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The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts: The Library and the Young Adult
The original 1969 edition of this text featured essays connecting reading, the library, and young people. This centennial edition reproduces the original, with added insights by Betty Carter, an annotated list of all the Alex award-winning and nominated books, and more.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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August 13, 2016Parts are fascinating. Parts mean nothing to a modern reader (though they were probably valuable to a YA librarian back in the day). I really liked her 'how to write an annotation' and am copying it (it's ok; she's not only dead but was a big fan of 'fair use') into a post in our group about writing reviews, More than Just a Rating. I also got a few titles to add to my to-read lists.
November 21, 2018
Not as valuable as some other librarian books. It is very interesting to see Edwards talking about how few adults read books at all - going back 50 years. Good information on book talks, etc. but I fear with ready access to video games and the online world in general, even such well-prepared exhortations would fall upon deaf ears. Also interesting to see how Edwards writes off library instruction for a good portion of the student population. Only the college-bound need it in her opinion. All others should instead get more attention in terms of readers' advisory. Some will likely see this as discriminatory.
Also, I see that the "young adult" label was in very common use going back at least to the 1950s. Some wet-behind-the-ears types want to rewrite history to say that it only came into the world with S. E. Hinton in 1967.
Also, I see that the "young adult" label was in very common use going back at least to the 1950s. Some wet-behind-the-ears types want to rewrite history to say that it only came into the world with S. E. Hinton in 1967.
April 9, 2019
In this 1969 treatise on YA librarianship, Margaret Edwards details her tactics for serving the YA contingent of her library readership, as well as her perspective on training effective YA librarians. The text is instantly dated by tone and cultural reference, but is still strangely relevant in terms of approach, and is an engaging read in either case. While times have changed, people haven't (and probably never will). Edwards makes a case for the value of serving YA patrons well and devoting time and staff to their care. Her perspective on reader advisory services is practically revolutionary (and sadly still ahead of its time), and her relaxed attitude toward fines, deliberate and accidental book loss, and noise are refreshing.
I take issue with her dismissal of the types of teens drawn to library work, but can’t fault her reasoning for or the likely results of bringing in a more popular and relatable staff of teen volunteers. After all, there’s a reason YA library posters feature sports stars and popular actors exhorting teens to read instead of more traditionally bookish figures (excepting Einstein). I also disagree that our approach should be to move teens into adult reading, but I recognize the fact that at the time of her writing, the YA market was nearly non-existent. If exposed to the quality of YA literature available today, I suspect she might not object to teens lingering longer in the YA section.
I do agree that we should be training librarians (YA and otherwise) to be approachable and well-read. Everyone going into library service should be reading her list of 300 important novels for good grounding if nothing else. I’d better go brush up myself.
I take issue with her dismissal of the types of teens drawn to library work, but can’t fault her reasoning for or the likely results of bringing in a more popular and relatable staff of teen volunteers. After all, there’s a reason YA library posters feature sports stars and popular actors exhorting teens to read instead of more traditionally bookish figures (excepting Einstein). I also disagree that our approach should be to move teens into adult reading, but I recognize the fact that at the time of her writing, the YA market was nearly non-existent. If exposed to the quality of YA literature available today, I suspect she might not object to teens lingering longer in the YA section.
I do agree that we should be training librarians (YA and otherwise) to be approachable and well-read. Everyone going into library service should be reading her list of 300 important novels for good grounding if nothing else. I’d better go brush up myself.
January 31, 2017
I adore the sassy, salty, uncompromising and staunchly principled Ms Edwards and everything she did to pave the way for YA librarianship. So much of what she said was revolutionary, and is still true and vital today. But make no mistake, this book was published in 1969, so much of it was written even earlier, and Ms Edwards was, indeed, a product of her time. Parts of this book are so sexist, classist, and/or racist, one can't help but cringe while reading them.
February 6, 2017
Even though this book was published in 1969 and is a bit dated in some aspects, Edwards's emphasis that librarians must read heavily to be successful was SO refreshing. Towards the end she comments that "...it is difficult to find in library literature where reading for any other reason than to find information is stressed". I have found this to be true in the majority of classes in library school so far. It is not that organization of information and classification is not important, but rather that it is meaningless if people can't use that information for good ("good" is subjective, but Edwards's argument, which I agree with, is that a person's values can be discovered through reading, especially through reading fiction).
My only critique is that it is repetitive at some parts. Also, there is a point where she states that it is not the job of libraries to keep teens off the streets, and rather, that it is the job of social workers. While this may have been true at the time, I believe that this logic no longer applies, considering the increase of neoliberal policies and decrease in funding for social work and programs.
