Thing 2
I am a school librarian. I have worked at the same school since 2001. Every year something happens that concerns me. A Year 9 English class is brought into the library and told to chose a reading book. When a number of them, usually the majority, gravitate towards the young adult literature rather than 'senior fiction' they are reprimanded. Every pupil is made to take a book from the senior fiction section. Some of them, some who have been in and out of the library regularly, never borrow another book. One sixth-former once told me, quite wistfully, that he was sad that he rarely visited the library 'any more'. He went on to tell me that it was because he had been made to borrow a senior fiction book and struggled with it. Part of my frustration is that many of the senior fiction books they are made to borrow are trashy in comparison to much more thoughtfully written books by YA authors. I'd be interest to know what others think.