What's keeping librarians up at night

What two dozen librarians revealed to me about their work

Over the course of 2024, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to around two dozen school and public librarians who work with kids in the upper elementary and middle school age range. With schools and libraries being one of the main ways books like Crushing It get in front of readers, I wanted to better understand their work.

What was the curation process at their library? What were their day-to-day challenges? What trends were they seeing in checkouts and reader requests? (Why is one banning the word “Chromebook” from her house when she retires?)

This is the kind of research I’d do in my day job as a marketer, to develop a sense of where my customers get information and how they make buying decisions. So I figured, why not do it for my author career, too?

Also, I just really wanted to chat with some librarians. You guys are cool.

Here, I’d like to share some of the most interesting (to me at least) insights from these conversations, and what I think middle grade authors can take away from them. You can also check out a deeper dive on one of the main themes that emerged, a demand for age-appropriate “middle school romance,” that I wrote for School Library Journal.

But before we jump in—a huge thank you to the public and school librarians from institutions around the country who took time from your extremely busy schedules to speak with me!

Overall, these conversations underscored that it’s a complicated time to be a youth librarian. I came away frustrated on your behalf but also inspired that there are some very smart and passionate people out there bringing a lot of creativity and power to this work.

(Note: Read to the end if you want to hear me get a little emotional, and maybe even slightly patriotic, about our library system in the US…)

Where do librarians get information about the industry?

As someone who fantasizes about deleting all my social media accounts at least three times a week, I’ll admit I had a vested interest in finding out the answer to this question.

I can’t overstate the cocktail of complex emotions most authors deal with when it comes to promoting their books. There’s a lot of stress around this and a general, not-very-strategic impulse to try to “do it all” where channels are concerned. So I figured that even some light qualitative data could be helpful for first-time authors like me, who are navigating a lot of conflicting advice for how to reach key audiences, with near-zero ability to get good analytics on what works.

🥁 Drumroll please…

• 85% of librarians mentioned trade journals, a statistic that includes any references to trade journals generally as well as any specific journal, like School Library Journal or Publisher’s Weekly

• 65% called out School Library Journal specifically

• 55% mentioned different forms of word of mouth, including conversations with colleagues, reader requests, and general chit-chat about books in their daily life

• 40% called out curation by distributors (Ingram, Follett, etc.). With this being the place librarians are actually putting in orders, it makes sense that recommendations from these companies are influencing their buying decisions

• 20% mentioned social media

My takeaway for MG authors: Authors should confirm which trades they’re being submitted to, pray to the review gods that SLJ is nice to them, and try to get a byline in one of the SLJ publications like Teen Librarian Toolbox (which is now covering middle grade). They may also consider asking their publishers about ad budget for paid features, though this is typically allocated based on other factors.

And as far as school and library sales go, MG authors are officially absolved of the need to be on social media. Does this mean I’ll be getting off it? Idk.

What books are popular with their readers right now?

I specifically asked the librarians I spoke with to tell me what was popular with their 8–12 year old readers currently (the age I write for). The answer to this question will not surprise anyone who’s even a little tapped into the middle grade market.

In the most agreed-upon answer of any question I asked, a full 90% of the librarians I spoke with said that graphic novels were absolutely flying off the shelves.

Interviewees brought up various factors they believe is driving this trend:

• Pandemic learning loss: Many kids are reading below grade level, and graphic novels provide a nice bridge, given the low word count and images that accompany the text.

• Attention spans and information retention: Several librarians postulated that graphic novels are a better reading experience for digital-native kids who may not all have stamina for the “walls of prose” they’ll encounter in traditional novels.

• Availability of titles: With more graphic novels on the shelves than ever before, many librarians thought that the increased supply—including many really high-quality books by top-tier authors—was probably helping drive further demand.

• The fun factor: Whether or not a kid can read at/above grade level, graphic novels are a popular choice simply because they’re often quite fun.

Aside from graphic novels, more than half of the librarians brought up the popularity of genres some might associate more with adult readers: romance, horror, and crime/mystery books. Several spoke to a “trickle-down” effect with trends from adults to children. Kids see their parents reading Emily Henry and listening to Serial. They come in asking for something similar, but made for them.