My only critique is that it is repetitive at some parts. Also, there is a point where she states that it is not the job of libraries to keep teens off the streets, and rather, that it is the job of social workers. While this may have been true at the time, I believe that this logic no longer applies, considering the increase of neoliberal policies and decrease in funding for social work and programs.
February 2, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me of why I want to be a librarian. That when we enter Library school we can sometimes forget what the real purpose of the librarian is with all the technical stuff we need to lear. I loved the book recommendations given that I added them into my reading list.
November 29, 2016
It's both wonderful and scary that this book, written mostly in/about the 1930s and 1940s, is so relevant today. Margaret Edwards is definitely the role model for teen librarians, then and now.
February 1, 2017
Crazy relevant so many years later
February 18, 2023
'Patronism' and the Book as Weapon
"To young people, right is right and wrong is wrong, and so they believe that there are simple remedies for the complicated ills of society" (14).
"Nothing distresses a young adult more than the sight of an adult attempting to be young again…" Writes Margaret A. Edwards, a purveyor of incisive truths. Instead, young people wish "his adults to be dignified above everything else, for in his youthful insecurity dignity is the quality he covets most. The soundest approach to the adolescent is to treat him as though he were a reasonable, dignified, mature person. This find of relationship, coupled with enthusiasm for books on the part of the librarian, will open up the world of ideas to many young adults who may never have become readers otherwise or who would have read on a level below capacity to understand and enjoy."
What's funny is the slow realization that Edwards is trying to write this book for the beasts: the librarians who would not cultivate the fair garden of young readers. For many librarians, it must be just the opposite, and I know because I've seen time and time again a feeling that we are nothing but protectors of a fair garden and the swarm of beasts are the young patrons.
We must reframe and Edwards implores us.
Dos:
Read: "As a rule, all the books the assistant had read circulated constantly, while those he had not read sat on the shelves" (17) or "It is my belief that the young-adult librarian’s love of people can be measured by the amount of reading he is willing to do for them" (67).
Discuss a book in subjective terms. "In speaking of the book to a prospective reader it is always well to avoid adjectives particularly “interesting” exciting” and “well-written.” Get the story moving with nouns and verbs. Be brief... Be fair... do not over-recommend the book, and no matter how fine the story is, do not press it upon a teenager who may find it dull..." (21-22).
Check your perceived power and adjust, but use the power to defend intellectual freedom: "The general public, even the unread portion of it, has a deep and abiding faith in the moving power of the book. The public is so sure books are dynamite that they often burn those they believe to be evil to keep people from falling under their spells. Yet patrons who come to the library are seldom accosted by a librarian who has thought enough of books to read very many of them, or if he has read extensively, cares enough to recommend books to others searching for good reading" (66).
Which of course comes with a few don’ts:
What does she mean by accosting? Well, ensure your performance is on point, because "the librarian leaves a very good impression with patrons on the kind of person he is. Too often the patron in the library sees the librarian sensibly dressed, seated, earnestly sorting cards or reading. If someone gets up enough courage to ask him a question, he looks up patiently and says 'Yes?' Or if there is noise, he raps on the desk and stares down the offenders. If the noise continues, he yells 'Quiet!' This does not 'send' teenagers-- or anyone else." Indeed Edwards, we want them to return again.
However, balance: DON'T play favorites or encourage sentimental attachments.
DON'T impose opinion. Let the teenager think his thoughts and feel free to express them. Show him how to refer to the Book Review Digest and measure his opinions against the critics rather than lead him to believe the librarian is infallible. This does not mean that with tact and understanding the librarian may not help the teenager clarify his thinking. "These adults cherish certain beliefs about what teenagers should or should not read. When these beliefs are violated, they are outraged. What escapes them is that these precepts, while seemly, are not always sound" (52).
DON'T conclude the book is popular because it circulates. One of the most important features of floor work is the discussion of a book with the reader when he returns it. Ask constantly for reactions. The adolescent reader is pleased to be asked for his opinion, and the librarian needs to listen if he wishes to be an effective readers’ advisory. In the discussion of a book recently read, the librarian has an opportunity to develop in young people sharper critical faculties and a better basis for enjoyment and to introduce them new and related fields of reading.
DON'T take books away from young people. If they select books form adult departments, let them have them. Librarians are not policeman, However the librarian should give the teenager planning to read a frank book a point of view for reading it, calling attention to the books social implications, its weaknesses and strong points, and explaining what the author meant to imply.
