Here’s an excerpt from Claudia FitzHerbert’s dairy; she’s an Oxford (England) bookshop clerk (or should I say clark?)…
“I thought I could surprise both the boffins and the born-agains into buying their first novel for years by weaving the fiction in among the non-fiction. It seems to work well enough with the golden oldies. I sell a steady trickle of Gogol’s Dead Souls from its place next to a history of bubbles on the shelf called “Greed”, and it is the same with Borges, whose coded histories are surrounded by histories of codes on the shelf called “Puzzles”. But shifting paperback editions of established greats is not the challenge. The problem lies with new novels, especially – but not exclusively – new novels by young unknowns.”
Read more of her diary entry in the Telegraph .
What to say
You write “clerk”; you say “clark”.
Re:What to say
Ta ta old chap! Clerk it is.
Third Law of Library Science
Ranganathan’s Third Law of Library Science would be ever-so-pleased if libraries considered this approach. Perhaps the end-caps of nonfiction shelves should include special displays of related fictional works (I love the Borges-Puzzles correspondence) and vice versa (to introduce readers of particular authors’ novels to their work in other genres i.e. poetry, theatre, biography, etc.) What about cross-reference suggestions via small colorful signs that could be suspended off the front of the shelf at the appropriate places in the stacks, like the “recommendations” or “mini-reviews” at your local big-chain bookstore?
Laws?0 0079.html
http://www.kmentor.com/socio-tech-info/archives/0
Apparently from a book? _The five laws of library science_ ISBN: 8185273073
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
Re:Laws?
I’m writing my own set of rules:
Rule #1 Don’t Ask, Because they will Tell. Especially useful when confronted with geneaologists.
Re:Laws?
The book that you found for them couldn’t possibly be the right book because they remember it had a red cover.
Re:Laws?
A corollary to rule #2.
The only thing they will remember about the book is the color of the cover, the number of pages, the name of the protagonists pet goldfish. They will not remember author, title, or main characters name, nor, necessarily what the books was about. They will also remember everything about the day they read it (23 years ago) included the colors of the mis-matched socks they were wearing.
Re:Laws?
Rule # 3. The overdue fines couldn’t POSSIBLY be for that book from two years ago because (and you must use ALL the excuses at the same time): 1) They have never been in this library 2) They never checked out that book 3) They remember exactly when they did return that book to your library and that “guy” checked it in and said that “it would be taken care of”. Of course after saying this they walk about of the library forgetting their cel phone/wallet/purse.