Young Adults: What do they Read, and Why?

Sep 29, 2026

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Study surveys 130 young adult readers in middle and high schools in Scarsdale, NY and Fairfield/New Haven, CT to understand how they choose books, distinguishing pleasure versus school-only reading. Interviews in November 1989 use a one-page questionnaire with eight questions, including demographic details and factors shaping selection and preferred subjects. Results describe gender and reading-for-school patterns, followed by discussion of youth reading needs and library service gaps for adolescents.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Table of Contents

Young Adults: What do they Read, and Why?

YA Readers: Background

Toward the Second White House Conference: Activities in CT

## Young Adults:What do they Read,and Why? Ann L.Chase I surveyed 130 young adult readers inmiddle schools in Scarsdale,NY and Fair-field,CT,and in high schools in Fairfieldand New Haven,CT,to discover howthey choose the books they read.YoungAdult readers include those from thebeginning of the seventh grade throughhigh school graduation.However,becauseboth middle schools I visited started inthe sixth grade,and because so few ofthem were actually surveyed,I includedthem in my study too.I decided to useschool media centers rather than publiclibraries as my base because I thought lwould get a better cross-section ofstudents.Students were chosen randomlyand included a good mixture of ages,interests,and reading levels. It was a fascinating process.Students lspoke to ranged from a group of youngmen sitting in a secluded back cornertable of a high school media center who,when asked if they would fill out a sur-vey,laughed and said,"We can't read,we just like magazines with pictures,"and held up a Playboy magazine they hadhidden inside a math book!(They turnedout to be nice and fairly helpful.)Theother extreme was a young woman whotries to read,"all the good new books so lcan predict who the Newbery winnerswill be." All of the students were interviewed inNovember 1989,in their respectiveschools.65 were interviewed by theirschool media specialist(for logisticalreasons);the rest I interviewed myself.Students were asked to fill out a one-pagequestionnaire that asked eight questions.Five asked for basic information:age,grade,sex,whether they read for plea-sure or school only,and what magazinesthey liked to read.The other three ques-tions were more complicated(how theychose what they read,what factors wereimportant in book selection,and whatsubjects they liked to read about)and were rated on a scale from one to five.While I collected the surveys,I spent asmuch time as possible talking to thestudents. Of the 130 students,69 were male,and61 female.Twenty-six students,20 boysand six girls,read for school only.I wassurprised to find that most of these werein the middle schools;I had assumedthere would be more in high school,where there are more time pressures. ## YA Readers:Background According to Harmon and Bradburn in"Realizing the Reading and InformationNeeds of Youth,"YAs read for threereasons:research (school and personalexploration),recreation,and information(family planning,personal care,etc.).But many libraries haven't figured outwhat to do with YAs.They're too old tobe treated like children and too young tobe treated like adults,but their readingneeds are as complex as adults'.Oftenthey end up in limbo,using both adultand children's services,but being trulyserved by neither. Judith Flum in her article,"The Path toEmpowerment for Young Adult LibraryServices,"says"Young adults are aminority in this country,not merely innumbers,but in their standing in society.They are the voters and decision makersof the near future,an incredible nationalresource of creativity,energy,and intelli-gence.However...[they]are oftenviewed narrowly and with revulsion andare seen as noisy,sarcastic creatures filledwith an abundance of sexual energy...withlittle recognition that this age grouphas a strong need to spend time alonewith peers and away from adults...”²Harmon and Bradburn add,"Teenagersare trapped in a body and mind moresuited to their primitive ancestors in a(continued on page 6) April 1990 ## Toward the SecondWhite HouseConference:Activities in CT Dick Akeroyd In August 1988,Governor O'Neill declar-ed 1989 as the "Year of the Library"inConnecticut.At the same time,he alsocalled for a Governor's Conference onLibrary and Information Services.ThisConference,to be held on May 22-24 inWaterbury,is the culminating event ofthe Year of the Library.It is also the keypreparatory event for Connecticut'sparticipation in the second White HouseConference on Library and InformationServices (WHC).At its Governor's Con-ference,Connecticut wil

FAQs

How many young adult readers were surveyed and where were they interviewed?

The survey included 130 young adult readers interviewed in schools in Scarsdale, NY and Fairfield/New Haven, CT in November 1989.

What method and questionnaire did the study use?

Students completed a one-page questionnaire with eight questions, covering basic information and more complex topics about how they choose books and what subjects they like to read about.

Why do the text and citations argue libraries struggle to serve young adults?

The document states that young adults are too old for children’s treatment and too young for adult services, leaving them in a service “limbo” where neither group fully meets their needs.

Sep 29, 2026

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