Romance has been a sadly maligned genre. Often dismissed as trashy, poorly written, and unworthy of a second glance by a serious reader, many people are ashamed to admit they read romance or are unwilling to give it a try. Yet despite this negative view, romance novels garner hundreds of millions of readers and represent billions of dollars to the publishing industry. People want to read these books and libraries have a duty to their patrons to stock their shelves with the latest titles. But beyond just offering the books, library staff also need to be defenders of freedom to read and advocates of all genres of literature.
In this presentation, we will discuss an overview of the romance genre (and its many subgenres) as well as the challenges faced by libraries. Attendees will come away with a new respect for this genre as well as tips for reader’s advisory, knowledge of some key authors, and a willingness to explore some romance titles (or openly admit they already read romance!)
I started podcasting about books with Laura Emery a few months ago. You can find the BookRage podcast on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/bookjacket) or iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/bookrage-for-the-mad-reader/id1067337515?mt=2).
Deputy Chief Librarian, Cumberland Public Libraries
Chantelle Taylor was volun-told to create an Erotic literature presentation for a conference in 2014. She now regularly has conversations about throuples, but they are all literary related.
