romance in the margins · 2018. 12. 11. · 12.98 1.15 2.29 65.65 2017 mass market paperback trade...

Romance In The Margins

Exploring library metadata and how it can marginalise romance fiction

Vassiliki VerosDoctoral CandidateFaculty of Arts and Social Sciences

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“We need to consider every attachment, every value,

with our whole attention; for we do not know the future,

we can never be certain of what may enrich it”

Raymond Williams in Culture is Ordinary 1961

ROMANCE IN THE MARGINS

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Romance Fiction

A 'romance' is defined by the presence of two basic

elements: a love-story that is central to the story,

and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.


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Romance fiction

On being in a community of romance authors:

”But I love what I do, and I love the romance genre.

It’s a female-driven arm of capitalism. We are all small

business owners. We are all out there for women.”

Beverly Jenkins 2017


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Print and digital reading and romance readers


68.8

18.2

2.9

0 10.2

2009

Mass market paperback Trade paperback

Hardcover Audio

Ebook

17.94

12.98

1.15

2.29

65.65

2017

Mass market paperback Trade paperback

Hardcover Audio

Ebook

Australian Romance Readers Survey: What book format do you purchase most frequently?

6ROMANCE IN THE MARGINS

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Libraries can be regarded as sites for the production, dissemination and appropriation of cultural capital”

Anne Goulding, 2010


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Providing fiction for recreational reading is a core public library service

Readers’ Advisory services

Joyce Saricks (2009) defines readers’ advisory

as “patron-oriented library service for adult

fiction readers. A successful readers' advisory

service is one in which knowledgeable,

nonjudgmental staff help fiction readers with

their reading needs”


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Reader methods in accessing fiction:

1. Known Item search : Achieved through library

catalogue searches

2. Browsing for items: returned books shelf, new

book shelf, displays, exhibitions, pamphlets and

other ccollateral


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Metadata is “data about data” – Jane Greenberg, 2003

Accepted criteria for quality metadata is:

1. Accuracy

2. Consistency

3. Completeness


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Metadata


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Metadata



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Degrees of metadata


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Degrees of metadata


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OBFUSCATING METADATA


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OBFUSCATING DATA


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Obfuscating metadata


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Obfuscating metadata


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Metadata Enrichment


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Metadata Enrichment


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USEFUL COLLECTIONS


“Why would you have a collection that you have no access to? The cost of adding them to the database must be far less than the staff time spent trying to find them, day after day, for patrons. Looking for uncatalogued material, which may or may not be on the shelf, is exceedingly frustrating for both staff and patrons and the collection becomes less useful.”

Saricks in Fiction Acquisition/Fiction Management: Education and Training (1995)

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LINKED DATA


Public Lending Right (PLR) and Educational Lending

Right (ELR) are Australian Government cultural

programs which make payments to eligible Australian

creators and publishers in recognition that income is

lost through the free multiple use of their books in

public and educational lending libraries. PLR and ELR

also support the enrichment of Australian culture by

encouraging the growth and development of Australian

writing.

http://arts.gov.au/literature/lending_rights

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LINKED DATA


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Print and digital reading and romance readers


33.4

19.6

25.2

21.8

2009

Never Sometimes Often Always

50.97

25.87

15.06

8.11

2017

Never Sometimes Often Always

Australian Romance Readers Survey: Have you borrowed books from your local library this year?

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Implications of obfuscated data:

Readers and library users:

1. A false record of the reading engagement of the community.

2. Avid readers not considering the library as a place for discovery.

Library staff:

1. Inability to locate materials

2. User engagement

3. Lack of professional adherence to international standards and protocols

Authors and creators:

1. Impact upon an author’s moral rights to their intellectual property

2. Impact upon author access to institutional payments.

3. The lack of cultural capital of predominately female creators from the institutional record.



“Important information lives forever. It doesn’t depreciate. It

appreciates. It lives forever.” This is not only important in our

government data, but also in our collecting of stories that our

society engages in. Without rich metadata, from inception, from

receipt of an object, then that importance cannot be followed.

David Fricker in Leading Information Governance 2018

Thankyou

romance in the margins · 2018. 12. 11. · 12.98 1.15 2.29 65.65 2017 mass market paperback trade...

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