It seems that the word "literacy" is applied to so many more areas than the traditional association with reading. There is information literacy, media literacy, financial literacy, digital literacy, critical literacy, etc. I found some education websites that claimed that there are seven literacies, but they did not name all of the ones that I know about so more must have been named after publication. The word literacy is used to describe the ability to do something—whether it is finding information or balancing a checkbook. The term “reading literacy” is not typically used so it is a little confusing. Traditionally speaking, I would describe literacy as the ability to read and to understand what is being read.
My experience with reading has always been positive as I did not struggle with learning to read and I have always loved to read. It is amazing to me that I never considered a career as a librarian until I was older as it has been a natural fit for me. I love being surrounded by books all day and the only negative is that I don’t have time to read them. Reading “Legendborne” this week has been wonderful because I purchased the book for the library this past spring and I figured I would not get a chance to read it. I cannot wait to suggest it to my readers! One of the best parts of my job is collection development and I have learned that adolescent literature covers so many age groups. There really is no cut-off. What I purchase for a library is based more on the school community and what I feel their needs are and this would vary from school to school. Many books that are in my high school library were also in my middle school library and even the elementary school libraries. There are also books that I have read as an adult and would consider them as mature reading.
I do find that booksellers promote adolescent literature as books that are most often dystopian, fantasy, and coming-of-age stories. These are typically the most popular at the high school where I work too. Adolescent students at my school also gravitate towards biographies of popular celebrities or historical books. I feel that “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” is a book students would want to read, but it would benefit from having teachers promote the book.
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