Turning the Page, A Reading Autobiography - Part 1 - Early Childhood

On account of this class and the resources we have been delving into, I have been thinking a lot about my own childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, surmising upon the manner in which books and reading related to, and subsequently shaped my life.  To this end, I thought it might be interesting to compile a reading/literacy autobiography of sorts. 

When I was young, I was extremely shy. In spite of the considerably substantial vocabulary I possessed for a child of my age, I still only felt comfortable showing my true feelings and speaking freely in front of family and very close friends.I think, more than anything, I was just trapped in my shell for a long time. I always had the thoughts, the ideas, I would know the words to say and want to add them to the conversation, but I just couldn’t bring myself to speak up. One thing that I did have that made me feel free and able to escape, but also to be myself, was reading.

The first people who instilled a love of reading in me were my parents.  My mom was a journalism major in college, and my dad was an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader who grew up reading The Lord of the Rings series, and listening to Led Zeppelin before either of those things was considered cool.  My mom started me off on the right foot, reading to me when I was just a baby.  Some of her favorite books to read to me included the perennial children’s classic, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and also the timeless tales of Peter Rabbit and Babar.  Little Golden Books were a really big thing when I was little.  I recall The Pokey Little Puppy and Theodore Mouse Goes to Sea. My mom was turned on to author and illustrator, Eloise Wilkin after receiving her books as gifts from friends.  I can still remember the distinctive style of her illustrations where all the children looked like little dolls. What I recollect mostly about her books is the details of the illustrations. I always felt as though I was getting a secret glimpse into the lives of others. I could honestly stare for hours on end at the characters and their bedrooms and toys and furniture. To this day, I love peering into people’s houses all lit up at night, just to see how they live; a notion that correlates very strongly to the voyeuristic nature of reading books.

Starting from the age of three, my dad would take me to the library a few times a month, so that he could stock up on material to read on the train, and for me to check out a stack of books so big I could barely carry it. The public library in our town used to have an actual train car in the children’s section. Once my dad and I had checked out our treasures, we would take our riches over to the train and sit down and pore over each title. We would both go through the same ritual, a ritual that I still perform to this day whenever I have fresh stack of books from the library. We would take each book and flip through it, glimpsing at pictures, making note of the chapter titles, what the font looked like. Then we would read the blurb on the back of the book, and whatever was written on the front and back jacket covers. At this point, I would always put my books in the order I was going to read them. My dad said a really big deal for me was getting my own library card. I think the second I turned five, I was ready to go down to the library and stake my first own little claim of independence.

According to my mom, I could read words by the age of four, and probably learned to read entire books by the age of five in kindergarten. I was one of those kids who didn’t mind being alone. In fact, I found my own company to be quite delightful. My mom was constantly trying to force me to go outside and play with the kids in the neighborhood. Not one for running around and getting cold, or hot, or sweaty or dirty, I always wanted to come back inside. Besides reading, I loved to watch television. It was the 80’s, so Cabbage Patch Kids, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, and My Little Pony were all my major obsessions. I also had books that were written to cash in on the popularity of the above-mentioned 80’s staples, but I recall the stories as never being exceptionally intriguing.

When I was first grade, my teacher read Charlotte’s Web out loud to our class. I can picture myself sitting on the floor around the rocking chair, being instantly hooked. It was a like a switch suddenly flipped in me; I had to know what happened to that pig. If Wilbur died, I felt as though I might die along with him. The characters, the emotions, the drama, it was almost too much for me. As a result, when my teacher was reading, my mind was racing trying to take it all in. I was buzzing on the inside and couldn’t just sit there; I had to do something with my hands. So, I would grab hold of the garbage bag in the trash can and play with plastic, smoothing it over my thumbs until they poked holes through it. That, or I would play with the carpet, plucking staples out of it. I know it seems weird, but I just needed to be doing something because the power of that story was so overwhelming to me. Unfortunately, I had a teacher who just didn’t quite understand me and she told my mom at conferences that she didn’t think I was paying attention, when really it was quite the opposite.

...Wow, it is amazing how strongly books correlate to the sense of memory (I know they usually say it is scent most closely related to memory, but I think I am onto something here).  I feel as though I have legit just traveled back in time!!  Please stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of my Reading Autobiography, corresponding to Late Childhood and Adolescence/Adulthood!!!

More food for thought on selection

Hey peeps!

Please click upon the link below for further discussion on selecting materials for youth.  Maggie makes some amazing points on her blog.  Feel free to jump in and further the discussion!!

http://mamslibraryadventure.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/selection-policies-in-schools/comment-page-1/#comment-6

Building Collections for Youth

When it comes to developing collections for youth, how should the librarian go about selecting materials?  For decades, the debate has raged between selecting what is popular versus what is considered quality literature; however, many other questions also come into play.  To clarify, these questions may include what type of formats should the library collect, should the library place more emphasis upon depth or breadth of collection, should outside input be considered in collecting materials, and how will the library justify the value of a particular resource in relation to its cost.  I have attempted to address some of these thorny issues directly below.

