YA & Graphic Novels as Legitimate Literary Choices: Week 13 Prompt Response

According to the Library Bill of Rights we, as librarians, should "[resist] abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas" (ALA, 1996).  This means that anyone and everyone should have free access to any and every kind of material housed in our libraries, and it implies that this should be done without judgment from us.  If a child wishes to browse the adult non-fiction materials, then we have to do what we can to allow that child access to those materials.  Likewise, if an adult wants to check out YA fiction or graphic novels, then we are responsible for ensuring that he or she can do so.  Not only should we ensure all people access to all materials, but I believe we should also encourage all people to peruse all materials through our presentation of them.

My library has a very large collection of graphic novels in both the children's and YA departments, but it has recently started a collection of graphic novels in the Adult section.  Patrons love this, and these items are becoming very popular.  This budding collection is a great way to serve adults who like graphic novels, and especially those who don't necessarily want to check out YA graphic novels.  However, many of the patrons who are checking out these new adult graphic novels have checked out YA graphic novels in the past, and most continue to do so.  Many adults also like to check out other YA fiction.  Anyone is welcome to browse the collection in the YA area, but I get the feeling that many people think that this area is completely off limits to anyone who isn't a teenager because there's a sign designating it as being for teens and because our policy states that only teenagers can "hang out" there.  This could obviously limit adults who want YA materials.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (2006) suggests that all graphic novels, both YA and adult, could be shelved "in a specially designated graphic novels area for easier browsing of all graphic works" where adult graphic novels could still be shelved separately from YA ones, but where anyone, regardless of age, could browse them all in one spot.  We shouldn't necessarily shelve all materials in the entire library based on their cataloged, intended age grouping--"shelving location must not be assumed to be a predictor of who will read or borrow a particular graphic novel" (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, 2006).  For materials like YA fiction, where their most sensible location is in the YA section, we could have pull-out displays in the adult area of some of the most popular YA fiction titles.  Another easy way to encourage adults who enjoy YA literature is to ask people during reader's advisory interviews if they like YA books.  If they do, then we can recommend both adult and YA titles.  Regardless of where we house materials within the library walls or of how they are cataloged, we should celebrate and encourage all reading interests, not just the ones that "fit" with a person's age.



References
ALA. (1996). Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved from
          http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. (2006). Graphic novels: Suggestions for librarians. Retrieved from http://cbldf.org/graphic-novels-suggestions-for-librarians/