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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40934
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm going to submit a request for a [Library of Congress Preassigned Control Number](https://www.loc.gov/publish/pcn/) (PCN). One of the questions on the form is:

> Is this title intended for children or young adults?

Because of the "or", I assume the book doesn't have to be appropriate for both children **and** young adults.

My answer would be obvious if the field were phrased as "acceptable for" or "intended _primarily_ for". Unfortunately, I'm unsure whether "intended for" means the title is:

1. for members of this audience **and other audiences**
2. **only for** members of this audience

(To illustrate usage #1, consider the sentence, "Is exercise intended for children or young adults?" It is; to say "Exercise is not intended for children or young adults" would be false.)

I wrote the novel for general audiences and never even considered the possibility of YA readers. But one of my beta readers, who teaches middle-school English, assumed it was intended for YA readers of roughly 14+.

So if #1 is the right interpretation, I think that applies to my book. But if it's #2, the answer is absolutely "no" since I didn't write it primarily with young adults in mind.

To be clear: I'm not asking about the meaning of the word "intend", or for interpretations of the form by laypeople like me.

I'm hoping that someone with working knowledge can tell me the best answer for this entry field—based on the way that librarians, teachers, or others actually use this information. If you have working knowledge, please mention that in your answer for added weight. Thanks!

Original score: 6