Journal of Popular Romance Studies (Aug 2015)
Love in the Digital Library: A Search for Racial Heterogeneity in E-Books
Abstract
The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium’s mission is to provide statewide access to a range of electronic materials, such as e-books in a variety of formats and subjects, through its OverDrive digital library. This paper presents an exploratory study of the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium digital library collection of multicultural romance e-books, specifically focusing on the range of racial and ethnic perspectives presented and how the collection reflects the racial and ethnic demographics of Wisconsin residents. An exploratory case study analysis reveals that the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium digital library provides a foundational collection of multicultural romance e-books, presenting a range of racial and ethnic perspectives and providing a general representation of the racial and ethnic demographics of Wisconsin. The multicultural romance e-books in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium digital library present in adequate numbers and in a range of formats. The researchers identify limitations as well as potential strategies for practice and research to improve the availability and accessibility of multicultural romance e-books in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium digital library.
