Going back to my days teaching the RA class for the MLIS program, I have kept a record of the basic appeal factors for all of the major genres. At least once a year I update it all-- trends, authors, appeal factors. Year to year it doesn't change much, but over time, wow...it has changed a lot.
For example, since 2004 when I started doing this, the entire Psychological Suspense genre went from being focused on serial killers written primarily by men, to becoming a female dominate genre centered around the unreliable narrator. And Westerns went from barely hanging on to a genre so vibrant that a Weird Western topped the March 2023 LibraryReads list.
My "record" takes the form of my "Demystifying Genres" program. It is a basic getting up to speed training program that touches on the major genres in their current form. This program is NOT concerned in any way with the history of a genre and the classic authors. It is only current, living authors. And it is is not way comprehensive. It is a snapshot of genre fiction right now.
The most recent update is now available here. This is an outline in the form of slides. Obviously I go into much more detail when I present the program, but even with just the slides, you have a solid base for the current state of genre fiction.
I also always have a list of my favorite FREE genre resources on the Ten Rules of Basic RA Service page. Or you can use this direct link.
Feels free to use these slides to help train your own staff and help your patrons.
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