An Unsuitable Job for a Librarian? Collection Development of Mystery and Detective Fiction in Academic Libraries

Abstract

Mystery and detective fiction, once considered inappropriate for an academic library collection, has gained increasing respect in recent years. This paper traces the development of the genre, highlighting its parallels wih the development of the novel form. It also examines the changing critical opinion of the genre, explores the increasing rejection of the categorization of these works, provides evidence of increasing scholarly acceptance, and discusses the role of librarians in the collection development of this type of fiction. As a center of learning on college and university campuses, the academic library must keep pace with the changing critical views of mystery and detective fiction. To ignore its movement into mainstream fiction would be to perform a disservice to its institution, its faculty and students, and to the genre itself.