Week Thirteen Prompt

Though this week's group of "genres" 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?

While I feel like I am still a young adult, my age says otherwise.  I typically read adult fiction, but over the past year and a half have read quite a bit of young adult fiction, and have discovered that I really do enjoy this "genre."  I started reading young adult fiction when I was asked to help in this department of our library.  It has been very helpful to gain knowledge about young adult fiction by simply reading a wide variety of books in this section of our library.  As a mother of a 12 and 13 year old, I have appreciated the opportunity to become familiar with young adult fiction for the simple reason of knowing what my children are reading, or what they might be reading.  Also, it allows for great discussion about the books they have read.  I live in a small, conservative town, and work in a small library. Because we are a small town, I feel like the young adult fiction offers the youth in our community a look at some situations, experiences, or realities that they might have to face when they graduate and possibly leave the area.  This is a reason I feel that young adult fiction is an important part of the library.  I also see reading young adult fiction for adults and parents as a way to gain insight into what their teenage child might be facing in life, or provide a way to share experiences and discuss what they are reading. 

Graphic novels are not something that I read, but I do see the value in them.  Graphic novels offer an option for those that do not like to read a traditional novel, but find this style appealing and fun to read.  I have noticed that some of our patrons that choose graphic novels, typically do not do much reading. In my opinion, if a book of any genre or type is getting a reluctant reader to read, then it has a place in the library.  It is meeting a need.  I have not noticed many adult readers checking out graphic novels, but there are a few, and they typically only read this type of book.  This is reason enough to continue to provide these novels.  Our goal as a library is to provide readers with what they like and enjoy.  Providing graphic novels for those that enjoy them meets the needs of the patrons, and allows the library to serve those members of the community that desire this type of book.