To RA or Not to RA, That is the Question {Week 13 Prompt}

The prompt this week reads as follows:

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 librarian, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we? I can't wait to read your thoughts on this. Thanks!


Seriously. Are we not here to serve the patrons who walk in our doors no matter what they want to read, without judgment? 

I wanted to stop there but I felt that probably didn't qualify as a thorough answer. However, when patrons walk through our door they are expecting to find materials they want to read. It is our duty as librarians to help them in every possible way, no matter their age or the material they seek.  Obviously we would help patrons find titles they provide us with or suggest titles via Reader's Advisory. However, another way we could let them know relevant YA, NA, and Graphic Novel titles they may be interested in is by creating display titles to go along with adult titles in the adult areas. Not only would it help the adults find new materials it would also help the circulation stats at the library which would help justify the monetary expenditure on the materials. We could also provide bookmarks or other book suggestion literature around library and provide book suggestions or reviews online. We should allocate part of our budget to ensure we are spending money on these books that will circulate in our communities. We will know by what our patrons are requesting or by checking best seller lists.

In a nutshell, I think it's super important that we serve our patrons to the best of our ability, whether we think their choices are "literary" or not.

Comments

  1. Rebecca HeratyApril 5, 2019 at 10:06 PM

    I completely agree with everything you said. I love the bookmark idea. Our library did this with young adult materials and I had plenty of adults come up to the desk asking where to find the titles on the bookmark. (The book marks had the title and description of different YA books).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BrandyApril 6, 2019 at 11:28 AM

      Thanks! I think I could whip up a bookmark similar to that for our adult dept fairly quickly... I could do it in an RA fashion, too. "If you like [x] book, then you might like [x YA] books." :)

      Delete
  2. Hillarie FinleyApril 6, 2019 at 2:05 PM

    Ah, Gina Linetti. Speaking all of the truths of the world! I think displaying adult with YA/NA/GN readalikes. It's so important to know what the community wants. I am in charge of fiction collection development for my library, so it's difficult to find balance sometimes. I thought cozy mysteries would be popular, but I've learned from looking at circulation statistics that patrons love inspirational fiction and thrillers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erin CataldiApril 9, 2019 at 4:05 PM

    Bookmarks and displays can do wonders. It really makes people realize how many different options are out there. We should embrace them all! Great prompt response, full points!

    ReplyDelete

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