Edwards spends much of the book on biographies too. In Eulogizing Joe Wheeler, director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, she recalls him on his death bed arguing for a renewed 'patronism' for libraries: he called out clearly, “Service! Service is a wonderful word.” Later he said, “Censorship, automation, regionalization, and such are today the concern of the staff while to poor customer stands on one foot on the other side of the desk and who cares about him?” (94).
Her thoughts on Melvil Dewey are laid out in a way more vital and constructive way than the response to the current wave of see identitarian hate, classify and call out, and attempt repair. In “We Have Been True to You Melvil Dewey, After Our Fashion," Edwards decries the organizational mania that befalls librarians. "Dewey and the cofounders of ALA did not put great emphasis on the promotion of reading nor have many of their successors. Indeed, it is difficult to find in library literature where reading for any other reason than information is stressed" (102). Such focus on classification inevitably leads to negative versions of power: hierarchies and gatekeeping, which can quickly turn ugly.
Much of the biographical attacks on Dewey include anecdotes about parties where certain people weren't invited coupled with the symbolic striking off of names from hallowed walls has been fought quietly, all along, by the profession: "There are on our shelves thousands of books that fight against prejudice, overpopulation, inhuman prisons, injustice, mistreatment of children, and all other evils of our society. If we librarians feels social responsibility, books are our weapons. Our social obligation is to read these books and see that society reads them. This is far more difficult than carrying banners and taking institutional stands on such causes as Gay Liberation" (104). We are not for want of ammunition.
She invites two new librarians to join their communities more fully so as not to be deaf to patrons's needs. "These two typical little librarians waste hours sharing their limited experiences and bemoaning the scarcity of men. For entertainment they go to dinner at the apartment of two other little librarians, where they discuss queer characters that come into the library every day, their most effective methods of squelching troublemakers, and the breakdown of the charging machine.... this kind of isolation from the community is like sitting alone at a gourmet banquet eating crackers and milk. ...there are intelligent, stimulating people interested in living. They race horses, take part in politics, join little theater groups, grow roses, paint, watch birds, hike, swim, play tennis, work with the League of Women Voters, raise funds for the symphony orchestra, and so on. No librarian has time for all these activities but he or she should be interested in at least one of them... Too many librarians are anemic. When their library joins the blood bank, it is difficult to find enough donors with sufficient iron in their blood to renew the strength of the least-depleted donor..."
And finally, she looks back on Jared Bean's *The Old Librarian's Almanac* from 1773, who has "a message for those of us connected with the teenager and the library: 'No person younger than twenty years (save if he be a Student, of more than 18 years, and vouched for by his Tutor) is on any pretext to enter the Library. Be suspicious of Women. They are given to the Reading of frivolous Romances, and at all events, their presence in the Library adds little to (if it does not, indeed, detract from) that aspect of Gravity, Seriousness and Learning which is its greatest glory..."
To which she responds: "hordes of young adults are pouring into our libraries, devouring the information in books. Indeed, the Treasure House of Literature has been thrown open to the ravages of the unreasoning mob and your fair garden lies 'unprotected at the mercy of a swarm of beasts.'...Young hands are reaching out for more and more books" (81).
"To young people, right is right and wrong is wrong, and so they believe that there are simple remedies for the complicated ills of society" (14).
"Nothing distresses a young adult more than the sight of an adult attempting to be young again…" Writes Margaret A. Edwards, a purveyor of incisive truths. Instead, young people wish "his adults to be dignified above everything else, for in his youthful insecurity dignity is the quality he covets most. The soundest approach to the adolescent is to treat him as though he were a reasonable, dignified, mature person. This find of relationship, coupled with enthusiasm for books on the part of the librarian, will open up the world of ideas to many young adults who may never have become readers otherwise or who would have read on a level below capacity to understand and enjoy."
What's funny is the slow realization that Edwards is trying to write this book for the beasts: the librarians who would not cultivate the fair garden of young readers. For many librarians, it must be just the opposite, and I know because I've seen time and time again a feeling that we are nothing but protectors of a fair garden and the swarm of beasts are the young patrons.
We must reframe and Edwards implores us.
Dos:
Read: "As a rule, all the books the assistant had read circulated constantly, while those he had not read sat on the shelves" (17) or "It is my belief that the young-adult librarian’s love of people can be measured by the amount of reading he is willing to do for them" (67).
Discuss a book in subjective terms. "In speaking of the book to a prospective reader it is always well to avoid adjectives particularly “interesting” exciting” and “well-written.” Get the story moving with nouns and verbs. Be brief... Be fair... do not over-recommend the book, and no matter how fine the story is, do not press it upon a teenager who may find it dull..." (21-22).
