Adults and YA
Maybe it has to do with the era that I grew up in (born in 1992 and 27 years old now), but it seems to me that it would be hard to make an argument AGAINST libraries spending money on and promoting young adult books today. I took the youth version of this class last semester, and let me tell you, I read some AMAZING young adult and teen books that I loved more than some "adult" books. Particularly on an emotional level, there is something that this genre grabs a hold of, and it resonates with people of ALL ages, not just the teenagers who are the same ages as the protagonists in the stories. If I had to try and pin down what this factor would be, it would be something along the lines of letting people remember what it was like to be that age again.
With all that being said, providing YA books to adult patrons is a unique challenge. The two libraries that I attend for personal use have separate YA sections: one even has a "high school" shelf that caters to the older end of the YA spectrum and New Adult audience. The other library I attend has an entire "Teen-Zone", which is a closed off room/section of the library for teens to use all to their own. I know that I, as a 27 year old, 6'5" male, feel INCREDIBLY awkward walking into this Teen-Zone to get books to read. I'm sure I am not the only patron who feels this way. This does seem like a great way to meet the needs of YA patrons, but there are also some negative side effects in reaching the adult population who enjoys reading YA books. The first library mentioned, at least has the "high school" section next to the adult fiction sections and are only a few shelves over. I feel far less "creeperish" at this library when picking up books, and it was actually the deciding factor for choosing the library in which to check out the book for this week's annotation.
Clearly, as librarians, we do not want our patrons to be embarrassed or ashamed of the reading choices and preferences they have, yet this one seems to be a fairly tricky puzzle to solve, and I am not sure that I have a perfect answer. I am looking forward to reading what ideas the rest of you have, especially those already in the field. As a patron, an idea that would make ME feel more comfortable would be to have copies of the upper YA and NA books in both the YA section as well as the adult fiction section, especially if there is a closed off room that houses all the YA materials that is designed for people much younger than me. But there are clearly limitations to that suggestion, and might not even be feasible for libraries with smaller budgets. I absolutely think that as librarians we should be serving adults who enjoy reading YA/NA, but the defining feature of this genre is the very reason it becomes a challenge to shelve, display, and promote to its older audience.
Hi Zach, as someone who spent 10 years helping adults, teens, and kids find books on our children's and teen floor of the public library, it was pretty ok with me when someone browsed the teen stacks for books. We had a rule that did not allow adults to linger/sit in the teen area, but if they were clearly looking for reading materials we were ok with that. I had a practice of offering my assistance so that a patron would know that I was nearby. This served to both provide customer service AND show patrons that I knew they were there. If someone was lingering for a nefarious purpose, that would scare them off. Most of the time people were genuinely looking for specific books and I could help them find them quickly. I was always glad to see an adult using the teen collection. We had a great collection that I was ready to discuss with teens and adults alike!
ReplyDeleteZach,
ReplyDeleteI never thought of it that way, what you just said about the books are displayed in their "so called section'. So, it would make the patron feel odd for browsing that area. It is the same at our library that Laura made the comment, if you are an adult without a kid, you cannot linger in the area. I know when I went to look for a fantasy book for myself,I felt I had to explain why I was there and why I was goingto read it. I understand the reasoning behind to protect kids...but...the books are for everyone, no matter what age. I do know at one of our smaller branches, they have smaller sections for new books which are grouped together by ages and it is easier to browse and it isn't as noticable if the patron is looking at the differect areas.
In my local public library there is a room set aside for the teens; though their items show up in the catalog, it makes us older patrons pretty nervous to go in there (they keep a LOT of Studio Ghibli stuff in there!) because when we do venture in we are watched like a hawk by the librarian on duty. I understand there are probably some lingerers (I am not one) but at one point I felt so uncomfortable that I started asking the librarian to just fetch me the list of books/DVDs I had make up beforehand. It is really an odd feeling to feel so unwelcome in any part of the library. I'm thinking maybe there was an incident that I don't know about? Curiouser and curiouser.
ReplyDeleteIt's very true that the way books are sorted, shelved, and presented can reinforce stereotypes about the books themselves. It allows us to more easily dismiss an entire format or genre of book, and makes it harder for us to discover all the great material that may have had the (mis)fortune of being labeled as "Young Adult."
ReplyDeleteHi Zach,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting observation! At my library the YA titles are grouped together, but they blend in to the next genre. So there is nothing distinctive about the area that would dissuade an adult from hanging around. I always wished we had more of a pronounced teen area, but now I am thinking twice. It never occurred to me that doing so might make adults uncomfortable venturing in this area. Maybe a happy medium would be to have a teen room near the YA collection where teens can hang out, play board games, and read.
My library is very similar to Monique's in that while we have a teen "area," it's not very defined or enclosed and is close enough to the newspapers and nonfiction that adults and teens alike both use it. Lot of great insight, full points!
ReplyDeleteI agree with many others who think how the books are presented really does make an impact on older readers interesting in reading YA or teen books. I have even seen a sign in one library for the teen section stating the area was 'only for teens' and I wonder if the collection suffers because of that.
ReplyDelete