Genrefication is becoming increasingly 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 that we worked on throughout the summer before returning to school in the fall.

Our Genrefication Journey

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

First, we defined the categories for our collection, genrefying both fiction and nonfiction. This was the hardest part because we wanted to make the right decisions to 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 them on the shelves.

With the amazing help of my daughter Brianna, we moved every book into its new “book neighborhood.” We used Follett Destiny to help with the subject areas and other resources like Goodreads. It was fun to watch our newly genrefied library come to life over the summer.

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

The Impact of Genrefication

The most important feedback we heard was how much students loved the new organization and how easy it was to find the perfect book. Genrefying our collection gave our students confidence in searching for books and excitement about what they found. It also fostered a newfound ownership of the collection, as students were able to help friends and teachers find books to read.

This transformation proved to be just what our readers and teachers needed, as we watched our circulation increase. With the new organization, teachers could quickly find books they needed for curriculum tie-ins, lessons, and read-alouds. We received praise from teachers about how easy it was to help their students find books to read.

Overcoming Challenges

One of our challenges was finding enough information and resources to help with the genrefication process. Being one of the first school libraries to embrace genrefication, there wasn’t much information available. With a little more help and resources, the process would have been smoother and quicker.

Ready to Genrefy Your Library?

Are you ready to bring genrefication to your library? Do you have questions like we did? Well, guess what?

Follett supports genrefication by offering amazing services, including tips, guides, and best practices along with Genre Consulting Services to make sure your genre flip happens quickly and efficiently.

As Follett shares on their Genre Solutions page:

If you’re considering genrefication, Follett is here to help. Explore these tips, suggestions, best practices, and other opportunities to make your transition to genre as smooth as possible.

• • Ship by Genre: Follett can ship your books shelf-ready and in genre order.

• • Choose from Genre Labels: Select from a variety of genre labels.

• • Color-coded Protector Labels: Choose color-coded protector labels for easy identification.

• • Genre Checklist: Use the 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.

• • Genre Examples: View examples of elementary, middle, and high school genres for fiction and nonfiction.

• • Follett Representative Help: Contact your local Follett Representative for help completing your Titlewave® setup and Genre Helper Report.

• • Best Practices: If you’re doing it yourself, here are some best practices to help you get started.

• • Updating Follett Destiny®: Learn how to update your MARC records in Follett Destiny®.

Start with Follett’s Genrefication Best Practices guide, which 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 the different categories you may use when genrefying your collection.

Follett can ship your books shelf-ready and in genre order, with genre labels and color-coded protector labels provided. They also offer signage for the library that matches the genre labels used in the cataloging process, including 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, perfect for those who don’t have the time or need extra guidance. These services include pre-project planning, assistance with genre mapping, project management, and more.

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

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.