Fiction_L Archives Where do you file biographies? Dates: 4/23/04,9:46 AM  through  5/17/04,12:25 PM  (24 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2011-current     2009-2010     2004-2008    1995-2003    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to April 2004 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Rhonda Jessup" <[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 9:46 AM

This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects (i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the 920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents indicated a reading interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies? And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

FROM: "Linda Cannon" <[removed]@joplinpubliclibrary.org>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 10:02 AM

Ours are a mixture. We have a 920-921 section, but also put some
biographies (actors, athletes, musicians, etc) in their subject areas
because we find that sports fans want sports bios, movie buffs want the
actors bios together, etc. Otherwise, though, most of our bios are in
the 920-921 area. This seems to work well for most of our patrons.
Occasionally we have someone who is looking for actors/athletes/whatever
in the 921s, but they seem to ask when they notice the lack of those. We
have thought to add some signage to the area (for actors, check the
791.43 section, for athletes, see the 796 area, etc.), but haven't done
so yet. Folks just looking for "an interesting life" still have *plenty*
to browse through in the 920-921s. HTH

Linda Cannon, Collection Development Librarian
Joplin Public Library
300 S. Main St.
Joplin, MO 64801-2384

417-623-7953 (fax 417-624-5217)
email [removed]@joplinpubliclibrary.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhonda Jessup [[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca]
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 9:44 AM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Where do you file biographies?

This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a
lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects
(i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the
920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We
have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable
in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to
wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We
are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the
current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down
even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all
valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still
have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an
interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents
indicated a reading interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and
place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in
their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I
have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once
you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to
fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited
discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet
reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of
the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies?
And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is
interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

FROM: "Roberta Johnson" <[removed]@dppl.org>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 10:08 AM

We have a separate biography section (echoed in large print and audiobooks and the High School collection) that makes our patrons happy, particularly students. However, we also have biographies in the 700s (sports and entertainment personalities) which is perhaps a little confusing. This is a long standing convention, and for the last ten years or so we have been cataloging those 700 books with the full name at the end of the call number to help keep the books grouped neatly -- here are all the Michael Jordan books, here are all the Frank Sinatra books, etc. I think it was felt that separating out the "true" biographies (full life stories, I guess) from the books about the person's film career or time in the dugout would be even more confusing.

Roberta S. Johnson
Readers' Services Librarian
Des Plaines Public Library
1501 Ellinwood St. Des Plaines, IL 60016
www.dppl.org [removed]@dppl.org

FROM: "Jean Meadors" <[removed]@ccpl.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 10:32 AM

We have a section called biographies. It is filed after the non-fiction.
It seems to be very popular, the patron just goes to that section.
Jean

-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org
[[removed]@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of Rhonda Jessup
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 9:44 AM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Where do you file biographies?

This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a lot of
libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects (i.e.,
biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the 920's. We
made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We have placed a
green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable in the stacks.
We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to wander up and down the
stacks looking for the little green sticker. We are building a new central
library which will be 3x the size of the current building and will asking
biography readers to wander up and down even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all
valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still have
people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an interesting
life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents indicated a reading
interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and place
them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in their own
section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I have to admit
that I am not a big fan of the second option because once you start pulling
out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to fracture your NF
collection. The topic resulted in a spirited discussion at our Department
Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet reached a consensus. Most of us
can make a solid case for both sides of the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies? And
more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is interest, I
will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

FROM: BookBitch <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 11:05 AM

We have a small collection in the 920's but they are
mostly group bios (Women of Courage, American
Presidents, etc.) Our biographies are shelved after
the 900's under 'B' (biography) then alphabetical by
subject.

My only comparison is to a bookstore (Borders) where I
worked for several years where bios were shelved
within subjects and it was always a problem. In my
experience, the 'B' system works really well.

