We Are All Young at Heart- Some of us Just Read Like it!

Photo by Morgan Vander Hart on Unsplash

I remember the first time I went to the library and wanted to look for books outside of the kids section- but wasn’t sure I was allowed in the adult section.  I was in 5^th or 6^th grade and reading things like Christopher Pike and V.C. Roberts, authors that are now described as YA or even NA.  Back then (20+ years ago), they were on the shelf in the “Junior Reads” of the youth section.  I had been reading my way through that section, but I was bored, and yet, I remember asking a librarian for a suggestion, and they sent me right back to Junior Reads.  I wanted something different, but I didn't really know what it was.  Eventually, I looked for a sequel to a book in the Junior section and found out it was in the adult section- so I crossed over- with what I still think was the disproval of the librarian on staff in the youth section. This led to years of my going back and forth between Adult and Junior reads, and really, I have never stopped.  You are just as likely to catch me reading the newest release in YA fiction as Literary Fiction.  

My experience is not unique, but luckily, it has changed as YA and NA have become more defined genres and teen librarians are becoming more prevalent in library systems.  Also, the walls in many places between age categories are coming down- but they aren't down everywhere, and in many places the desire to fit readers to books comes with a pre-determined feeling about what age categories readers should be reading.  

Going into bookstores and new libraries always takes an adjustment period where I figure out the fine line between where Fiction, New Adult, and Young Adult are shelved.  I think that the best way to keep these books available to all the demographics that read them is by placing them either in their own location between or near the adult fiction area and the Youth section.  Having a YA section that makes different ages feel accepted and able to access these titles can help patrons feel more comfortable reading in what is perceived to be out of their age range (either up or down).

It should not surprise anyone that the biggest buying demographic (which correlates as well to the reading audience) is not teenagers.  In fact, as noted in on Thebalancecareers.com by Valerie Peterson (2018):

“By some market estimates, nearly 70 percent of all YA titles are purchased by adults between the ages of 18 and 64. Of course, some of those are parents, but, assuming that the majority of actual young adults, who are old enough to make their own book purchases, a lot of "non-young adults" are reading those teen books.”

Librarians have to respect that these books have interest to MANY age ranges and individuals and not treat them as being solely to reign of any one group.  Likewise, if genres like New Adult teach us anything, it is that teenagers are often looking for books outside their (and perhaps their parent’s) comfort zones, and when providing RA we cannot simply ask what they have read, but also what they would like to read if they have no limits.  

Likewise, if our placement of these materials leads the readers to explore other areas of the library and look for more titles on their own, expanding their reading worlds.  As librarians, we want to have those important RA interactions, but we also have to acknowledge that some patrons want to explore the stacks and develop their own methods of looking for books.  After all, as mentioned by Heather Booth in Public Libraries (2005),”discovering a favorite book on one’s own is a mark of independence.”  Furthermore, in our interactions with patrons we need to strive open up options for our patrons of all ages, and not place judgement on the mom who reads Sarah J Maas to relax, or the teenager who wants to read Norah Roberts.  There is a book out there for everyone!

References:

Booth, H. (2005). RA for YA: Tailoring the Readers Advisory Interview to the Needs of Young Adult Patrons. Public Libraries, 44(1), 33-36. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database.

Peterson, V. (2018, December 16). Young Adult Book Market Facts and Figures. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-young-adult-book-market-2799954