'Blame it on Cupid'

Abstract

Research Problem: Mills and Boon is the most identifiable name globally with romantic fiction and constitutes a readily-borrowed portion of a public library's fiction collection. Yet despite the enduring popularity of the books over the last 40 years there remains an unflattering stigma attached to them and their readers. Past studies of Mills and Boon novels have focused on content analysis, most often from a feminist perspective. This study focuses on a small sample of New Zealand public libraries to determine how supportive they are of the collection, the readers' advisory strategies they employ, and examines the perceptions librarians hold towards the novels and the readers. Methodology: The study was qualitative, and conducted at six different public libraries in New Zealand via face-to-face interviews. These were held in July and August 2012 with each interview averaging around one hour long, followed by an inspection of the romance collection. The interviews were recorded, then partially transcribed and the data then analysed. Results: The study concludes that while there is some negativity towards the collection, Mills and Boon novels are acknowledged as a popular segment of a fiction collection of a public library. There is a perception among library staff that readers are self- sufficient and require no assistance with their reading choices. This equates with findings overseas that suggests readers are in fact reluctant to approach staff for fear of being stereotyped. Implications: The implications of the study are that readers could benefit from public libraries offering more formal readers' advisory training to improve staff ability to dealing with romantic fiction reference inquiries. New Zealand prides itself on its writing talent, and staff could benefit readers from becoming more aware of New Zealand's Mills and Boon authors in order to promote them to readers.