Week Thirten Prompt Response

   Do libraries have the responsibility to promote or provide materials that "many" think are not "legitimate literary choices"?
   Absolutely.
   If we are to adhere to the belief of "every reader his book, every book its reader," then, yes, we have a responsibility to promote all kinds of material, regardless of what "many" think of it. Otherwise, we put ourselves in the position of arbiters of what constitutes "good" or "acceptable" material, and that is not in the purview of librarianship. At the beginning of the American profession, there may be been the notion librarians or libraries were responsible for making sure Americans read only what is worthwhile, but that is no longer the case and hasn't been for quite a while. This most visually gets represented by the use of library computers; we can't prohibit what a patron looks at on a library computer, regardless of what "many" (including ourselves, possibly) think of the nature of what they're looking at.
   Graphic novels are probably the format that most often gets questioned for their inclusion in a library's collection, since on the surface they seem to be just comic books. But even "just comic books" should be allowed in a library's collection if there is demand, and graphic novels are more than just comic books. Many graphic novels are retellings of novels and short stories, designed to present the content in a different, new, and appealing way, just as audiobooks are designed to present novels and short stories in different, new, and appealing ways.
   However, there is always the problem of what do we include in a collection and what do we keep out? Unless a library has unlimited space and resources, it cannot include every single title, so librarian acquisitions staff have to make judgements on what to include and what not to include. Theoretically, this decision should be made based on available resources, the nature of the collection, the appeal to readers, and any demand for titles, not on merit alone. Librarians will have to, in a way, decide what is worth including and what isn't, so our role is still somewhat of the "gatekeeper" is used to be, but if we can keep a balanced and fair approach to all materials, we can limit the amount of instrinsic bias we have toward certain types of mateirals.
   And as we've looked at before, as long as our patrons are reading, whether novels, non-fiction, audiobooks, ebooks, or graphic novels, then it doesn't matrer what or in what format that material is presented. We're doing our job in making those resources available.