Week 12 Prompt

Changing the status quo.

This week's prompt is about genres that some people claim should not be considered legitimate literary choices and are therefore a waste of money and promotion. If we continued to use this logic, our society would not get very far. If we only stayed with the status quo, we would not learn, evolve, and give birth to new ideas. I do not believe librarians would be fulfilling their roles if they were not working to provide some type of access to titles in Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA). 

Even today people might argue that reading an ebook or listening to an audiobook should not be considered equivalent to reading. What good would we do as a profession if we were not open to new formats, genres, and ways of learning? Our role is not to place our own thoughts and ideas about these topics into the discussion, but to uphold the guidelines of our profession. There is a balance to our roles, so while one person might think non-censorship means 'anything goes', it really means listening to the readers and the communities we serve while protecting their right to the materials provided. While selectors might be told to listen to the interests of the public, that cannot mean only purchasing the most popular items, but to balance that with providing new material that they might not have access to otherwise. 

This assumption or "common belief" that adults should not or do not read YA and NA is just that, an assumption. According to one website, a total of 55% of YA readers are adults. I will admit, the group of friends I had in college would probably not be caught reading YA books, and I myself was a bit on the fence about reading books that seemed a bit young. Looking at my own experiences and where I am in life today, I would argue that we might not have been the targeted audience because we were living the storylines from NA books and attempting to become the people we wanted to be! I loved reading the article, "What's New About New Adult" by Sophie Brookover, Elizabeth Burns, and Kelly Jenson because they were able to articulate both the appeal of and distinction between YA and NA. While YA is described as the preparation and emotional journey of discovering oneself, NA is the story of making that happen and living as that desired individual. I think there is certainly something to be said about providing this niche genre of material and opportunity for readers to relate to characters, storylines, and coming-of-age experiences.

My one and only book discussion experience was in an adult book discussion titled "Young@Heart" and focused on YA novels. Within the profession, librarians can help facilitate discussions with youth, teens, and even adults by providing the materials and environment to discuss these important lessons. I am probably just on a rant now because of where I am at in my own life, but there are just so many important lessons we learn from becoming a strong individual and friend that are so unique to these types of genres. While the article previously mentioned ends with the question of how long NA will last, I can agree that perhaps this is just the beginning of the discussion. My latest YA read, Cemetery Boys, was such a unique story and highlighted transgender and gay relationships. I can't help but acknowledge how many other stories are waiting to be told about other coming-of-age experiences. I hope this is the beginning of a movement that gives meaning to the importance of self discovery, sexuality, and creating meaningful relationships with others that had yet to be fully accepted, acknowledge, and supported on a larger scale.