Week 13 Prompt

Our job as librarians is to help patrons find books they enjoy, not to maintain arbitrary barriers that prevent them from reading books that are traditionally published for younger or older audiences. If an adult wants to read children's books because doing so makes them feel nostalgic and they like to appreciate the illustrations, they should be able to do so without fear of judgement. The same goes for YA books. Likewise, if a child wants to read YA or adult books or a teenager wants to read children's or adult books, they should be able to do so. 

One way we can remove barriers and encourage adults to read YA or NA titles is to ask them if they are interested in reading those kinds of books as we perform readers' advisory. Earlier in the semester when I visited my local library for our Secret Shopper assignment, the librarian I spoke to asked me if I was wanting primarily adult books or if I'd like her to look for YA books as well. I appreciated that she didn't automatically assume I wouldn't be interested in YA books because I am an adult. She tried to broaden my reading scope, not limit it based on my age, and that is something we should all strive to do!

Another way we can encourage adults to read YA or NA titles is to create displays and book lists that bring YA, NA, and adult titles together. For example, one could make a book list for Sarah J. Maas read alikes that include YA, NA, and adult titles. Or one could make a display of YA, NA, and adult horror books. Some authors write for multiple audiences, so a display featuring all of their books could be beneficial to patrons. A librarian could even start a YA for Adults or NA for Teens book club. There are endless possibilities!