Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I want that job

I was just at the Multnomah County Library website, making sure that I have enough books on hold to ensure the next month's reading. I looked up The Lonely Polygamist (which, incidentally, looks like a really entertaining read) and found this in the info section:

Subject:

Middle-aged men -- Fiction.
Polygamy -- Fiction.
Bereavement -- Psychological aspects -- Fiction.
Families -- Fiction.

Who, I wonder, gets to choose these subject headings for the books in the catalog? Are they provided by the publisher, or culled from reviews, or are they the result of careful study of the works? Probably the first, but I will fantasize that there is a bookworm out there who gets to spend her time reading whatever she wants, then chooses how each book should be classified.

As it turns out, these lists are searchable, sort of like labels on blogs. I would certainly have spent a chunk of time viewing all the fiction that is categorized as 'Middle-aged men'; however there were not many titles listed. (Hard to believe, surely ought to be reformed.) 'Polygamist - Fiction' looks a little meatier, and may provide some inspiration for future reading lists...

I move that a Federal Department of Categorization of Literature be formed immediately, and I humbly nominate myself as its head honcho.

2 comments:

  1. Hilarious! I think you definately should be allowed to do this - it would make everyone's trips to the library more amusing

    happy Friday

    Hannah

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Hannah - there's one vote, anyway!

    ReplyDelete