Special Topics Paper Summary
Fighting for the Romance Genre and Its Readers
Librarians and patrons alike may feel anxious to participate in a readers’ advisory interview involving romance books. Romance books have been at times considered a lesser genre, even though they are the biggest or one of the biggest circulating genres and their appeal continues to reach new demographics. Librarians must find ways to make patrons feel comfortable asking for romance reads.
Librarians might be worried about a potential readers' advisory interview, because there is so much to read out there and they do not
want to get it wrong. There can be pressure from the library organization to
have successful patron interactions. However, libraries are an inclusive and
safe space, and romance books make up about a quarter of the fiction market. “The
billion-dollar romance book industry has enough sub-genres to keep its diverse,
loyal fan base happy for some time and remain one of the most widely read
genres in the world” (Nielsen, 2016, para. 1).
Looking deeper, the bias against the romance genre may be
due to outdated belief systems. Crusie (n.d.) said “romance fiction challenges
the traditional patriarchal beliefs by saying that women are equal to men and
that they should be as sexually knowledgeable as men” (para. 3). Romance
readers themselves have been painted in a negative light. Romance readers have
been incorrectly characterized with “the image of a spinster sitting at home
slurping melting ice cream on a dilapidated couch with a mirage of smelly cats
curling up at her feet” (Hunter, 2012, para. 1). This is disrespectful and
cannot be true, because according to Hunter (2012) half of romance readers live
with a spouse or significant other (para. 1). Furthermore, the American Library
Association Code of Ethics demands that librarians “affirm the dignity and
right of every person” (American Library Association, 2021, para. 15).
Library staff can fight this by making patrons feel comfortable
asking for romance reads. Adkins et al. (2010) recommends making patrons
comfortable by making displays of romance novels “to increase their visibility
within the library” (p. 42). Studying up on the romance genre, as well as
“developing an encouraging, positive attitude among staff toward romance
fiction and romance readers” can help (Adkins et al., 2010, p. 42). Romance-related
cultural programming like romance book discussions and romance author visits
will also convey to patrons that they should not be anxious to approach a
librarian for a recommended romance read.
References
Adkins, D., Esser, L. R., & Velasquez, D. (2010). Promoting
romance novels in American public libraries. Public Libraries, 49(4), 41–48.
American Library Association. (2021). Code of ethics. https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Crusie, J. (n.d.). Defeating the critics: What we can do
about the anti-romance bias. https://jennycrusie.com/non-fiction/defeating-the-critics-what-we-can-do-about-the-anti-romance-bias/
Hunter, C. (2012). Respect the romance. Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2012/11/respect-the-romance/
Nielsen. (2016). Romance readers by the numbers. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2016/romance-readers-by-the-numbers/
That description by Hunter of a romance reader just made my day, LOL. You can often find me reading my romance novel eating ice cream with my cat curled up on my lap. But only one cat. And only because I love ice cream. But I am also one of those people that live with my spouse who is constantly being told what's happening in my books while I'm reading them. I found a book where the author argued that most people criticize romance and its readers because they just completely misunderstand the genre as a whole and why we read it. Which I found to be accurate because before I started reading romance novels, I definitely was one of those people that didn't understand them.
ReplyDeleteI love that you wrote about making patrons and readers feel more comfortable picking up romance novels. There's historically been an aura of shame about it (like everything else that's usually enjoyed mostly by women) that's still there despite how much E.L. James changed things. Getting more and more people to read it is an excellent goal for libraries and librarians going forward, in my opinion.
I cut a lot out for my Special Topics Paper to make the summary. I had more references and statistics in the paper, but I could not cut the part about romance readers being spinsters with cats.
DeleteI remember back in the late 90's I would go to used book stores and buy racy romance novels. The kind with couples kissing and embracing on the front cover. The cashier would smirk at me and make snarky comments like: "Someone is looking for a little spice in their life." I was so happy when my public library came out with self checkout machines. I could check out those racy books without someone judging me.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting topic! I actually didn't know that romance readers received so much judgement! They shouldn't. If they are reading for pleasure, let them read what they like. When we studied Romance a few weeks ago in the Emotion Genres module, I remember being surprised learning about the bias. The proof is in the pudding, though! These books get checked out. My teen romance books are among the most circulated of my teen titles. Romance has value, and I'm glad you took up the cause in your research!
ReplyDeleteHi Jackie, I love your topic! I feel like over the last few years, TikTok has helped readers embrace their love of romance. Even Instagram too! I am active on Bookstagram and have a separate account, but a lot of people proudly read romance, myself included.
ReplyDelete