Organization and Access

by Beth Snow

A new collection will always require careful planning for organization and access. It certainly wouldn't do to have great graphic novels if no one could find them. The special nature of the materials in our collection will require particular attention to the way they are cataloged and presented. Gearing the collection to teen patrons will require attention to issues of physical location/appearance of titles as well as the electronic accessibility of records. Organization and access issues take on an added layer of meaning when cultural literary differences and the wide development span of teens are thrown into the mix.

Local Access: see information about our decisions for labeling styles and display setups and view more examples from around the world in these posts tagged "Local Access"

Description:
Comics are more complex than many people realize and teens represent an equally complex audience when they come to the OPAC looking for books. It's important to understand the sorts of information teens use to look for these materials: Do they use cross cultural terms for genres? How do they search for series titles? Your descriptive information needs to be as complex as the collection and reflect the needs of the users. There are still limits, of course, to what is possible. Recognizing the limits of catalog records and finding alternate sources for detailed information will make for happier readers if they can find what they want when they want it.

Subject Access:
Although it seems to concentrate on one topic, our grant collection is as complex when it comes to subject headings as when it comes to descriptions. Genres come into play--manga, comic strips, superhero tales, graphic novels--as do storylines and subject matter. Throw a teen's lexicon into the mix, and you can see why we need to look beyond strict Library of Congress subject headings.

Search & Retrieval:
Where do you expect your user group to look for these books? Do they search the catalog to find them or browse the shelves? Labeling and Subjects and Descriptions both affect how people find the things they're looking for. But how can you help them find information about your books that you can't afford to put into the catalog? How can you help find materials you don't have?