take a lot of time to make sure the library is neat and organized. Whichever system I used needed to ensure the library would remain functioning.
I already had genre stickers and label protectors left over from the previous librarian, so that helped with the cost. I did buy colored dot stickers at the Dollar Store for the genre stickers I didn’t have.
After doing some research and reviewing my circulation data, I selected the following genres for the library:
- Adventure / Survival
- Humor
- Fantasy / Magic
- Horror / Paranormal
- Military / War
- Mystery
- Romance
- Science Fiction / Dystopian
- Sports
A word about poetry. I moved all books written in verse (poetry) to the poetry section. Prior to this, there were only a couple of shelves of poetry books, but this section grew substantially. This included both fiction and nonfiction books.
Step by Step Process:
- I pulled books shelf by shelf. It was easier to bring my laptop and all the labels over to the bookshelf and work from there. I keep my genre stickers, dot stickers, and label protectors in a plastic bin.
- I logged into Goodreads and searched for each book’s genre. If a book was identified as both Fantasy and Romance, I shelved it under Fantasy. Anything that had an imaginative world, would be marked Fantasy; even if it had a strong Romance element.
- I attached the appropriate genre sticker to the book spine followed by a clear label protector. Genre stickers can easily lift and become detached so a label protector is needed.
- I logged into the OPAC and under the Location field, I entered the Genre or essentially where the book was shelved. So if a student or I was looking for “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”, under Location it would read ‘Mystery”
- I moved the newly labeled books to different rolling carts. Once I had enough in one genre, I moved it to the newly designated bookshelf.
- When books started to fill up on one shelf, I began moving the bookshelves around. My bookshelves are half shelves and they have wheels so this is very easy to do .
Reflections and Considerations:
- Going shelf by shelf, allowed me to keep the books alphabetical by author. So as I was re-shelving books, they were already alphabetized.
- About a quarter of the way through my process, I realized I should have added the ‘Location’ of the book in the OPAC. Consequently, there are some books that don’t have this designation. However, when a student checks a book in or out, I check to see if it has a Location designation in OPAC. If it doesn’t, I add it. Remember, I already have a genre sticker attached to the book spine so it’s a quick task.
- I did not change the Call # on the spine. All the books in Fiction have a Call # of: ‘F’ for Fiction, and then the first three letters of the Author’s Name. This did not need to change.
- As students return their books to the library, I use the same process.
- I will need to leave time at the end of the school year to do this process with all the books that are currently checked out.
Supplies used:
- Genre stickers from Demco
- Label protectors from Demco
- Colored dot stickers from Dollar Tree. You can also buy these at Walmart, Target, or Amazon. There are some libraries that use colored dots instead of the genre labels. They are much cheaper. I used a few colored dots for those genres that I didn’t have stickers. I will also use them when I eventually genrify the books in Spanish.
- Bookshelf genre signs from Demco. I already had these in the library. I will be adding more signs though in time.
Sources:
From “Don’t Shush Me: Adventures of a High School Librarian: HS Genrefication – 1 Year Late.
isa bookworm 
Leave a comment