Stacy Alesi
Southwest County Regional Library
Boca Raton, Florida
www.pbclibrary.org

=====
I am the BookBitch
www.bookbitch.com
WIN APRIL SHOWERS OF BOOKS!
Last Lullaby; Past Due; Liars & Thieves; Mortification; The Bride Stripped Bare; Bobby Fischer Goes to War

FROM: Annette Sliwinski <[removed]@linc.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 11:11 AM

We used to file biographies with the subject matter
baseball players with baseball, etc. Now you file at the
end of the non-fiction in their own category of "B" and
the persons last name. We also have different colored
tape (like red for sports, yellow for political ) so that the
patrons can browse and find the types of bios that they
are interested in.

Annette Sliwinski
Reference Librarian
Franklin Park P.L.
Franklin Park, IL

FROM: "ROBIN BEERBOWER" <[removed]@cityofsalem.net>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 12:18 PM

Years ago our library decided to catalog biographies in each person's
respective field. This proved to be an unpopular decision and after a
few years the decision was made to move them back into the 920-921
classifications. This includes all biographies including sports
figures, entertainment stars, etc. The only problem I have seen from
someone who browses the shelves for homebound patrons is that sometimes
travel and adventure types of stories are in the biographies instead of
the 910-919 area where they might be found by those who want such a
story. But that's a minor quibble. Other than that I think it works
well and patrons seem happy, plus it's easier for them to find a
biography of someone if they refuse to check it in the catalog or ask a
librarian for help.

Just my two cents worth and not necessarily the library's opinion.
:-)

Robin Beerbower
Salem (OR) Public Library

>>> [removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca 4/23/2004 7:43:52 AM >>>
This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a
lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects
(i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the
920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We
have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable
in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to
wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We
are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the
current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down
even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all
valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still
have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an
interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents
indicated a reading interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and
place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in
their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I
have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once
you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to
fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited
discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet
reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of
the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies?
And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is
interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

FROM: Lesa Holstine <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 1:14 PM

This question led to an interesting realization on my
part. I've worked in 4 library systems and they all
filed biographies as a separate section. And, each of
those libraries classified them in the same way -
B for biography, and then the subject's last name.
So, all the Kennedys are together. B Adams, B Kennedy,
B Mantle, etc. It's always worked great for us. Easy
to tell patrons to just look for the last name of
their subject to find their books.

Lesa Holstine
[removed]@yahoo.com
Ft. Myers, Fl



__________________________________
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FROM: Candice Michalik <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 2:18 PM

We file the biographies within their subjects -
scientists with science, athletes with their sports,
etc. I have made a little guide for people entitled
"Where are the biographies?" since that is the
question they always ask us. I can send you one by
email attachment if you like.

=====
Candice Michalik
Reference Librarian
Lynchburg Public Library
Lynchburg, VA
[removed]@yahoo.com



__________________________________
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FROM: "Matthew Shaw" <[removed]@and.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 3:53 PM

Our library has a large biography collection and does not use either the
920s or the interfiling according to field system. We simply have all of
our biographies shelved together alphabetically by the subject's
surname. The Call # in the catalog for Edvard Radinsky's Rasputin looks
like:

B Rasp R

It works wonderfully well, and the system is especially well-liked by
fans of biography who enjoy reading about a diversity of subjects.

Matthew Shaw
Reference Services, Asst. Manager
Anderson Public Library
Anderson, IN

