Genrefying: Part IV: Evaluation

The genrefying project has been a success so far and there were some expected and many unexpected outcomes.

• The classes are more spread out as they look for books. I figured this would happen as the books themselves were spread out. I also arranged similar genres close to each other and each class seems to split into the Realistic/Chick Lit, SciFi/Fantasy/Horror, and Adventure/Sports/Guy Reads sections pretty evenly.
• Statistics now show up by genre on reports. I was surprised at the circulation statistics thus far. I knew my book club loved SciFi/Fantasy/Horror, but hadn't realized they were the most popular genres overall. I also know that I need more books in certain genres, such as YA mystery books.
• I know the collection better. Over the last 6 months I handled every single book in the library. This was very helpful since it was my first year in this library and I was still learning the collection. It was much easier to develop a long-term collection development plan.
• I have parts of many series. I decided to devote much of my fiction budget to filling in missing series books, acquiring new ones the kids were asking for, as well as replacing titles on the sophomore and senior literature analysis list, and getting new Middle Eastern and Asian titles for the freshman projects. It made acquisitions easy this year.
• I'm surprised at the books that are circulating. Because the books are split into genres, students are finding books that they didn't before. I'm constantly surprised at the titles that students check out. I will be curious to run a master list at the end of the year and see how many books circulated for the first time this year. 

Overall, the project has been a success so far with students and teachers commenting on how much easier it is to find books. Students seem to be able to find books quicker and with less help than before. I'm glad I genrefied my collection :)