Ongoing Task - Watch Tuesday Book Club on TV

Like having to listen to the radio programs, it was no hardship to be asked to watch The Book Club on ABC Television. In the past this has been a regular favourite of mine - but strangely enough, I seem to be going out every Tuesday night for the last few weeks and have missed the usual monthly program as well as the other Tuesday night book discussions on Jennifer Byrne presents.

A past program that stands out was July's, where they discussed Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. As it happens, I have read both books, one recently and the other at school, so it was interesting to hear other people's opinions. I can't say that I totally agreed with everyone's dislike of the characters in Sharp Objects. To me, the back story and solving of the mystery were always more paramount and I suppose that these days we have become somewhat inured to violence, especially if we read lots of crime fiction and watch lots of forensic or police shows on TV.

The comments on Jane Eyre came as a complete surprise, as I suppose I still have the youthful idea of Mr Rochester as a hero. This is one book, that I will have to read again just to see if it affects me the same way it did the panelists. A very enlightening discussion.

Another program that stood out was the one where Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon was a panelist. I was really taken with his articulate and insightful views. I particularly enjoyed the panel discussion on William Gibson's Pattern Recognition and I will be picking up this book from the library. Between the two in-depth book discussions and the panel members talking about what they are reading at the moment, there is usually at least one book that piques my interest and therefore makes the program well worth watching.


Website:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/

Ongoing Task - Listen to programs about books & arts on the radio

Our teacher's suggestion that we listen to the program Books and Arts Daily on ABC Radio National was no hardship for me, as when I have the radio turned on, it is usually set to Radio National. But it is not the only program on RN to talk about books - there is Books+ on Sunday afternoon, Late Night Live with Phillip Adams, which often has a book review, and other programs like Life Matters which sometimes talks to authors - like  the interesting discussion last week about "bibliotherapy" where reading is prescribed to help with all sorts of physical or mental ailments.

I drove home to the dulcet tones of Phillip Adams for years and have bought many a book after hearing him interview its author. Some have been interesting and entertaining like Douglas Rogers' tale of his parents staying on in Zimbabwe, or interesting and educational like Jennifer Homans' tome on the history of ballet.Others sounded so promising but delivered boredom, like Vicky Wards' story of Lehman Brothers.

The radio offers many chances to hear book reviews, author interviews, and broadcasts from festivals and other events. A couple of weekends ago, I listened to a whole afternoon of programs broadcast live from the Brisbane Writers Festival, and during the recent Melbourne Writers Festival, many authors were interviewed on a variety of programs - and all this going on in the background while you are doing something else like cooking or cleaning.

I love radio for that reason - it gives you the chance to listen to something interesting and stimulating (be it music or a discussion) while you are doing something productive. Win, win really.


References:
Homans, J. (2010). Apollo's angels: a history of ballet. London: Granta.
Mitchell, N. (Presenter). (2013, September 19). Life matters [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/the-novel-cure/4965272
Rogers, D. (2010). The last resort. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Ward, V. (2010). The devil's casino. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Task 5 - Literary Reviews, Journals and Awards

Where do you find literature reviews? (Be sure to distinguish between reviews & descriptions)

You will find literature reviews in specialist book review magazines (Australian Book Review), weekend newspapers (The Age), book publisher & distributor websites (James Bennett), magazine or newsletters (Library Journal Reviews), as well as blogs and other websites set up for the purpose of reviewing books(Good Reads).
What you are looking for in a literature (book) review is a critique of the author's style, the content and construction of the story, and the overall merit or otherwise of the book. By its very nature a review is nothing more that the reader's personal opinion, but it can be used by other readers to make a decision about reading a certain book.


What are some well-known literary journals for adults & children?

There are many well-known literary journals for adults - some obvious ones being - Australian Book Review, London Review of Books, the New York Times Book Review. In Australia, there is Meanjin, Southerly, Books+Publishing to name a few. In UK, there is Literary Review & Areté. In USA there is Publishers Weekly & Kirkus Reviews.
For children, the list is a bit shorter, with Magpies & The School Magazine in Australia, and Children's Literature & The Horn Book plus the plethora of publications from John Hopkins University in USA. And in UK, I found Carousel & Books for Keeps.


What literature promotion activities are on the Australian and English speaking worlds calendar each year or regularly at wider intervals of time?

