Working today, I realized something about the readers/shoppers of the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the store. I realized that they ‘own’ their section of the store. Or rather I should say we own it.
Readers of other genres are just want pointed to their favorite authors and they are good to go. They are pretty flexible to change. They realize that they are in a store owned and operated by other people.
SF/Fantasy readers are very attached to their sections being set up a certain way. Any changes or mistakes in the organization of the books earns a quick comment to the nearest bookseller. No bookseller handy? Then they ‘fix’ it themselves.
When I first started working in bookstores, I took extra interest in my favorite section of the store. I learned the do’s and don’t's of shelving and displaying books there. I memorized which shelves the major authors were on as ‘bookmarks’ to the rest of the section. If given an option about where to work, I chose the fantasy section. Now I am unofficially in charge of the section. Now it is mine on a whole other level.
I pay close attention to how the customers shop, where they look for their books, and how they discover the next author to try. Readers of SF/Fantasy don’t tend to wander around the store looking for books on display or what’s on sale in the bargain section. They beeline for their section and lose themselves in the corridors filled with spaceships, elves, swords, and phasers. They have everything they need there and no need to explore further.
The SF/Fantasy section is mine. Thank you for leaving it as you found it and for pointing out that the Dragonlance books are suppose to be at the end with the RPG novels and not alphabetized in the main part of the section.
