Rediscovering Nancy Drew

12. Using Series as Bait in the Public Library

Using Series as Bait in the Public Library Barbara Black Ii}.. s a librarian I am charged with the selection of high-quality ~materials. This mandate presents a problem for librarians faced with the decision whether or not to purchase mass-marketed series books. For some professionals the decision is clear-cut. Series books, the consensus seems to be, are not quality. Developed from a strict formula, filled with cliches, they move from climax to climax with little effort at description, characterization, motivation, or explanation . It is argued that they do not open children and young adults to new interests or ideas. Moreover, such formulaic fiction cannot help but perpetuate stereotypes or create new ones. Series rely on the creation of familiar characters who appear in each book in new situations. With this predictability stereotypes inevitably follow. The reader needn't think about how characters will respond because they will certainly respond in the predictable way that readers have come to expect from others in the series. A good book surprises. It draws readers in with characters that an author has taken time to develop, characters who are rich in background and motivation and with whom the author has-and the reader can develop-a relationship. Those opposed to series books in the public library have mustered some compelling arguments. Children's literature is a bridge to adult reading, and it is important that the bridge lead to works of substance and not merely to the same rung on the adult ladder. 121 122 READING NANCY DREW, READING STEREOTYPES I work in an institution that believes strongly that the most important part ofthe selection equation for a public library is the readers -their interests and tastes, what they choose for themselves to read. I think that it's a value that we as librarians must all have. While I personally consider some of the series books to be schlock I think it's presumptuous of me to think someone shouldn't read what I would choose not to. Even the series that I think are not particularly well written I regard as bait. I think they give me credibility with kids, particularly with reluctant readers. If I choose to exclude these from my collection, they would look at what I do select as "the other." To exclude the popular series books in a sense excludes these readers from my library. I don't spend a large percentage of my budget on series. The thing I fear most about series fiction is that it can quickly eat up a never-adequate budget. Even if we're up to no. 80 of a series, we still have to have no. 1 for the kid who is just beginning. Replacement also has an impact on the budget: the books fall apart quickly because they're read so much. One solution is to buy multiple copies of the books and bind one, so there's usually one that will hold up a great deal longer. I would have real difficulty not buying these popular books for our young adult collection, just as I would assume that an adult fiction selector would have difficulty justifying excluding popular adult fiction not considered "quality" by some arbiters of taste. I don't promote series books such as Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, or the R. L. Stine books because I don't have to. These are books that sell themselves, and kids come to them naturally. I acknowledge that they exist and often use them to draw a kid to another series such as the Tillerman series by Cynthia Voigt or the Anastasia books by Lois Lowry. I think that position is perhaps unique to public libraries, which have become a bit more populist since the days when ruling capitalists used the library to pass on their gentility. As a public librarian I have the unique position of being able to emphasize the pleasure of reading and I always try to remain grounded in that. As a librarian I believe my responsibilities go beyond the mere selection of books. My role involves promotion of books as well. I do have a responsibility to guide kids through what they're reading. USING SERIES AS BAIT IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 123 I think it's important that we see that as a part of what we do. And given that, series books do have a place. A...