Check your perceived power and adjust, but use the power to defend intellectual freedom: "The general public, even the unread portion of it, has a deep and abiding faith in the moving power of the book. The public is so sure books are dynamite that they often burn those they believe to be evil to keep people from falling under their spells. Yet patrons who come to the library are seldom accosted by a librarian who has thought enough of books to read very many of them, or if he has read extensively, cares enough to recommend books to others searching for good reading" (66).
Which of course comes with a few don’ts:
What does she mean by accosting? Well, ensure your performance is on point, because "the librarian leaves a very good impression with patrons on the kind of person he is. Too often the patron in the library sees the librarian sensibly dressed, seated, earnestly sorting cards or reading. If someone gets up enough courage to ask him a question, he looks up patiently and says 'Yes?' Or if there is noise, he raps on the desk and stares down the offenders. If the noise continues, he yells 'Quiet!' This does not 'send' teenagers-- or anyone else." Indeed Edwards, we want them to return again.
However, balance: DON'T play favorites or encourage sentimental attachments.
DON'T impose opinion. Let the teenager think his thoughts and feel free to express them. Show him how to refer to the Book Review Digest and measure his opinions against the critics rather than lead him to believe the librarian is infallible. This does not mean that with tact and understanding the librarian may not help the teenager clarify his thinking. "These adults cherish certain beliefs about what teenagers should or should not read. When these beliefs are violated, they are outraged. What escapes them is that these precepts, while seemly, are not always sound" (52).
DON'T conclude the book is popular because it circulates. One of the most important features of floor work is the discussion of a book with the reader when he returns it. Ask constantly for reactions. The adolescent reader is pleased to be asked for his opinion, and the librarian needs to listen if he wishes to be an effective readers’ advisory. In the discussion of a book recently read, the librarian has an opportunity to develop in young people sharper critical faculties and a better basis for enjoyment and to introduce them new and related fields of reading.
DON'T take books away from young people. If they select books form adult departments, let them have them. Librarians are not policeman, However the librarian should give the teenager planning to read a frank book a point of view for reading it, calling attention to the books social implications, its weaknesses and strong points, and explaining what the author meant to imply.
Edwards spends much of the book on biographies too. In Eulogizing Joe Wheeler, director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, she recalls him on his death bed arguing for a renewed 'patronism' for libraries: he called out clearly, “Service! Service is a wonderful word.” Later he said, “Censorship, automation, regionalization, and such are today the concern of the staff while to poor customer stands on one foot on the other side of the desk and who cares about him?” (94).
Her thoughts on Melvil Dewey are laid out in a way more vital and constructive way than the response to the current wave of see identitarian hate, classify and call out, and attempt repair. In “We Have Been True to You Melvil Dewey, After Our Fashion," Edwards decries the organizational mania that befalls librarians. "Dewey and the cofounders of ALA did not put great emphasis on the promotion of reading nor have many of their successors. Indeed, it is difficult to find in library literature where reading for any other reason than information is stressed" (102). Such focus on classification inevitably leads to negative versions of power: hierarchies and gatekeeping, which can quickly turn ugly.
Much of the biographical attacks on Dewey include anecdotes about parties where certain people weren't invited coupled with the symbolic striking off of names from hallowed walls has been fought quietly, all along, by the profession: "There are on our shelves thousands of books that fight against prejudice, overpopulation, inhuman prisons, injustice, mistreatment of children, and all other evils of our society. If we librarians feels social responsibility, books are our weapons. Our social obligation is to read these books and see that society reads them. This is far more difficult than carrying banners and taking institutional stands on such causes as Gay Liberation" (104). We are not for want of ammunition.
She invites two new librarians to join their communities more fully so as not to be deaf to patrons's needs. "These two typical little librarians waste hours sharing their limited experiences and bemoaning the scarcity of men. For entertainment they go to dinner at the apartment of two other little librarians, where they discuss queer characters that come into the library every day, their most effective methods of squelching troublemakers, and the breakdown of the charging machine.... this kind of isolation from the community is like sitting alone at a gourmet banquet eating crackers and milk. ...there are intelligent, stimulating people interested in living. They race horses, take part in politics, join little theater groups, grow roses, paint, watch birds, hike, swim, play tennis, work with the League of Women Voters, raise funds for the symphony orchestra, and so on. No librarian has time for all these activities but he or she should be interested in at least one of them... Too many librarians are anemic. When their library joins the blood bank, it is difficult to find enough donors with sufficient iron in their blood to renew the strength of the least-depleted donor..."
