Readers’ Advisory for
Teens
Teenagers,
teens, young adults: a rose by any other name. No matter what we call them, we
need to serve them with the best readers’ advisory service we can provide. This
“group of library users ages 12 to 18” (Jones 3) are under-represented and
misunderstood in their local public libraries. From the initial contact to
checking out, teens need to know that they are welcomed, un-judged, and have
our complete attention focused on them and their reading happiness.
Before
you serve teens, you need to realize that you are serving teens. It is your job
to stay on top of current young adult literature and know pop culture. If you
aren’t a teen librarian, and absolutely cannot stand young adult literature,
then you don’t get to “pass” on providing readers’ advisory service for teens.
Teens comprise “one quarter of the users of public libraries (Jones 3). There
are readers’ advisory guides that you can use and should be familiar with. Most
public libraries have “NoveList”, but if your library can’t afford this
database then using sites such as “Goodreads” or Amazon can help as well.
The
initial contact is vital. If the teen doesn’t feel comfortable approaching or
being approached by a librarian, then they surely aren’t going to feel
comfortable enough to share their reading preferences. Librarians are very
invested in acting ‘professional’, which sometimes comes across as too formal
and creates uneasiness in our patrons. This is even more so in teens. Smile,
make eye contact, and have a friendly tone when you begin the interview.
Sometimes, “moving out from behind the physical barrier of the reference desk
and into the YA area is a good place to start” (Booth 34). This helps break down
some of that uneasiness that patrons feel.
Let
the interviewing begin. First, remember the basic structure of an interview.
One asks a question and then lets the person answer. If the person doesn’t
understand the question, rephrase until they do. Librarians don’t realize the
sheer amount of jargon that they use offhand and it is important to keep in
mind that teens may not know exactly what “tone, plot, and appeal” mean when
talking about books. It is important to find out what “the purpose this book
will serve” (Booth 34). Is it for school or pleasure? If it is for school, find
out the requirements of the project. It would be very beneficial if the
librarian could reach out to the local schools and have teachers send them
notifications on readings lists so that the librarian can have to books
available.
If you ask a teen what type of books they like
and want to know why they like them, ask them if they like them because they
are funny, or sad, etc. Let the teen actually talk and pay attention to what
they are saying. Another way to go about it is to “find out what a teenage
reader didn’t like” (Dickey 15). You may also get someone who doesn’t know what
they like yet. In that case, ask them about other forms of entertainment. What
television shows or movies do they like? Why do they like them? Whatever they
do like, it is vital that the librarian not make the teen feel judged in their
personal tastes. This goes for facial expressions, attempts to dissuade them
from their genre, etc. This interview is about the teen, not the librarian.
Even if the librarian does like young adult literature and loved a specific
book, it doesn’t follow that the teen will love the same book.
Book
displays also play a very important role in readers’ advisory. “If you don’t
shelve fiction by genre, use displays frequently” (Dickey 15). Having booklists
available with those displays is also a good idea. Have displays of bestselling
young adult books and “hot” genres. Right now steampunk is a hot trend so a
good display would be of popular steampunk novels. Teens can browse these
displays at their own leisure or you can direct teens to these displays if you
realize they are into that genre. A popular display theme right now is the “If
you liked….” displays (Dickey 15). Picking a hot series like “The Hunger Games” would be a good
example of this. Displays can be as fun and creative as you want, so use them
to try different things and see what appeals to teens and what doesn’t.
It
all comes down to attitude. If you think that teens are a pain and you wish
they’d all leave you alone, then you aren’t going to be able to provide good
readers’ advisory service to them. Unfortunately, a lot of librarians do feel
this way and it is reflected in their readers’ advisory service to teens…if
they even provide readers’ advisory service to their teens. Librarians are
“authority figures” (Booth 33) to teens, so it is important that librarians use
this power for good and overcome any prejudices that they have towards teens. I
remember reading every single book that my school librarian handed me because I
respected and trusted her. With each successful readers’ advisory service
provided, public librarians are earning the respect and trust of their teens.
If it helps, remember this: they will one day be adults. If you make a bad
impression on them now, that bad impression will continue on with them into
adulthood.
Works Cited
Booth, H. (2005). RA for YA. Public Libraries, 44(1),
33-36.
Dickey, J., & Jones, P. (1994). Finding a good book:
Skills and tools for helping students. Book
Report, 13(1), 15.
Jones, P. (2002). New
Directions for Library Service to Young Adults. Chicago: American
Library Association.
