Greetings Earthkind!
As part of this class, we are required to publish a weekly response to a prompt given by our professor. This is my seventh prompt response!
Prompt
Though this week’s group of “genres” (Young Adult, New Adult, & Graphic Novels) all seem very different, they all have in common the fact that many people don’t feel that they are legitimate literary choices and libraries shouldn’t be spending money on them or promoting them to adults. The common belief is that adults still don’t or shouldn’t read that stuff. How can we as librarians, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we?
Response
This is a complicated issue, mainly because it’s new to many people. I grew up with YA being a thing, so it’s not that big of a deal to me. I also grew up with the belief that any reading is better than not reading at all and to not judge others based on what they like to read.
There are three parts to this issue, in my opinion:
- How we categorize the genres.
- How we as library professionals view the genres.
- How we validate readers of the genres.
How we categorize the genres
In my library system, most YA is shelved as “Teen Fiction.” I feel like this type of categorizing might dissuade readers not in their teens.
However, our teen and adult Graphic Novels recently just got merged together into one category (the kids GN books are still separate).
I think that works.
On the flip side, I’m not sure that shelving YA and NA in with the adult or kids books is right, either. Perhaps the genres could be shelved on their own, separate from the teen label.
In thinking about ways to promote them (outside of the genre titles), I think it’s about appeal.
Displays could highlight appeal terms and focus less on the “genre” and more of what’s in the book.
With YA and GNs especially, integrated advisory seems like it would work. Many YA novels and Graphic Novels are being turned into films or television series, so a display or recommendation list could include movies, CD’s, and books.
How we as library professionals view the genres
As library professionals, we do NOT get to choose what is a legitimate genre or not. If my patrons want to read it, I will fight to keep those items on my shelves.
We also don’t get to choose who we think is allowed to read the genre. I still read (and thoroughly enjoy) children’s fiction. I shouldn’t have to feel devalued as a reader because of my reading tastes.
If I seem fired up about it; I am.
People read for many different reasons, and I don’t get to choose what I think they should read and enjoy. That’s not my job.
My job is to encourage them to read what they want to read and to feel good doing it.
How we validate readers of the genres
In thinking about ways to validate readers of these genres, I believe we should make them known and seem popular.
Patrons shouldn’t feel like they have to sneak over into the “young people’s area” to pick up a book. We should pull them out and highlight them.
In addition to that, I would recommend using staff picks, patron picks, and other similar display tactics to show patrons the books are enjoyed by all sorts of people, and that’s perfectly okay.
Overall, yes, I do think we should “work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels.”
Thank you for taking the time to read this response, and until next time, Happy Reading!
The Alien Librarian 
Fantastic prompt response. I liked that you broke it down into three issues. Also, gorgeous cat! Full points!
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Love, love, love your response! What spoke to me especially is your conviction that any reading is better than none, and that as librarians, it is not our job to decide what is acceptable literature for anyone (we are not in the early 20th century any longer!). I also like that you point out how older patrons might feel if they were required to venture into the YA area for their books. I think showcasing these genres is a good idea using that line of reasoning; also, using patrons’ and staff picks for a passive display makes a lot of sense! It makes these works seem more inclusive and enjoyed by everyone. Great post!
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Unless if I came to your library with a YA title I located beforehand online … maybe I liked the synopsis or something … I would possibly … just possibly, feel discouraged from perusing through titles labeled teen fiction. Plus, Teen Fiction sounds more “lightweight” than YA to me for some reason, but again, lately, I have been entertaining the thought of reading a Patrick Ness title of the many so with a title or author in mind, yes, I’d hit the TF stacks with name/title in/on hand. It also makes sense to me to group all GN together minus those meant for children. If you are saying that you are good with grouping YA and NA while keeping them separate from kid’s books, I agree. Is teen fiction separate from YA at your library? If you were to assign age range for each 1) teen fiction 2) YA 3) NA how would go, based on your knowledge of your patrons who surf these shelves?
As for how genres are determined or decided, right, you said that “we do not get to choose what is a legitimate genre or not.” when it comes to genres there are so many subgenres or themes within each genre. Without giving it more thought I might be missing something here.
I agree with you about valuing or devaluing anyone over what they read or don’t read. In this class and maybe some others but less so, I have learned about people more than I thought I would. I might not read some of these genres or titles but honestly, I may. What matters is that I find everyone here interesting and respectable for different aspects of who they seem to be by their words and different forms of self expression. Without the way that this class has been designed and delivered I wouldn’t be able to say this with any sincerity.
Maybe some time I can know more about why you seem so passionate about judgment over what one reads … I feel it but I don’t understand it much. Help.
After reading the part of your post about validating readers I still don’t understand. Forgive me, but again, help me to understand. I’m curious.
If I am a reader at your library, any library I need words I can relate to, and if and when I find what I want, it’s just me and those wall to wall thoughts that are still alive, attached to its creator. I never give any thought to a third party with the exception of wanting to share those words that I have been blessed to come across. If anything I am proud of what I choose to read, the same way I am proud for the music I choose to keep and connect to my personal meaning. What is life if you do not keep the things that you love – those things that connect you with your self – those things that make you feel free and alive close to you? I self validate.
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