And finally, she looks back on Jared Bean's *The Old Librarian's Almanac* from 1773, who has "a message for those of us connected with the teenager and the library: 'No person younger than twenty years (save if he be a Student, of more than 18 years, and vouched for by his Tutor) is on any pretext to enter the Library. Be suspicious of Women. They are given to the Reading of frivolous Romances, and at all events, their presence in the Library adds little to (if it does not, indeed, detract from) that aspect of Gravity, Seriousness and Learning which is its greatest glory..."
To which she responds: "hordes of young adults are pouring into our libraries, devouring the information in books. Indeed, the Treasure House of Literature has been thrown open to the ravages of the unreasoning mob and your fair garden lies 'unprotected at the mercy of a swarm of beasts.'...Young hands are reaching out for more and more books" (81).
February 3, 2017
Margaret Edwards gives a wonderful look at her experiences and philosophy of YA Librarianship. A little dated perhaps in some aspects; however, her basic principles remain important for the current age.
March 10, 2009
This book took me forever to get through. It didn't help that it was my "bedside reading" but that I hardly ever got to bed early enough to read. The forward by Betty Carter was awfully dry. And because most of the book was originally written in the mid-20th century, the language for the generic person was always male. It's pretty distracting to be going along reading about a female librarian who was doing something and in the next sentence to have her generalize that librarian's experience with something like "the librarian...he..." Even understanding the time in which it was written, because the masculine pronouns are no longer acceptable as universals, it constantly brought me out of the text. Those things said, Edwards really did lay the foundation for how we view teen services today. She really just went in and created programs, figured out how to work with teens and what they needed, determined ways to conduct outreach on a shoestring budget, and above all else, advocated over and over for the importance of teens reading and the libraries providing reading materials for them.
June 18, 2013
I took about forever to read this, but it was a really good read for professional librarians, whether or not s/he is a youth librarian. What with all the peals of the death of the book and the death of the library, this a great call to arms that is still applicable. Librarian, focus on customer service and advocate the power of the book to unite people through the shared experiences of character, setting, plot and the beauty of words! Edwards is not ashamed of books as the brand of the library and in fact she thinks public libraries should do more to announce ourselves to the community. I like her idea of ALA financing advertising and programming on television. She also has an interesting point about the library professional acting like a professional and putting in the extra hours that requires, as lawyers and doctors do. (As a single parent, I would have trouble going way above and beyond, but I know that I could do more.)
Short chapters make for an easy read, filled with good stories and examples of Edwards's experience as a librarian. I would happily make this a part of my home professional collection.
Short chapters make for an easy read, filled with good stories and examples of Edwards's experience as a librarian. I would happily make this a part of my home professional collection.
November 26, 2013
Inspirational and depressing all at once. Margaret Edwards wrote these essays back in the '50s, and she was progressive and forward-thinking and passionate and ahead of her time. The problem is, a lot of her ideas are still progressive and forward-thinking and ahead of our time.
Still, her passion is evident, and while a lot of elements are outdated (her passing comment about "boys have more interests than girls" and the implication that girls will get married immediately after high school or have terrible, spinster lives), her ideas about librarianship are sound. The need for quality Readers' Advisory services, the need to get kids/teens excited about reading, the need to get out into the community and, well, proselytize--her messages still need to be heard today, in library schools and particularly among library veterans.
Still, her passion is evident, and while a lot of elements are outdated (her passing comment about "boys have more interests than girls" and the implication that girls will get married immediately after high school or have terrible, spinster lives), her ideas about librarianship are sound. The need for quality Readers' Advisory services, the need to get kids/teens excited about reading, the need to get out into the community and, well, proselytize--her messages still need to be heard today, in library schools and particularly among library veterans.
November 2, 2009
I loved this! Margaret isn't afraid to say how things are. I think this should be required reading for all public library employees. I realize it is old, but many things still ring true. I really enjoyed her love for reading and the desire to share it with others. She also has one section about Supervision. I plan to read this again and again.
March 24, 2009
Read for a BYU class. I enjoyed this a great deal although it is a bit dated now.
August 11, 2010
Good professional development book for Teen Librarians.
March 28, 2011
She was an amazing person.
What an inspiring and interesting read.
I would have loved to have worked under her...
What an inspiring and interesting read.
I would have loved to have worked under her...
August 20, 2017
One that I will most certainly continue to refer to in the future. Read for my MLS Program in an Adolescent Resources and Services class as part of a group project.
October 19, 2014
An absolute must read for anyone who is a teen/YA librarian and a highly suggested read for all librarians and lovers of creating readers.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews