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Building collections that meet the needs of young adults involves knowing what YAs want, and then being able to identify materials through a variety of resources.
School library media centers cannot afford to purchase the thousands of titles published each year. Selection decisions must be made using
available resources utilizing the best available information
Library media specialists must determine which of the many selection guides are useful for their particular library's collection.
YA collections do not consist solely of "young adult literature."
In fact, it is likely that the majority of resources used in a collection
have nothing to do with YA literature.
Patrick Jones, in his book Connecting Young Adults and Libraries,
identifies four areas within the YA collection:
 | Literature |
| Popular Materials |
| Information Sources |
| Products |
A Core Collection for Young Adults (Neal-Schuman, 2003), by Patrick Jones, Patricia Taylor and Kirsten Edwards;
points out that a collection geared towards young adults is not a core collection of
YA literature. School library media centers must include each of the
four areas above and quality literature that supports the school's curriculum,
encourages young people to read, and presents stories and characters that
library users can relate to.
One way to identify user needs and wants is to survey
the community a library media center serves. Patrick Jones (Connecting
Young Adults and Libaries,
p. 108) lists the following
factors as influencing YA collection decisions:
- Total collection development
philosophy
- Quality and quantity of public
school library collections
- Budget, space, and staff
available I your community
- Library media specialist's professional
values
- Needs that the YA literature
collection should meet
- Goals for the collection
- Roles the library has chosen
for itself
Other choices (Jones, p. 109):
| Demand vs. quality: Do you buy
paperbacks, multiple copies of popular titles, series titles? |
| Circulation vs. Standards: Do
you purchase only YA materials of high literary quality? Will it
be read? Does the appearance of a title on a “Best Book” list
insure purchase? |
| Permanency vs. Immediacy: How
long should you keep materials? Should you purchase hardback or
paperback? Or both? |
| Recreational vs. Educational
vs. Information vs. Cultural: What types of nonfiction should
you buy? Reference/curriculum materials versus recreational materials? |
| Professional vs. Careful:
Should you buy YA materials adults and perhaps you, object to but YA
love? |
| Genres: What basic
groups do you need to have in your library? (Horror, realistic
fiction-problem novel, mystery-suspense-thrillers, romance, historical
fiction, humor, science fiction and fantasy, sports, adventure. |
| Other types of collections:
multicultural literature, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
literature. These areas can be evident in the genre areas. |
| Classics: What part of your
collection will be the classic of literature and where does YA
literature fit into this scheme? YALSA’s Outstanding Books for
the College Bound and Arco’s Reading Lists for College Bound
Students are excellent selection aids. |
Other Factors to Keep in Mind:
| Deciding on the literary canon |
| Inclusion of minority
literature |
| Inclusion of literature
representative of diverse cultures and groups whether taught in
classroom or not – matching books with readers |
| Teaching of ethnic literature |
The website below are just some of the booklist offerings available on
the Internet. I would encourage you to visit and evaluate these sites.
Collection Development Web Resources
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YA Genres
Multiculturalism
YA Lit Awards
YA Collections
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