FROM: Amy Garrett <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 4:21 PM

Hello,
We have a separate biography area where we "house"
books, books on tape, books on CD, VHS & DVD's about a
particular person. These materials are arranged
alphabetically by the last name (and then first
initial or name, if necessary) of whom the item is
about, e.g. B (for biography) and then Kennedy, J.
(for John F. Kennedy). If the item is about 2 or more
people, then it "lives" in the subject area that is
covered, e.g. materials on the Beatles are "housed" in
music.
Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Amy Garrett
--- Linda Cannon <[removed]@joplinpubliclibrary.org>
wrote:
> Ours are a mixture. We have a 920-921 section, but
> also put some
> biographies (actors, athletes, musicians, etc) in
> their subject areas
> because we find that sports fans want sports bios,
> movie buffs want the
> actors bios together, etc. Otherwise, though, most
> of our bios are in
> the 920-921 area. This seems to work well for most
> of our patrons.
> Occasionally we have someone who is looking for
> actors/athletes/whatever
> in the 921s, but they seem to ask when they notice
> the lack of those. We
> have thought to add some signage to the area (for
> actors, check the
> 791.43 section, for athletes, see the 796 area,
> etc.), but haven't done
> so yet. Folks just looking for "an interesting life"
> still have *plenty*
> to browse through in the 920-921s. HTH
>
> Linda Cannon, Collection Development Librarian
>
> Joplin Public Library
> 300 S. Main St.
> Joplin, MO 64801-2384
>
> 417-623-7953 (fax 417-624-5217)
> email [removed]@joplinpubliclibrary.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhonda Jessup
> [[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca]
> Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 9:44 AM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: Where do you file biographies?
>
>
> This is not a Fiction question but does relate to
> genres. We, like a
> lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within
> their subjects
> (i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92),
> rather than in the
> 920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons
> still hate it. We
> have placed a green sticker on biographies so that
> they are identifiable
> in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are
> asking patrons to
> wander up and down the stacks looking for the little
> green sticker. We
> are building a new central library which will be 3x
> the size of the
> current building and will asking biography readers
> to wander up and down
> even more stacks.
>
> I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the
> reference interview are all
> valuable tools in serving biography readers but the
> fact is we still
> have people coming in who just want to browse and
> read about "an
> interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of
> the respondents
> indicated a reading interest in biographies.
>
> What we are wondering is if we should treat
> biographies as a genre and
> place them together. That is, reclassify them as
> 920's or put them in
> their own section but still filed by their current
> Dewey numbers. I
> have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second
> option because once
> you start pulling out "special" collections, it
> becomes very easy to
> fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in
> a spirited
> discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday
> and we haven't yet
> reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid
> case for both sides of
> the issue.
>
> My question to the group is: how do your libraries
> treat biographies?
> And more importantly, how are your patrons searching
> for biographies?
>
> Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated.
> If there is
> interest, I will compile the responses and post them
> to the list.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rhonda Jessup
> Whitby Public Library
> Whitby, ON, Canada
>
>
......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>
>
......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org

=====
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud" -- Sophocles

Amy Garrett
RISD Action Council
Head of Adult Services
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library
3512 Darrow Rd. Stow, OH 44224
(330) 688-3295
[removed]@yahoo.com



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FROM: "Waznis, Betty" <[removed]@sdcounty.ca.gov>
REC'D: 4/23/04, 6:55 PM

We also put biographies together in their own section, using a "B". Three good reasons for this. Putting biographies under "B" is one of the few Dewey features that the public understands easily. Books are shelved more accurately in B than they are in 792 point blah blah blah, or wherever. And, as has been mentioned, there are many people who like to browse biographies as a genre. When the content is more generally historical, or subject oriented, then we put them in their subject area. We put collective bios in the 920's.

Betty Waznis
San Diego County Library

FROM: "Jan Doxtator" <[removed]@fibernetcc.com>
REC'D: 4/24/04, 11:22 AM

Our public library didn't go online until the early '90's. We closed down
the library to barcode the collection. The library director and his wife
volunteered to barcode the biographies. At that time, we had a mixture of
920's, 921's and some career-related, i.e. sport figures, movie stars, etc.
shelved with that subject area. The two of them had a terrible time, could
only find about half the books, mis-barcoded several of those and
complained bitterly about the mess the biographies were.
Not long after that we combined everything under "Biography," written out in
full,and the persons'/person's full name(s), so there could be no mistake
and no problem finding them. We were dreamers, weren't we? Of course, we
had to accompany many users to those stacks but at least the library staff
were able to find those books now.

