Young Adult Collection Development Concerns

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Young Adult Collection Development Concerns

• Dr. Betty Marcoux
• LIS 566
• Winter Quarter 2004

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Concerns for YA collections

• Age appropriateness
• Subject appropriateness
• Format appropriateness
• Timeliness
• Convenience
• Other

3
Trends in YA publishing

• From 1950s clean to 2000s bleak
• Similarities to adult topics/concerns
• Experiments with language/rhythm
• More authenticity and enthusiasm by authors of YA
  materials
• Clearer treatment of subjects
• Illustrations better, more relevant
• Documentation increase

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Collection Questions

• What is the total collection development
  philosophy?
• What is the quality and quantity of collections
  that can be accessed by this population?
• What is the budget, space, staff available for
  this population?
• What are your own professional values?
• What information needs is this YA collection
  supposed to meet?
• What are your goals for this collection?
• What roles has the library/facility chosen for
  itself in the context of YAs and their
  reading/accessing/use of information?

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Collection Choices

• Demand vs Quality
• Circulation vs Standards
• Permanency vs Immediacy
• Recreational vs Educational vs informational vs
  Cultural
• Professional vs Careful
• Librarian vs Buyer of books
• Customer vs Collection ( other customers)

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YA Collection Quality

• Series Fiction meeting YA needs (Scales, 1993)
• Reassures YAs they are normal
• Physically
• Mentally
• Emotionally
• Socially
• Presents opportunities for emotional independence
  of adults
• Shows them how to resolve problems
• Allows them to experience success
• Helps them picture satisfying relationships
• Provides help in establishing roles
• Supports development of socially responsible
  behaviors
• Helps them work out their personal philosophies
• Furnishes opportunities for
• Emotional engagement
• Pleasure
• Relaxation

• Series Fiction (Makowski,VOYA, 1994)
• Kids like them
• They fill a collection need
• They provide a collection development focus that
  costs the least of any such focus
• The professional needs to know the YA interests
  to do this work
• They improve circulation

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Sites on graph

• Popular, Broad
• AAbout.com   www.about.com
• BYahoo Groups www.groups.yahoo.com
• CDMOZ www.dmoz.com
• DLibrarians Index to the Internet www.lii.org 
•  Popular, Narrow
• EU.S. GenWeb www.usgenweb.com
• FCyndis List www.cyndislist.com
• GLibrary Lovers Live Journal
  www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?userlibraries
• HMaryland Genealogy Yahoo Group
  www.groups.yahoo.com/group/marylandgenealogy/?ygui
  d95864340  
• Academic, Broad
• IVirtual Library www.vlib.org
• JInfoMine www.infomine.ucr.edu  
• Academic, Narrow
• KHuman-Computer Interaction www.hcibib.org
• LUbiquitous Computing Resource Page
  www.ucrp.org
• MIntelligent Environments Resource Page
  www.research.microsoft.com/ierp/

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Who is doing the reviewing? What criteria is in
place for reviewing?    
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How to select

• Identify audience
• Identify facility issues
• Identify sources of information for selection
• Consider convenience and relevance
• Consider uses
• Consult others

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Curriculum alignments

• Correlated with curriculum
• Correlated with developmental concerns
• Correlated with learning community
• Useful formats
• Convenient knowledge sources

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WASL for Washington

• High stakes standards http//www.wlma.org/Instruct
  ion/standards.htm
• High stakes testing http//www.k12.wa.us/assessmen
  t/WASL/testquestions.aspx http//www.wlma.org/WaLi
  braries/policies.htm
• Culminating project issues http//www.wlma.org/In
  struction/culminatingproject.htm

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Review components

• Complete bibliographic information
• of pages
• Price
• Catalogue/subject area
• Intended audience profile
• Summary of the contents
• Quality of material
• Connection to YA concerns
• Recommended for

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Strategies for reviewing

• Read the material
• Consider the audience and not your own issues
• Review other good reviews for models
• Be creative
• Be truthful
• Practice!

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Print Review Sources

• ALAN Review (Assembly on Literature for
  Adolescents)
• Booklist
• Books for the Teen Age
• Books for You
• Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books
• Childrens Literature in Education
• English Journal
• Horn Book Magazine
• Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy
• Journal of Youth Services in Libraries
• Junior High and Senior High School Catalogs
• Kirkus Reviews
• New Advocate
• Publishers Weekly
• School Library Journal
• TALL (Teaching and Learning Literature with
  Children Young Adults)
• VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

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YA specific review sources

• Best books for young adults (YALSA/ALA, 2000)
• Books for the teen age (NYPL) (annual)
• Genreflecting A guide to reading interests in
  genre fiction (Lib Unlimited, 2000)
• Hooked on horror (Lib Unlimited, 1999)
• Reference guide to mystery detective fiction
  (Lib Unlimited, 1999)
• Romance fiction a guide to the genre (Lib
  Unlimited, 1999)
• Graphic novels http//my.voyager.net/sraiteri/gr
  aphicnovels.htm

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Virtual Review Sources

• http//www.reviews.com/home.cfm?stylesimpletarge
  tpage (computing reviews)
• http//www.reviews.com/home.cfm?stylesimpletarge
  tpage
• http//www.surfnetkids.com/
• http//beta.hometown.aol.com/tnagerebel77/myhomepa
  ge/profile.html
• http//www.ipl.org/div/teen/
• http//yahelp.suffolk.lib.ny.us/index.html

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Booklists

• Alex Awards
• Best Books for Young Adults
• Margaret A. Edwards Award
• Michael L. Printz Award
• Outstanding Books for the College Bound
• Popular Paperbacks
• Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
• Selected Audio Books
• Selected DVD's and Videos
• Best of the Best Revisited
• Junior High and Senior High School Catalogs

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Bottom Line

• Does it work for this audience?
• Can it work for this audience? HOW???