Week 13 Prompt - Bringing YA and GN Out of the Shadows

One of my favorite exchanges that I have had recently at the reference desk involved a father and son who came in to find the son a book to read on vacation. The son was a self-declared “non-reader” and dad was pushing hard to get him to read some of the authors/books that he himself enjoyed. I could sense resistance coming from the son so I made some suggestions about YA books he might enjoy, and also showed him our graphic novels in both adult and teen. His dad articulated that he was unsure about the value of his son reading graphic novels, and would prefer “real books” so I pulled out The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and asked if they’d ever seen this. To my surprise (delight?) the son grabbed at it, saying that one of his friends had mentioned something about it, and dad seemed a little taken aback. I continued to talk to both for a while about how there’s books, TV and movies are evolving from graphic novels (once I mentioned that the Walking Dead was a graphic novel, dad got more interested) and the boy left with at least one book that he was excited to read.

In some ways, I think that the young adult, graphic novels and other genres that receive a “bad rap” should take note of what romance is doing. Traditional romance was something that we could all look at, even if the bare-chested men on the front were a little too under-dressed for the situation. But – in recent years – steamier romance has taken hold of the market and has become something that’s boldly and openly requested, checked out and read in public. People are not as shy about discussing romance and its elements anymore – they’ve embraced it, made it a part of their regular reading habits, and that demand has resulted in libraries stocking more books of that genre, thereby encouraging more people to explore it. Other genres may not share those same elements, but have the opportunity to "come out from the shadows”, embrace their unique aspects, and offer people an alternative of what they can read. We know that there is no inherently higher value to reading one book or genre or another (or else romance would have gone down the drain lately – in my opinion!) so we should publicly declare that by suggesting and showcasing YA books and graphic novels so that perception diminishes.

Moreover, librarians should start considering some of these genres/niche reads as gateways to the library and the world of reading. While they may not be classified as great literature, they are

•  Bringing people into the library to browse the collection and be exposed to the library
• Engaging people in conversations about books, subjects, emotions, situations, etc. that may be important to them
•  Opening up readers minds to alternate materials that they may find satisfying. 

Our roles as RA librarians has never been to judge what is being read, but to find books that meet the reading needs of our patrons. If those exist as a graphic novel or on shelves in the teen department, fine. And even more importantly, our roles demand that we understand the characteristics of the readers who gravitate towards these genres so we can suggest additional items – both within these genres and outside of them – to keep them engaged with reading. While YA and graphic novels may never be my cup of tea, or something I gravitate towards, I fully believe that they will become a staple of library materials and should be valued as such.