I think you could be busy every day of the week with literature promotion activities for either adults or children. So lets start with children & young adults - every state of Australia seems to have a Premier's Reading Challenge ( Victoria's is winding up as I write this!), there are the Inky Awards, the Children's Book Week, the Reading Hour, the National Simultaneous Story Time, the MS Readathon, book fairs and a new one, National Indigenous Literacy Day.
For adults, every state has a Writers Festival of some sort, like Adelaide Writer's Week & the Queensland Poetry Festival, lots of annual book awards, World Book Day, Library Lovers Day, UNESCO World Poetry Day, Frankfurt International Book Fair in Germany, Tromsø International Literature Festival in Norway, London Literature Festival, UN International Year of Literacy (1990), National Year of Reading (2012), the list just goes on ....... and of course, adults get involved in some of the children's events, too. 


What are two well-known "book towns" - one in Victoria and one in UK?

Clunes in the Victorian goldfields has a Book Festival in May each year, as well as hosting events like author talks and writing master classes throughout the year. It has a eclectic mix of bookshops selling new, rare and used books. This very picturesque town in a historical part of central Victoria has turned itself into a creative hub for books and writing.
Hay-on-Wye in Wales, just over the border from England, is the best known of the UK "book towns". It runs the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts in May each year, and also runs a film festival, a walking festival, a food festival & a vintage "fayre". Like Clunes, Hay has a good range of bookshops and runs various events associated with books & writing throughout the year.

What are some well-known literature promotion organisations in Australia and the other English speaking countries?

I'm not sure that all of the following could be classed as well-known, but they all have as their central premise for existing - the promotion of reading, writing and literature.

The Australia Council promotes many aspects of the arts, including literature in the form of Australian stories - http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/artforms/literature

The Wheeler Centre is all about books, writing and ideas and uses many mediums to bring readers & writers together - http://wheelercentre.com/

The Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge is run every year for students from Prep to Year 10 - http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/default.htm

The Children's Book Council of Australia is the peak body for promoting children's literature in Australia - http://cbca.org.au/index.htm

Ireland Literature Exchange promotes Irish literature abroad by getting the best possible translations published overseas - http://www.irelandliterature.com/

The Poetry Society in UK "champions poetry for all ages" & hosts many events at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden - http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/homepage/

Children's Literature Assembly is a US organisation which promotes the need for English teachers to have a wide knowledge of books published for children & young adults -  http://www.childrensliteratureassembly.org/index.html

 The Jewish Book Council promotes public awareness of books published about the Jewish experience - http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/


What are the better known literary awards or prizes in Australia, US and UK for children's books and for adult fiction or poetry?

Even just choosing the better known awards and prizes, one could end up with a very long list, so here is a list of awards or prizes that I have heard of in the past.

INTERNATIONAL
Nobel Prize for Literature
Man Booker Prize
Goethe Prize

AUSTRALIA
Miles Franklin Award
The Stella Prize
Vogel Literary Award

UK
Orange Prize for Fiction
Costa Book Awards (formerly Whitbread)

USA
Pulitzer Prize
National Jewish Book Award

POETRY
CJ Dennis Prize for Poetry (AUS)
TS Eliot Prize (UK)
Walt Whitman Award (USA)

CHILDREN'S
Dromkeen Medal (AUS)
Kate Greenaway Medal (UK)
Caldecott Medal (USA)

Task 4 – Library Shelving, Signage & Genre Arrangement

Look at some online library catalogues and see what you can find out about the arrangement of their literary works on the shelves and the subject headings they use.

The first library I looked at was the Athenaeum in Melbourne which was interesting. It is a very old library but the catalogue was up-to-date and I liked how you could search by genre and then by list within the genre – New / Popular in 2012 / First Book in Series / etc.

Next I visited Melbourne University library where I looked at subject headings. My choice was Australian Literature and I got a list of subject headings further divided by century & type of writing, eg: bibliography / history & criticism / periodicals. There was also a list of related terms like Australian letters / Children’s writings / Gays’ writings. Many of the resources were NOT FOR LOAN and many were in storage, so presumably had to be requested.

My next example is from personal experience with my work placement at Frankston Library Service. At both branches, all non-fiction whether adult or junior is shelved together in Dewey order – this could prove a bit daunting to some kids when looking for resources. The Carrum Downs branch shelves non-fiction in 15 “easy to use” browsing categories (like a bookshop). The catalogue entry includes the relevant category, eg: Adult Non-fiction – Wellbeing, so patrons need to look for the right sign and have the right call number find the book they want.