Finally, nearly everyone I spoke with called out Dog Man and/or Diary of a Wimpy Kid by name. One mentioned that she’ll get fifteen copies of a Dog Man title and still not be able to keep it on the shelf.

As another put it? “It’s always Dog Man. It’s simply always Dog Man.”

My takeaway for MG authors: Mostly, nothing. There’s a broad range and, I think, good news for every writer here. Anyway, we all know that writing to trends is a losing game. But you might consider working with your agent to retain your graphic novel adaptation rights. With more books being subsequently published in graphic form, this could be an extra source of revenue down the line.

What would librarians like to see more of on the shelves?

These responses were a little more all over the place, with many librarians answering in ways that were highly specific to their communities—for example, more titles in non-English languages widely spoken in their region. However, there were a few answers that came up repeatedly.

Several mentioned demand for books on the lighter side: shorter books, humorous books. “Stories around issues are important and relevant,” one librarian said, “but the kids have enough heaviness in their life. They want to escape.”

Another echoed this sentiment: “Since the pandemic, it’s been a lot of doom and gloom for these kids. There’s so much heaviness they’re coping with. They just want to laugh.”

Aside from shorter books, sports books also came up repeatedly. Librarians noted that although there were many of these titles on the market, they had a need for more. Several mentioned that sports books worked well as high-interest titles that could connect with kids’ hobbies, draw in students who might be a little less keen on reading, and—yes—appeal to boys.

Finally, several librarians mentioned a high demand for contemporary realistic books centered on relatable, day-to-day issues: cliques, first crushes, fights with friends. As one librarian put it: “I have a lot this year who want to cry. They want the drama.”

My takeaway for MG authors: Again, just keep writing your thing. But it never hurts to hone your ability to insert some lightness and humor into your work, regardless of your subject and genre. It’s not a bad tool to have in the tool box, even if you don’t consider yourself a humor writer!

What’s keeping librarians up at night?

I asked every librarian which work-related thing was keeping them up at night. Each time, I joked that I meant that figuratively, and hopefully not literally.

Unfortunately, quite a few quipped back that there were things keeping them up at night, very much literally.

Several mentioned falling literacy and budget cuts as stressors. Regarding budget, one librarian noted, “You stand on your head sometimes, trying to make it work.”

The number-one most common response by far, however, was book banning, with 65% of respondents calling this out as one of their top concerns right now.

This issue was looming large across the country. Those in red states or rural areas tended to be dealing with it firsthand, while those in blue states or urban areas often said they were “keeping an eye on it” or taking a look at their policies and procedures around title challenges.

Aside from the red state/blue state divide, many public librarians observed that the school librarians in their communities were navigating “the worst of it.”

A few comments from public librarians:

• “I have a lot more freedom than a school librarian does. I can pretty much do whatever I want. I’m not constantly worried that an angry parent is going to show up with a book I bought.”

• “I’m not afraid to have certain books on my shelf. They deserve to be there, they’re going to be there. If the book was well-reviewed, I’m going to have it. And I’m not worried about backlash.”

• “I think if I were a school librarian I’d be worried more. They have more pressure and smaller budgets, and more of a watchful eye on their budgets.”

In a few cases, this issue was influencing major career decisions. One public librarian I spoke with had recently transitioned out of the school library system in response to what they called “the culture around book banning” in schools. Another former school librarian had moved out of the library and into an administrative role due to stress around book banning. They mentioned they were still on blood pressure medication due to banning-related stress.

Sometimes, the specter of banning was the worst part. One school librarian said that although they had dealt with title challenges, they found that the real stressor was the scrutiny and threats.

“At one point,” they shared, “the legislature said if we had anything pornographic on the shelves, they’d put us in jail.” (In this state, “pornographic” had been defined quite vaguely, and potentially included many well-known contemporary and classic books.)

Several interviewees pointed out one irony in the conversation around book banning: even if they had some secret evil agenda, when would they possibly carry it out amidst all their other work?

“I don’t know what these legislators think,” one librarian said. “I don’t have time to hand out obscene books. I'm fixing computers all day!”

