Not Just for Teens

Once upon a time in Libraryland, books were tailored to specific readers.  Teen books were for teens and could be found in the teen section; adult books were for adults and could be found in the adult section.  If you were a teen and wanted to feel all grown up, you ventured to the adult section and checked out the adult books, but if you were an adult, you wouldn't want to be caught dead in the teen section.  Oh, the humiliation!  An adult reading books meant for younger readers?  How preposterous!  That adult must undoubtedly be emotionally stunted!

The Harry Potter series in the late 1990s perhaps started the widespread trend of adults reading teen books.  In Great Britain, adults were secretly reading the wildly popular books wrapped in brown paper or newspapers out of shame that they would be seen reading a children's book.  When the publisher of the famous series caught wind what the adults were doing, they came up with an "adult" version of the book.  Technically, it was the same book only with a more sophisticated looking cover.

Nowadays, teen books are openly read by teens and adults alike without any embarrassment.  The line between teen and adult books is blurring, and audiences are becoming more varied.  Take for instance Twilight, The Hunger Games, and the Divergent series.  You'll see just as many adults reading those books as you see teens.

In my very humble opinion (and you always know it to be ever so humble), I think adults should feel free to read anything they want.  And I mean anything.  Sometimes, you just need to lose yourself in a teen book.  Other times, you need to read a kid's book (yes, you read that right).  You may not have control over being an adult in an adult's world, but isn't it nice to know you can always take a mental escape from it every so now and then?

Yours truly enjoying her own mental escape from the perch.

Kids and Library Etiquette

As many of you may (or may not) be aware, summer reading in the library is in full swing.  Yay!  And I'm happy to report that we currently have 326 kids, 48 teens, and 54 adults signed up to participate in the summer reading program.  Double yay!  We also have more people coming into the library daily than we normally have at any other time of the year.  Triple yay!

Unfortunately, though, we're seeing that many of our littlest readers are exhibiting some bad library etiquette, and we would greatly appreciate it if parents could help in correcting the manners of our youngest library users.

So here's a basic refresher on how to behave in the library:

• No running in the library.  The library isn't a playground.  Although we're happy to see kids excited about getting their books, we don't want to see them running and getting hurt.  We also don't want to see them playing tag and disrupting other library users who are trying to read and get work done.
• No shouting, yelling, or screaming in the library.  Again, the library isn't a playground.  Please remember to use your library voice (a.k.a. quiet voice or whisper) when you come in so you don't disrupt other people.  Save your loud voice for outside.  And parents--if your children are loud, we're grateful when you take them outside for a moment and return with them once they've calmed down.
• Don't throw library items around.  Books and other library materials aren't intended to stay on shelves unused.  They're supposed to be used and go on visits with borrowers to homes, work, school, and other places.  However, they're not meant to be thrown on the floor and other places where they can get damaged.  If you don't want an item, please leave it at the desk or at other designated areas.  It will be re-shelved properly.
• Don't scribble on the desks (or anywhere else).  You wouldn't scribble on your kitchen table or countertops, would you?  Then please don't scribble or allow kids to scribble on tables, chairs, books, or anything else in the library.  We want to keep the library a clean and inviting place for everyone.  If you or your kids have the need to scribble, we'll be happy to supply you with scratch paper and even crayons!
• Please and thank you are not bad words.  Politeness will get you far in the library, and we at the desk always like it when kids and adults have good manners.  We're here to help you and are happy to do so, but we never get tired of people asking us nicely for our assistance.

Let's make the library a safe, fun, and exciting place for everyone this summer and throughout the year!  After all, it's your library.  Treat the space and the materials in it like you own them, because you do.

My ever humble 2 cents from the perch.