[Note from Frolic: We are so excited to have Shanel Wermerskirchen write a series of scholarly articles for us about the relationship between the romance genre and libraries.]
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Part 1: Introduction to public libraries and romancelandia
If I wrote a romance novel, my two love interests would be the public library and the romance genre (I mean, duh). I’m a second year student in the Masters of Library and Information Science program at the University of Iowa, and I study and write about romance whenever I get the chance. I’m also a public library specialist in a small city where I work with teens and adults, plan events, professionally throw book recommendations at people, and check out stacks of paperbacks.
Like anyone else obsessed with kissing books, I want an HEA for my love interests. I’m talking the whole Big Gesture, public declaration, swoony affair because public libraries and Romancelandia are the perfect couple. Public libraries were created to serve their communities, provide resources and materials for readers, and to encourage lifelong learning and curiosity. Romance is one of the most popular genres in the United States with legions of loyal fans who read more books and read more often than their counterparts and who seek out a sense of community among other fans. The perfect couple, right?!