The Library Chronicles: Opinion: Librarians Should Know About New Books

Maybe the title and opinion behind this post seems like a no-brainer. Obviously, librarians need to know about new releases as part of their job; libraries don't just replace old books every year; we buy the new stuff. However, I'm writing about this because I've noticed something interesting on one of the listservs I follow about children's and young adult literature, namely that when someone asks for book recommendations, a lot of the same, older books from my childhood and even before that come up as suggestions, and hardly any new releases by contemporary (i. e. within the past year or even five years) authors are mentioned.

This is not to say that older books don't still have some value. I guess that Hatchet is a classic and I don't have any personal vendetta against Touching Spirit Bear. But...I feel like as librarians it's our job to push newer literature and create new classics. Kids want new books and want to know about recent, shiny, new books, especially popular ones and books that are adapted into movies. I think it's our responsibility as librarians to stay on top of trends in kidlit (and books for other age audiences, of course) so we can remain relevant and useful.

Part of me wonders if it's partially an age issue. It's no secret that a lot of librarians are middle-aged and older, and even in my master's program, I've noticed I'm one of the youngest, if not the youngest, since I went to library school starting the summer right after graduating from college. I've heard older librarians still talking up books like Dicey's Song that I don't think contemporary teens would really be interested in, and it just seems like we're talking about the same books over and over when there's so, so much great contemporary kidlit being released.

Today's kids and teens are different than kids and teens five years ago and ten years ago, and I think it's critical that we recommend books that reflect that. Sure, there are some classic kidlit books that I will probably be around and relevant for a long time (think The Giver), but there are other books out there, and contemporary youth library users want to know about those books, so it's our job to keep up with it.