Jan Doxtator
Stevens Point, WI

FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 4/24/04, 11:40 AM

Every library I have ever been in (and I've been in a lot), except for the
one at the University (which uses the Library of Congress system), files its
biographies in a section of their own. Some call it "the 920's," some label
the books with a "B," but I've *never* known of any that use the Dewey
system that interfile the biographies with the larger subjects.

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Toolbar provides one-click access to Hotmail from any Web page – FREE
download! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200413ave/direct/01/

FROM: "Sarah Stein" <[removed]@denver.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 4/24/04, 12:03 PM

At Denver Public Library we class with the profession according to Dewey and we shelve them that way. Some few of our branches do make a separate biography section.

Sarah

>>> [removed]@hotmail.com 4/24/04 10:39:35 AM >>>
Every library I have ever been in (and I've been in a lot), except for the
one at the University (which uses the Library of Congress system), files its
biographies in a section of their own. Some call it "the 920's," some label
the books with a "B," but I've *never* known of any that use the Dewey
system that interfile the biographies with the larger subjects.

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Toolbar provides one-click access to Hotmail from any Web page * FREE
download! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200413ave/direct/01/

Sarah Stein
Senior Special Collections Librarian
Materials Support/Special Cataloging
Denver Public Library
Denver, Colorado, USA
[removed]@denver.lib.co.us

FROM: "Ellen Dark" <[removed]@county-lambton.on.ca>
REC'D: 4/24/04, 1:17 PM

We shelve biographies two different ways. We file them by profession
and then we have a section designated "BIO" or "B", those are shelved
after the 900s.

Ellen Dark
Reference Librarian
Sarnia Branch
Lambton County Library
124 Christina St. S.
Sarnia, ON N7T 8E1

-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org
[[removed]@maillist.webrary.org] On Behalf Of Sarah Stein
Sent: April 24, 2004 1:03 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: RE: Where do you file biographies?

At Denver Public Library we class with the profession according to Dewey
and we shelve them that way. Some few of our branches do make a
separate biography section.

Sarah

>>> [removed]@hotmail.com 4/24/04 10:39:35 AM >>>
Every library I have ever been in (and I've been in a lot), except for
the
one at the University (which uses the Library of Congress system), files
its
biographies in a section of their own. Some call it "the 920's," some
label
the books with a "B," but I've *never* known of any that use the Dewey
system that interfile the biographies with the larger subjects.

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Toolbar provides one-click access to Hotmail from any Web page *
FREE
download! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200413ave/direct/01/

Sarah Stein
Senior Special Collections Librarian
Materials Support/Special Cataloging
Denver Public Library
Denver, Colorado, USA
[removed]@denver.lib.co.us

FROM: "Cristine Mitchamore" <[removed]@sanantonio.gov>
REC'D: 4/24/04, 4:16 PM

Central library of San Antonio Public Library files our biographies within the subject (teacher in 370s, etc.) except for the Juv Biographies that are filed in a separate section, on the Children's floor, alphabetically by name of the person the biography's about. However, patrons constantly ask us for the 'biography section.' Somewhere between half and three-quarters of the time they have a specific person or field in mind, so they go away satisfied, but not always.

Cristine


-----Original Message-----
From: Rhonda Jessup [[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca]
Sent: Fri 4/23/2004 9:43 AM
To: Fiction_L
Cc:
Subject: Where do you file biographies?



This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects (i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the 920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down even more stacks.


I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents indicated a reading interest in biographies.


What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of the issue.


My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies? And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?


Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.


Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

......................................................................
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FROM: "Jennifer King" <[removed]@msn.com>
REC'D: 4/25/04, 12:17 PM

Some of the branches in our system have separate shelving for biographies,
some don't. I believe we were one of the first branches here to experiment
with this. It began because of the huge number of school biography
assignments we handle. The school system still uses 921 and both the kids
and their parents were finding it difficult (despite the bright yellow
biography labels) to identify the biographies. Unfortunately our patrons
often don't like to admit they can't find something themselves - we must
constantly keep an ear tuned for comments like "they don't have it here,
let's go to the main library" from people who seemed to know what they were
doing. At first, we set up displays of the biographies kids needed -
African-American bios, women's bios, women scientists' bios, third grade
autobiographies - but it got to the point where we'd often have four or more
specialized biography collections scattered on tables and booktrucks around
the children's section.
When we expanded in 1994 we set aside an area in children's solely for
biographies, which are filed within their subjects and which now have
special labels for autobiographies as well. People seemed to like this, and
adults started asking for a similar adult biography section, so we
rearranged the shelving and set up one for them. Most recently we set aside
YA biographies in our Young Adult section, next to the new books, and these
are getting more use from browsing than they did before. (The rest of YA
nonfiction is interfiled with adult.)
The fragmentation can be confusing for a visiting librarian, but people seem
to appreciate having the special sections. Over the last thirty years our
area has changed from a rural community to a busy suburb. During the week,
parents and students want to be able to run in between school letting out
and soccer practice, grab what they need and be on their way. We keep the
children's biographies, as well as their videos and DVDs, closest to the
circulation desk, and they like the convenience when they're on the run.

Jennifer King, Branch Librarian
Monmouth County Library, Marlboro
[removed]@msn.com

FROM: Carrie Herrmann <[removed]@bcpl.org>
REC'D: 4/26/04, 8:00 AM

Hi,

We file biographies in their own section at the end of the nonfiction
collection. All biographies and autobiographies have the letter "B" on the
first line of the label and the first four letters of the last name of the
person the book is about on the second line of the label. Our customers seem
to appreciate that biographies are pulled out in one place.

Carrie A. Herrmann
Circulation Services Coordinator
Boone County Public Library
859-384-5550 (phone)
859-384-5557 (fax)
[removed]@bcpl.org

FROM: "Carol Kubala" <[removed]@columbiapl.libct.org>
REC'D: 4/26/04, 10:07 AM

Rhonda,

We file most bio's in a specific biography location with the label B and
the last name of who the bio is about. Still, we often have lengthy
discussions about where to locate some materials like the chemist you
mention. I opt to put all this in bio as it easier for the patron to
find. My co-worker would put all in the subject area. One day I got
silly about this and decided to locate Seabiscuit in biography rather
than its' dewey number. No one has complained yet! I'll be interested to
read the responses.

--
Carol Kubala
Adult Services Librarian
Saxton B. Little Free Library
319 Route 87
Columbia, CT 06237
Voice 860-228-0350 Fax 860-228-1569

Rhonda Jessup wrote:

>This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects (i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the 920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down even more stacks.
>
>I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents indicated a reading interest in biographies.
>
>What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of the issue.
>
>My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies? And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?
>
>Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Rhonda Jessup
>Whitby Public Library
>Whitby, ON, Canada
>
>......................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://fictionl.webrary.org
>
>
>

FROM: JCURTIN <[removed]@cuyahoga.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 4/29/04, 11:21 AM

In our library, and I believe this is system-wide, the biographies are
shelved separately and arranged according to the subject, not according to
the author's name. They are shelved in stacks immediately following the
900s, and all given a call # beginning with a B, such as

B
C8835g

For a biography of Bing Crosby by Gary Giddins.

Joan Curtin

FROM: "Lynn S. Smith-Roberts" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 5/15/04, 6:00 PM

The decision was made in our system, years ago, when dirt was young [but
some people are older'n dirt], to shelve our biographies in with the
person's respective fields. Newcomers, plus, I suspect, old-timers,
continue to come in to look for biographies, and are dismayed to find them
not together in a special section. However, there are many in our branches,
and I don't think we'll ever go back to the old way. This is, however, only
for adult biographies. We use yellow stickers above the call number; the
stickers have a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln on them, and the word
"Biography." When we tell our adult biography readers this, they are
happier, and will go down the shelves looking for these stickers.

