Selection: A Very Important Process

https://www.odu.edu/library/news/2015/8/new_graphic_novels_p/_jcr_content/par/float/image.img.270.jpg/1440420580789.jpg

Selection: A Very Important Process

When stocking the shelves of any library, the librarian has an important responsibility. Librarians must be all-inclusive during the selection process, whether it is starting from scratch or adding to an older collection. Library materials should be current, engaging, diverse, and curriculum-based. They should also represent the overall languages, cultural beliefs, religions, and economics of the community. According to the Library Bill of Rights, “Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view.”

1)    ALA Library Bill of Rights http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/index.cfm

2)    Diversity in Collection Development http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/diversitycollection

The premise behind providing students and teachers with the proper materials sounds easy, but there are many factors that contribute to that success. The first is budget! Librarians must have ample funds to purchase all of the newest materials out there.  Books, DVDs and professional resources should be current and in the state of Virginia, must be supplemental to the Virginia Standards of Learning. Secondly, patrons should be allowed to utilize intellectual freedom in choosing books and materials from the library. Thus, librarians are ultimately responsible for choosing a wide-range of materials, even if the topics of the books might seem controversial. Librarians should not censor any materials and should remain unbiased in selections for the shelves. This could be difficult, depending on whether or not the administration of the school is completely supportive of the library and its success.

So, how do the librarians at your school select materials?  I wonder how budgets differ from county to county, or from district to district.  I plan to do some research in Louisa County to see how well our library programs are supported.  I recently had the opportunity to assess a library that appeared to have an awesome budget.  It was well endowed with current selections, up-to-date materials, and even an awesome "Makerspace" area. My assumption is that the budget for that library is likely hefty and that the library has a great support system. After all, without the support of the school administrations and school boards, the library selection process at each school could be awesome and easy or un-fulfilling and difficult.  Any thoughts?

~Jami Curry

Side note: The picture above is a representation (not the actual display) of the Graphic Novels section of the library I recently visited.  The display was colorful, plentiful and definitely eye-catching. I can't wait to select books and create displays like that :) 

Increasing Circulation in High Schools

"So what's the most challenging aspect of being a high school librarian?" I asked during my day of observation last spring.  Without even a second's thought she answered,"Getting these kids to check out books!"  She went on to say that increasing circulation is a constant and unrelenting problem with no viable solution.  Her frustration was obvious.  I recalled how my own daughter who was (and still is) a voracious and insatiable reader, never checked out even ONE book from her high school library.

The concern here is of course that high school kids need to read for pleasure and personal growth just like younger kids.  But there's also the issue of a librarian being able to promote and justify her program.  When circulation is too low or nearly non-existent, procuring funds and keeping your job must be terribly difficult.

New York City embarked on a program to revitalize their high school libraries by increasing circulation.  The results were amazing. You can read more about the results and how this was accomplished by visiting http://www.adlit.org/article/19845/.

Additional sites related to this topic are:

http://www.teacherlibrarian.org/forum/topics/how-to-improve-circulation-numbers-in-high-school

http://www.cindyorr.com/Increase_Circulation.html

Can all of your students find themselves in your library?

That's a big question, isn't it? 

You already know that collection development takes time and money, often in equal amounts. It's important to support the Standards of Learning in a Virginia elementary school library, but it's also a perfect opportunity to reflect diversity in your selections. 

Most schools have searchable student data that allows you to determine if a language other than English is spoken at home as well as the race and/or ethnicity families noted when enrolling their child. It's also a safe bet that you are serving many students whose backgrounds reflect multiple cultures.

If you feel overwhelmed about diversifying your collection, don't. Picture books are a great place to start. Because their covers offer a taste of the illustrations inside, this staple of your collection is the easiest to build for diversity.

The idea that we need diverse books has become We Need Diverse Books. This group also has a Facebook and Pinterest presence. If you want a quick starting point to bulk up your consideration file, this group has compiled a lot of resources for you here.

Another great site, especially if 70% or more of your students are eligible for free/reduced lunch is First Book. Check out their Stories for All lists. If your student population meets that 70% threshold, you are eligible to order books from First Book at amazing discounts.

If this task still feels daunting, focus first on the largest minority population in 
your school. For many of us, those are our African American students. Where picture books are concerned, I would propose that sometimes it's the diverse illustrators that we need most. Often picture books are written in a way that is open to many avenues for artists.

And if you only have a small portion of your budget left to spend, I would like to mention two names here. Kadir Nelson and Jacqueline Woodson. Yes. Buy all the picture books associated with either one of those talents. Still have some cash? Make sure your Faith Ringgold books are still in good shape- Ezra Jack Keats too. 

What's that? You wrote a grant and got MORE money. Way to go! Zip back up to the resources offered on the We Need Diverse Books website. I can't wait to hear about some of your favorites. Here's one of mine:

Of course, children will still read your books if your collection is not diverse.

But, oh the power of finding oneself in a library. 

Make sure you display some of these new picture books with the covers facing out to greet your students...as early as open house! Parents and families should also know that you value who they are from the first time they set foot in your library.

Students own our schools' libraries; we merely tend it.   Let's make sure that everyone feels that ownership by honoring who they are and may become by stocking our shelves with every possibility.

Michelle Davis

 

Banned Book Week

I don't know about you, but when I see the list of frequently challenged books of the previous year, I now have my must read list.  There is just something about reading books that have been challenged or even banned that just feeds my inner rebel.

