Week 13 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?
I always have thought that reading in any form is a valid way to read, especially regarding things like graphic novels. I think that it is important to have books that interest all kinds of readers.
At the library where I work, we have dedicated shelves for the manga, teen graphic novels, and adult graphic novels. All of these collections have short shelves that allow us to pick some books from the given collection and display them. I have found that this is a nice, subtle way to show patrons where these books are located and that we have them. Showcasing books on top of the shelves means we always have a display for these collections.
Another way that we would be able to showcase graphic novels in our collections is by doing Book Talks. This would allow the library to showcase the graphic novels that we have and drum up interest in them.
Hi Danyelle,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you that reading in any form is valid. In a world with so many distractions, I think getting some people to read at all can be a challenge, so who cares what genre they enjoy engaging with, it’s better than not reading at all! At my library we have all our comic books and graphic novels shelved in the same section all together, but I really like the idea of having a dedicated shelf specifically for more adult-oriented graphic novels like your library does; I think that’d be a very practical way to help our adult readers find materials they were interested in without feeling like they’re “in the kid’s section” or something that might discourage them from perusing.
I sometime look at our collection and think that we had to do that because of the sheet volume of graphic novels that we have.
DeleteHi Danyelle,
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to graphic novel I have often heard the argument that it is not really reading as it has photos and little word. While showing the books to others may be helpful often times that disapproval of that genre scares people away. In what way could you help push that book and assure the reader that a graphic novel is reading and not childish?
I think branding certain graphic novels as belonging in an adult collection is one of the easiest ways that a library can do that. I think that also encouraging any reading as a valid form of reading is a way to ensure that people feel comfortable enough to pursue their reading goals.
DeleteWell stated. Full points!
ReplyDelete