It goes without saying that library collections should cater for all users, and whether particular groups should be prioritized is a discussion for another time. Pattee’s book does not at any time suggest that we should prioritize the Young Adult collection in a library service; rather that we need to understand how to develop it effectively. Librarians are skilled at building collections, but the average library has a wide-ranging collection for readers of all ages and abilities. Advice on how to build specific aspects of the service is without doubt useful. Building a collection for young people is perhaps more challenging than may be realized, for it is not only about stocking materials that are aimed at a young adult audience but also knowing why these materials have been chosen, how to make the audience aware of them and taking into account that the stock should include a selection of both fiction and non-fiction.
It is therefore with four chapters on development and policies that Pattee begins. Having specified who the young adult patron is, Pattee continues with a consideration of the materials that should make up their specific collection, a collection defined by their needs. She subsequently moves into a discussion about collection development policies, suggesting that when building a young adult collection it is necessary to extend the traditional concept of collection development to include a third strand: the curriculum. Pattee argues this is the most realistic approach for librarians to take and should be considered integral to any process of collection building. She draws on a considerable amount of research from psychologists, library and information scientists and academics (full references follow the main text), all of whom have studied the needs and demands young people place on the services they use, feeding into our understanding of what libraries are offering and why.
Having established how to create policies for developing a young adult collection Pattee then considers, in-depth, how to select relevant and appropriate materials for that collection. This is particularly important, for it is only by offering materials that meet the needs and desires of a user population that a library will find its service being effectively used. It is possible that information overload could be a risk as librarians navigate the volume of blogs and other social media that may inform their choices of material and its format. To combat this in a small way, Pattee provides a very helpful table of potential resources that librarians can consult and helps them to plan their workload and selection processes. In effect, she encourages the reader to reassess their collection development policies and understand how to maintain currency. This section is perhaps among the most useful – broken down into subsections throughout the chapter it is highly accessible. Having guided the reader through methods of selection Pattee develops the discussion further reflecting on how to acquire, assess, evaluate and weed the collection before finally maintaining it.
She ends with the thought that whatever form the library and its stock take – physical or electronic, the librarian, the specialist in young adult collections, will always be needed, will always have a role. The librarian needs to understand their audience, maintain a professional awareness of the collection and understand its use. Pattee advocates a professional approach to building a young adult collection. She explains how this benefits the library service, why the collection remains an integral part of all library services and how it can be continually developed. Developing Library Collections for Today’s Young Adults is a stimulating, inspiring timely and comprehensive overview of an important subject.