When I first heard about Banned Book Week, I was intrigued about the concept.  I had never thought that we were still fighting for intellectual freedom.  It was all very Orwellian to me.  As I explored the different lists of challenged and banned books, I noticed that all the required reading from when I was in high school was on the list:  Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Of Mice and Men, and A Separate Peace.  All of these books were required reading, and we discussed them in depth.  I also noticed many great classics on the list.

American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom has made the last week in September Banned Book Week.  ALA has put together a press kit  with free resources to help librarians, both school and public library, celebrate intellectual freedom and educate the public on censorship.  They also have a site to buy promotional items such as shirts, buttons, posters, and bookmarks.

I know that many elementary librarians might be hesitant to celebrate Banned Book Week, but there are many great pieces of children's literature that has been challenged.  Books like the Harry Potter series, Captain Underpants series, And Tango Makes Three, and The Lorax are just some examples of children's books that have been challenged.

If we keep quiet as a profession about the challenges to intellectual freedom, then we are no better than those that are actively doing the censoring.  We need to be active advocates for not only funding for our library programs, but for the ability to choose books.  Our libraries should be stocked with books that will appeal to all students, not just a few.

Banned Books

As we approach Banned Book Week, I thought I would focus my topic on that. As a librarian, we will be faced with many challenges, but banned books or challenged books could definitely be at the top of those challenges. We want to see students reading! As a librarian it doesn't matter what they are reading but there are also many people who feel they shouldn't be reading it because they feel that it is inappropriate.
“Books don’t turn kids into murderers, or rapists, or alcoholics,” Laurie Halse Anderson replied. “Books open hearts and minds, and help teenagers make sense of a dark and confusing world. YA literature saves lives. Every. Single. Day." Young adult books are challenged by parents throughout all middle and high schools across the county. If parents would talk to their child about the issues in the book rather than going to the school board to have the librarian remove the book from the school, it would save so many books but more importantly could save so many child/young adults. The parents may think that the book is inappropriate for their child after discussing it, but it may not be that way for other students in the school.
The American Library Association promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek
It is important that we continue the fight, and allow students to read what they want to read!
Reference: 311 Reasons to Celebrate Banned Books Week | Banned Books Week. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/node/8256

The School Library: Part of Their World, Your Whole World

There's a saying about pets that goes something a long the lines of "They might only be part of your world, but to them, you are their whole world." Sweet, right? A casual reminder about the view point differences of the pet and owner. After recent discussion, it be came clear to me that this is also how the school library relates to a principal or administrative team.

I've only been learning about libraries for about a month now, but the same issue has come up in almost everyone of my classes. Here's the situation: A librarian chooses wide variety of books and materials to create an ample collection for the students. A principal/administrator/parent walks in a judges a book by the cover or select few pages and immediately demands that it be removed. What should the librarian do, knowing their reasoning for having that book on the shelf is solid? Fight and risk their job? Give in and take something away from the students? The answer is complicated. 

To help figure this out, let's start from the beginning with some things that a librarian can do to help herself out in situations like these. The first thing that the librarian should know is the definition of  intellectual freedom. The ALA defines it as “ the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored” (ALA Brochure)  It is important that librarians are able to provide non-bias sources or be able to show all, or as many as possible, the biases that are out there. 

Another thing that the librarian can do is have a strong collection policy. This should contain elements that clearly state what type of criteria a book/materials must meet to be select as well as a policy that clearly states how others can challenge a book and what happens during the process. A strong policy will give the librarian a solid foundation to base her defense of a selection as well as a guide on how to handle that principal's/administrator's/parent's request to immediately remove whatever material they believe to be inappropriate. A recent article in School Libraries Journal suggests making sure that the school and or district also has a strong policy on how community members can challenge books. I agree that those policies are very important, but should used along with and instead of an individual policy for each library. 

This is where we can go back to the pet comparison. A school librarian is in their zone in the school library. That is their workspace, domain, and place within the school. A principal/administrator/parent, however, does not devote at least eight hours a day to the library and may not understand that the librarian has specific responsibilities, such as those laid in the ALA Code of Ethics. Keeping in mind that they individual demanding that something be taken off the shelf may only see that specific item and not that it is part of larger collection can keep a situation from being escalated by both parties. Helping the person challenging the material see that could help avoid any conflict at all without any fuss. 

In the end, each challenge is unique much like each principal. There is no easy answer to the question of what to do when there is a challenge, but keeping in mind how others relate to the library may make the process of dealing with the challenge easier and educational. 

Some other resources that may be helpful on this topic:

Intellectual Freedom Manual

Cooperative Children's Book Center Overview of Intellectual Freedom

School Library Monthly - The Intellectual Freedom Calendar: Another Advocacy Plan for the School Library

Welcome to our class blog for SLIB600, Emerging Trends in School Librarianship!

For Assignment #3...
Blog:  By Monday, September 21--Post a commentary on the class blog on an issue pertaining to school libraries that is of interest to you.  Your post may be an opinion piece or provide helpful tips.  It MUST contain links to articles, Web sites, and/or other blogs or wikis related to your topic. There is no required length for the blog post, but it should be short and must demonstrate reflective thinking, new ideas/approaches, and/or justifications for the opinion presented. 
By Monday, September 28--Respond to at least one classmate’s blog post. 

*Happy blogging!