Find some pictures of shelving arrangements in libraries and in bookshops. How do they differ? 

 

The above arrangement is for displaying and storing magazines in a library, where the current issue is in a plastic pocket (usually NOT FOR LOAN) and older issued are stacked below for perusal or borrowing. The bottom shelf is probably too low and doesn’t allow patrons to see the magazine title clearly. Hopefully, the shelf edges are labeled with the magazine name.

This shelving arrangement has what I think is a plus – an outward facing shelf for displaying books, and a very big minus – the bottom shelf is too low for many to read the spine labels and requires a lot of bending by librarians shelving material. But the fact that the shelves are not jam-packed with resources would be a help to patrons when searching for resources.

(both images from www.eclipseoffice.com.au/jobs/VIC/caroline.html - Images of Caroline Springs branch of Melton Public Library)

By contrast, the bookshop pictured below is piled high with books and other merchandise, making it difficult for customers to get around the shop. This is not an unusual arrangement for bookshops which often seem crowded and chaotic with narrow spaces between shelves or displays and signage that gets lost amongst everything else going on. 

Regular customers would be OK because they would know their way around, but casual visitors might find that the use of every available surface just a bit off-putting. Then again, nothing much stops a true bibliophile in search of the next good read!

 

(image from Google images – common.wikimedia.com)

Find some pictures on signage practices in libraries, especially school and public libraries, and look at information on or pictures of labels or special stickers for book spines.

Directional signage is important in libraries so that patrons can find their way around easily. In large public libraries, it is essential to have clear signage (like the top example from Singapore Library). In academic libraries it is important for students to know the location of various work zones, and clear high signage is needed to locate the collections. These signs are also part of the décor and should look professional, as well as being in keeping with the corporate or institutional “look”. 

(image from Google images – Singapore Library)

(image library)from Google images – unknown)

(image from Google images – smashingmagazine.com)

The other signs often seen in libraries are the genre stickers on the book spines. These stickers highlight the type of fiction story or non-fiction book and make it easier for patrons to browse. Each library has their own set of stickers, but some common stickers might be:

 

Do some research on the use of genre arrangement in libraries or bookshops? Does genre arrangement encourage an interest in borrowing or buying fiction?

It seems that most libraries go for the “mash-up” option when using the genre arrangement of their resources. Fiction is still shelved alphabetically by author surname, but with an additional sticker to tell the patron which genre the library believes the book falls into, but which also conceals the title. Few libraries are pro-active (or is that reactive?) enough to re-shelve their fiction collection by genre.

Then there is the non-fiction option where the Dewey number is still displayed and again, an extra sticker is added with an icon or word to denote which part of the collection houses that particular resource. Librarians don’t seem to be able to leave Dewey behind – mind you, the 52 book genre categories from BISAC is not a lot better. Most libraries have a much shorter list of categories, usually about 10 to 15.

My own experience at the Carrum Downs branch during my work placement was that customers found the “genrefication” of the non-fiction collection much better for browsing. However, they did need to know how to read both the category and the call number if they are using the catalogue. This type of shelf arrangement is also harder for library staff until they memorise where the various categories are located and which Dewey numbers are covered by each category.

Bookshops would not use genre arrangement if it did not encourage customers to browse and buy, so it seems sensible for libraries to follow suit in an effort to increase circulation. If libraries are set up echoing the categories used in bookshops, patrons may find comfort in the familiar. They feel like they find things on their own and “feel less like a moron” (Bateman, 2013) while trying to negotiate complicated Dewey numbers.

I found four articles and a blog post about this subject as related to libraries, with the common theme being how to simplify the genre categories, and all discussing different solutions. It is certainly a topic that is not going to die a quick death.

Bateman, S. (2013). Dewey or don’t we? Incite, 34(8), 16-17. Retrieved from ALIA website.

Fister, B. (2009). The dewey dilemma. Library Journal, 134(16), 22-25. Retrieved from Ebsco database.

Maker, R. (2008). Finding what you are looking for: a reader-centred approach to the classification of adult fiction in libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 57(2), 169-177. Retrieved from Informit database.

Miller, K. (2013). Ditching dewey. Library Media Connection, 31(6), 24-26. Retrieved from Ebsco database.

Readerpants, Mrs. (2011, September 10). The Library Genre-fication Project [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.readerpants.net/2011/09/genre-fication-project.html