Upon pondering an  example detailed in Ch.6 of Michele Gorman's and Tricia Sullentrop's Connecting Young Adults and Libraries: A How-To-Do-It Manual, the authors speculated upon whether it would be more apt to purchase ten identical high caliber books on a popular research topic  or if  makes more sense to select ten different books on the same topic (with some being potentially better than others in terms of relevancy, ease of use, etc.).  Almost immediately, I determined that the ten different books made a lot more sense; I mean a quality collection must  present a wide swath of viewpoints right?  However, as the authors point out: with the ten different books scenario, a single user can swoop in and check out all ten.  Indeed, this practical assertion gave me pause.  In this case, would it make more sense to purchase five of the same, and five unique titles perhaps?

One of the major hot-button issues when it comes to building collections for youth pertains to including controversial materials in the collection.  As librarians, we all steadfastly uphold and defend the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statements, and who among us could decry the value that materials purporting a wide variety of viewpoints on contentious issues have in a democratic society?  However, all of this has a tendency to get thrown out the window when parents and community members find materials in the youth collection objectionable in terms of violence, sexuality, religion, political stance, or some facet.   Therefore, it is critical that Collection Development policies directly address controversial materials and how challenges will be handled.  Some collection development policies that I have encountered will even go so far as to include a statement akin to the fact that the library reserves the right to create and furnish displays of any material that may be of interest to their patrons, regardless of whether the materials are perceived as unorthodox or controversial.  In my opinion, I am not sure if I would directly broach the subject of controversial displays in a Collection Development Policy geared toward Youth Services.  You may just be inviting overzealous unwarranted attention in doing so.

To continue, it is also imperative for the Collection Development Policy to maintain that challenged materials will remain on the shelf and available to patrons during the reconsideration process.  As stressed in Chapter 4 of Henry Reichman's Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools, "No materials should be removed without a formal hearing in accordance with the full reconsideration policy.  Moreover, no materials should be removed upon the authority of a single staff member or school official, up to and including the superintendent of schools...While the reconsideration process is proceeding, challenged materials should remain available to faculty and students as before" (p. 90).   In light of this notion, I am reminded of a  specific incident that a school librarian recently divulged to me. The librarian in question mentioned that the assistant principal of the school she worked at told her to move a book into the Teacher's Collection on account of the book being too sad (The book was Michael Rosen's Sad Book, go figure).  The librarian extolled the virtues of intellectual freedom and defended the content of the book, but in the end wound up listening to the administrator and placing the book in the Teacher's Collection, where it has since never been checked out.  I would argue that this relates to an example of  censorship, even though the book ultimately remained in the collection.

Lastly, in terms of  selection responsibilities, while some may think that the librarian should have sole responsibility in developing collections, as they are the resident experts, I think it is crucial to involve the kids/ teens/students in the process.  Upon forsaking user input, you will end up with a collection that may be highly regarded in terms of literary quality, but one that nevertheless ultimately fails to reflect the varied needs, interests, tastes, and backgrounds of your user population. Harkening back to Gorman and Sullentrop, I admired the way in which the authors remarked that when it comes down to it, what is going to speak forcefully on behalf of the library: circulation statistics or a stack of reviews on materials that no one is checking out?  In the end, an ideal  youth collection corresponds to a balanced collection that fosters a lifelong love of reading and is chocked full of materials that pique the interest and meet the information needs of the users.Through collection development, librarians are truly in an ideal position to reach and make an indelible mark on the lives of their users.

Selection vs. Censorship - Walking the Fine Line

In honor of Banned Books Week (September 30 - Oct 06), please check out my comment on the Teen Librarian Toolbox site by clicking upon the link below:

http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2012/10/dirty-little-library-secrets-ii-im-not.html?showComment=1349900732025#c3738830843735161294

“Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.”—Alfred Whitney Griswold, Essays on Education (Quote courtesy of ALA's Notable Quotes webpage)

What they don't teach in library school

For those among us currently working with or aspiring to work with adolescents, Teen Librarian Toolbox (TLT) represents an amazing resource.  Effectively, TLT is a blog compiled by 4 teen librarians, one artist, and a teen author/reviewer.  The blog touts itself as a source "for teen librarians short on time, short on money, but not short on passion!" Updated just about everyday, containing relevant and highly browseable tags and subject headings, and completely on top of all the hottest teen trends, it is no wonder that "TLT was featured in VOYA's Trending in Youth Culture: The Best Blogs and Sites for Youth Advocates (February 2012)."

