I feel as though libraries should be a “judgment-free”
zone when it comes to allowing adults to read YA. There are some very adult issues
in YA, such as immigration, school shootings, war, etc.; if adults read about
these topics through a teenage perspective, then maybe there could be a better dialogue
between the two generations on these issues. We were all teenagers once, and
adults need to be empathetic when it comes to this age group.
In my Special Topics paper on Young Adult literature,
I found an article from Publisher’s Weekly that really drives home the point
that there are a staggering number of adults who read YA. Publisher’s Weekly
(2012),
More than half the
consumers of books classified for young adults aren’t all that young. According
to a new study, fully 55% of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids
aged 12 to 17 -- known as YA books -- are 18 or older, with the largest segment
aged 30 to 44, a group that alone accounted for 28% of YA sales. And adults
aren’t just purchasing for others -- when asked about the intended recipient,
they report that 78% of the time they are purchasing books for their own
reading. The insights are courtesy of Understanding the Children’s Book
Consumer in the Digital Age, an ongoing biannual study from Bowker Market
Research that explores the changing nature of publishing for kids (1).
Having said that, there needs to be an identified YA
genre that will allow teenagers to feel included in the library world and not necessarily
have to resort to reading children’s books or jump right in to adult
literature; this genre is a perfect in-between stage for library patrons. It
will also draw teens in and explore the library further- maybe participate in the
Summer Reading Program or check out other programming during the year. If the
YA collection in a library is accessible to everyone in a general location,
say, on the main level of a library instead of a special loft or room for
teenagers, maybe adults won’t feel as guilty crossing this line to get the
books they want. Young Adult literature should be available to both teenagers
and adults.
Works Cited
Publisher’s
Weekly. (2012). New Study: 55% of YA Books Bought by Adults. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/53937-new-study-55-of-ya-books-bought-by-adults.html
Your comment on the YA space being accessible to all hits home for me. My library has our YA collection in a separate room, with a big neon TEENS sign over the door. Adults don't feel welcome to explore, and even some younger teens and tweens treat it with some trepidation. This might be due in part to the teen groups we've had in lately, who have no interest in the collection or the programs we try to reach them with, and simply use the room as an after school meet up or place away from parents. If it were more open to the rest of the library, I could see the collection being more openly perused.
ReplyDeleteWow, Catherine! I'm sorry that is an issue for your library. On the one hand, it is neat that they have their "own space," but on the other hand, it is more difficult to keep an eye out on them, or to keep that part of the library supervised around the clock. I have also noticed it is difficult to get teens into the library with programming that, while we may think it's interesting, they may just plain not care about it at all, or don't think it's "cool," or have peer pressure not to go to the library, or have other distractions. Has anyone from that library suggested ways of using programming, marketing or social media to get more teens to use the library?
ReplyDeleteFull points!
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