Because so many of the school projects we support are biography-driven, all
of our juvenile biographies are in the same section at the head of the Juvie
non-fiction.

Lynn S. Smith-Roberts
Librarian II
Carmichael Regional Library
Sacramento Public Library

[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca 4/23/2004 7:43:52 AM >>>
This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a
lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects
(i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the
920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We
have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable
in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to
wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We
are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the
current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down
even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all
valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still
have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an
interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents
indicated a reading interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and
place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in
their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I
have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once
you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to
fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited
discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet
reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of
the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies?
And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is
interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

_________________________________________________________________
Getting married? Find tips, tools and the latest trends at MSN Life Events.
http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=married

FROM: Kathleen Stipek <[removed]@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us>
REC'D: 5/17/04, 7:42 AM

I hate this practice. It scatters biographical material. Why can't we just
put Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman in biographies and Six Not So Easy
pieces in with science? It drives librarians crazy and biography browsers
crazier.

Kathleen Stipek, Alachua County Library District (FMG), 401 East University
Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (352-334-3939; fax 352-334-3948)

"Non, merci."
--Cyrano de Bergerac

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynn S. Smith-Roberts [[removed]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 6:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Biographies -- shelving

The decision was made in our system, years ago, when dirt was young [but
some people are older'n dirt], to shelve our biographies in with the
person's respective fields. Newcomers, plus, I suspect, old-timers,
continue to come in to look for biographies, and are dismayed to find them
not together in a special section. However, there are many in our branches,

and I don't think we'll ever go back to the old way. This is, however, only

for adult biographies. We use yellow stickers above the call number; the
stickers have a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln on them, and the word
"Biography." When we tell our adult biography readers this, they are
happier, and will go down the shelves looking for these stickers.

Because so many of the school projects we support are biography-driven, all
of our juvenile biographies are in the same section at the head of the Juvie

non-fiction.

Lynn S. Smith-Roberts
Librarian II
Carmichael Regional Library
Sacramento Public Library

[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca 4/23/2004 7:43:52 AM >>>
This is not a Fiction question but does relate to genres. We, like a
lot of libraries, have our biographies filed within their subjects
(i.e., biographies of chemists are filed in 540.92), rather than in the
920's. We made the change years ago and our patrons still hate it. We
have placed a green sticker on biographies so that they are identifiable
in the stacks. We realize, however, that we are asking patrons to
wander up and down the stacks looking for the little green sticker. We
are building a new central library which will be 3x the size of the
current building and will asking biography readers to wander up and down
even more stacks.

I realize that pathfinders, book lists, the reference interview are all
valuable tools in serving biography readers but the fact is we still
have people coming in who just want to browse and read about "an
interesting life." In a recent survey here, 18% of the respondents
indicated a reading interest in biographies.

What we are wondering is if we should treat biographies as a genre and
place them together. That is, reclassify them as 920's or put them in
their own section but still filed by their current Dewey numbers. I
have to admit that I am not a big fan of the second option because once
you start pulling out "special" collections, it becomes very easy to
fracture your NF collection. The topic resulted in a spirited
discussion at our Department Heads meeting yesterday and we haven't yet
reached a consensus. Most of us can make a solid case for both sides of
the issue.

My question to the group is: how do your libraries treat biographies?
And more importantly, how are your patrons searching for biographies?

Any thoughts, advice, musings are most appreciated. If there is
interest, I will compile the responses and post them to the list.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, ON, Canada

_________________________________________________________________
Getting married? Find tips, tools and the latest trends at MSN Life Events.
http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=married

FROM: [removed]@cwmars.org
REC'D: 5/17/04, 12:25 PM

We, here at the East Longmeadow Library, put biographies in the 920s with the last
3 letters of the person's last name that the book is about as opposed to the last 3
letters of the author's name. Most of our patrons know now to go to the 920s for a
biography. I guess it's all in what they are used to.

Good luck in your decision how to treat your biographies.

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