Week 13 Prompt Response: YA, NA, and Graphic Novels

    The prompt this week is interesting, because the questions it asks are focused on adults, and the debate surrounding the legitimacy of young adult, new adult, and graphic novels seems to depend on whether these types of books appeal to adults. Does this mean that many people only consider a book to have literary value if adults read it?
    While I think don't think that is a good viewpoint to have, I understand why some might make the argument that if adults don't generally enjoy these types of books, then it's a waste of library funds and resources to try to market them to adults. But the belief that a library shouldn't even be purchasing books if adults aren't the target audience is definitely odd to me. It makes me wonder if there is another debate going on about whether libraries should be spending money on materials for children and teens in the first place. My perception is that most people would agree the services libraries provide for children and teens are hugely important, so I'd be very surprised if there was a school of thought arguing that libraries should only be focused on providing adult services.
    The vast majority of patrons who come to the library where I work are teens or children, so we have a significant collection of YA literature, graphic novels, and manga. It makes sense that we would try to meet the needs of our patrons, regardless of age group, so the question of whether adults care much about these specific collections seems irrelevant to me. Isn't the fact that the majority of our patronage wants these books sufficient reason to keep them?

    In a library that serves mainly adults, on the other hand, I can see why some would find it unnecessary to market these kinds of books. But if the librarians are doing their best to understand the needs of the community, I'd imagine they would discover that TONS of adults love to read YA, NA, and graphic novels. Many of my adult friends who are voracious readers often choose to read YA and even middle-grade fiction. Graphic novels like the Heartstopper series, as well as new adult authors like Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas are so wildly popular these days that I would have a hard time believing any public library would not see demand for them from adult patrons. So, in my opinion, the belief that adults aren't interested in these kinds of books simply isn't going to match with actual data or research. Every community and library has different patrons with different needs, but I think public libraries that diligently assess their communities are likely to find that adults do value these kinds of books.