My takeaway for MG authors: Many of us authors are dealing with banning-related issues. (I wrote about having what was supposed to be several days of school visits fall through due to book banning in Iowa.) But librarians are on the front lines of this, some of them every day. I walked away from these conversations with a deep appreciation for librarians who are—despite all this—doing really amazing work for the students they serve. So I think as authors, anything we can do to help support librarians in this area is well worth our time.

Those interested might consider joining groups like Authors Against Book Bans or attending ALA events like United Against Books Bans. Thanks to Ali Terese, author of Free Period (long-listed for the National Book Award!) for suggesting these resources.

“I don’t know what these legislators think. I don’t have time to hand out obscene books. I'm fixing computers all day!”

What do librarians think would surprise the average person about their work?

I finished the interviews by asking each librarian what they thought would surprise people about their jobs. Two answers came up over and over.

The first was that they don’t actually have time to read at work—the image of the quiet librarian turning pages in the corner is outdated (if it was ever true).

The second was how busy the job is. Whether they were working in public or school libraries, the librarians I spoke with often felt overloaded with a massive list of tasks, many of which had little to do with their central goal of improving young people’s literacy and love of reading.

Many of these tasks were technology-related. “Sometimes librarians feel like they’re just the Geek Squad at the school,” one said.

Another had preemptively outlawed the word “Chromebook” from her house once she retires.

“Most of my job right now is dealing with Chromebooks,” she said. “I already know, after I retire, I will not allow my family to say the word ‘Chromebook.’”

My takeaway for MG authors: Sometimes, we reach out to librarians as part of our work, to set up readings or for other reasons. Keep in mind that they might not always be at their computers! If you’re an author with a desk-y day job like me, you might be used to quicker response times and different inbox management styles. Librarians aren’t ignoring you—they may just be flitting between sixteen different tasks, a dozen broken Chromebooks, and thirty students who need their attention. :)

“Most of my job right now is dealing with Chromebooks. I already know, after I retire, I will not allow my family to say the word ‘Chromebook.’”

“The library is there for you”

I lived abroad for almost a decade in my 20’s and early 30’s. When you’d get together with other Americans, after a drink or two you might start waxing poetic about whatever you were nostalgic for back home. A few things would frequently come up. Reliable mail delivery. Free refills. The weirdly specific smell of dollar bills.

But one thing would always come up: American libraries.

Our school and public library systems in the US are seriously so cool. We’ve invested in young students having access to books in the place where they spend most of their days. And we’ve invested in the public having access to books—and having a place they can just be without having to spend a dime.

As one librarian put it: “If you just want to sit, or use the bathroom, or use a computer, the library is there for you. You can sit, and just exist, and nobody’s going to bother you. And I think that’s beautiful.”

The school libraries, too, are vibrant places where kids can do the same: just exist. Several school librarians highlighted their efforts to create a warm environment and help kids feel like they can be themselves.

“The library is a safe space for kids, even if they’re not readers,” one librarian said. “Choose where you want to sit, choose to be near your friends if you like. As long as you’re following basic norms, it’s fine. And we’re patient with them. It’s a place where you can learn how to conduct yourself, instead of being told.”

Another librarian said they worked hard to create a shame-free zone. “I’m very clear with them that I’m not going to judge them for what they read. I have a lot of trust with my kids.”

And for both public and school librarians, some of the most charming stories they would share had to do with conversations they’d had with kids who were checking out books for the first time.

As one librarian said: “I have kids ask me, how much does the book cost? And I get to tell them: nothing. You just have to bring it back!”

The Big Takeaway

For authors, the end of the year can be particularly stressful. Did I appear on any lists? Did I complete my New Years’ resolutions (which is probably some pie-in-the-sky thing like “sell three new manuscripts”)? It’s a time that’s ripe for comparison and getting down on yourself. Another year has passed. And you might feel further from whatever arbitrary goal posts you’ve set, again.

For me, these conversations were grounding and helped bring me back to the why behind this work. It was a good reminder: libraries are the place where books are physically finding their way into the hands of kid readers. They’re the place where those kids are learning a love of reading. And the place where everyone is absorbing the really beautiful implicit message that books are important, because we—as a society—have decided to invest in having these books available for free.

Librarians, you are awesome. Your work is the culmination of what is good about our culture.

And authors, how cool is it to have your book be one little brick in this castle?

–Erin

erinbecker.me