Clicking through this compelling site, I stumbled upon the following post: http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2012/09/10-things-i-never-learned-in-library.html, enumerating the multiple real-life experiences that library school simply cannot prepare one for. Some of the situations described are really frightening.  For instance, the librarian recounts placing the library on lockdown due to the SWAT team raiding a nearby apartment.  Other instances are really shocking, such as the librarian interrupting two teens in the midst of as she puts it, "extra-curricular activities." But most of the things she never learned in library school were unflinchingly human - i.e. how to help kids coming from bad home lives, when to step in versus when to lend a listening ear, how to deal with death, and how to respond to teens coming to grips with sex and sexuality.

It is evident that these are the issues that no amount of schooling can prepare you for.  And although the various scenarios we cover in class are extremely helpful in building a conceptual framework to wrap our minds around how to begin to deal with these issues, even they cannot take the place of real-life, on the job experience.  In actuality, it is very easy to say what you think you would do in a given situation, but until you are thrown headfirst into a complex predicament, concurrently dealing with people, emotions, politics, and professional values,  it is impossible to gauge how you will react. 

While of some of this TLT post was difficult to digest, these types of issues embody the human side of librarianship which corresponds to what attracted me to the field in the first place.  What greater reward can one ask for than building and engaging the community in a positive manner?  Likewise, for whatever reason, it seems as though people have always felt comfortable opening up to me and trusting me with their personal issues - even complete strangers, so I welcome the opportunity connect with young library patrons in this manner, effectively doing my small part to make the world a better place.  In terms of achieving optimal workplace performance, it has often been said that having a strong sense of purpose pertains to one of the best motivators.  Librarians inevitably have a duty to embrace social responsibility, and I think that this core value of librarianship highly resonates with many of the "in the barracks" experiences described in the TLT post.  One thing I have learned though (thank you library school!) is that it certainly never hurts to have the proper policies, forums, and structures in place when it comes to dealing with bewildering or unprecedented incidents.  

A matter of semantics?

In the course of reading Michele Gorman's and Tricia Sullentrop's Connecting Young Adults and Libraries: A How-To-Do-It Manual, I was taken aback by what struck me as a prickly bit of wording in this otherwise excellent information resource.  Honestly, I am not sure if I am reading more into it than what is there, but as a librarian working with young people, I do believe part of our job is to actively model evaluating the information we consume.  Young people should be taught that the process of information collection and evaluation is not passive. In order to be fluent in the brand of  information literacy that is necessary for thriving in the 21st century, one must assess the legitimacy of source, whether any inherent biases exist, who is the intended audience, how current is the source, etc.

So in the spirit of the aforementioned sentiment, here is the issue I encountered.  In their comprehensive guide to providing library service to young adults, Gorman and Sullentrop reference the 40 developmental assets for adolescents crafted by the Search Institute (www.search-institute.org).  According to the authors:

"The Search Institute is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities.  The Search Institute has reviewed the research in the field of youth development and has conducted its own studies on thousands of adolescents.  The institute concluded that teens require certain positive conditions and experiences in their lives, or what Search has called "Developmental Assets."  The research led the Search Institute to identify 40 such assets, 20 external and 20 internal" (Gorman and Sullentrop, p. 33).

Based on Gorman's and Sullentrop's blurb above, as well as a review of the Institute's website, it would seem as though the Search Institute is a credible source.  They have existed for over fifty years and appear dedicated to engaging young people and their communities, while concurrently placing a high valence on integrity.  Furthermore, the research behind the generation of the Developmental Assets is both extensive and clearly linked on their site, and the .org domain name purports a minimal degree of authority.

So maybe it really is an issue of semantics?  Without further ado... (I must admit this build-up is seeming a bit dramatic for the mere word choice I am questioning), please allow me to direct your attention to the Internal Asset of "Restraint" located under "Positive Values."  This asset explicitly states "Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol/drugs," for which Gorman and Sullentrop contend that "Collections and programs can speak to this asset" (ibid, 36).

Now, the issue I have is not really with the alcohol and drugs portion of the above statement.  I do believe it is important for youth to attempt to steer clear from these dangerous substances.  In actuality, it is really the "Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active..." part that  bothers me.  To this end, it is simply the word order here that gets me going.

Imagine if the statement had read instead, "Young person believes it is not important to be sexually active..."  Can you sense the difference?  Phrasing the statement in this manner neutralizes the disparaging tone, in my opinion.  Seemingly, the fact that this developmental asset is referred to as "Restraint" also implies a certain judgmental connotation to me. As librarians, it our role to provide teens with the resources and instill in them the critical thinking skills, so that they can make their own informed and educated decisions. We cannot develop collections and programs with condemnatory and disapproving judgements in mind.  Moreover, it has been proven in schools around the nation that Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) programs not only fail to achieve their desired result of preventing teens from having sex, but also create harmful outcomes that adversely affect certain marginalized groups of the population.

Perhaps I am over-analyzing this, I would love to hear what y'all think!!

GO BEARS!!!