"The Culture War"

 Jensen, K. (n.d.). The “Culture War” Designation is Journalistic Negligence. Book Riot. https://bookriot.com/book-censorship-news-december-2-2022/

Book Riot! is a blog which focuses on book publishing news, book recommendations and news items related to publishing. As the field of publishing is inextricably linked to the controversial widespread attempts to censor books in schools, public libraries and even private book shops, Book Riot! Has kept up with the latest news items related to censorship. This blog posts links to articles detailing the most recent challenges and poses the theory that the term “Culture War” is unnecessarily politicizing a topic which should be of universal good - intellectual freedom.

Creating and Building Effective Multilingual Library Collections

Shabeena Mathiruban

Hill, J. (2018). Building for Diversity: How Public Libraries Can Create Great  Multilingual Collections. Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management, 14. https://doi.org/10.5931/djim.v14i0.7854

This article discusses how to build multilingual collections in public libraries through community consultations, collaborating with other libraries, working with vendors, cataloging and maintaining the collection, marketing, and providing staff training. When creating a multilingual collection, the first step is understanding the demographics of the community which can be obtained from community data found online or from your own research. Next, to understand the needs and interests of the community, libraries can do community consultations with library patrons. Librarians can do studies with patrons through paper surveys or observations to obtain this crucial information. They also need to determine how broad they want to create their multilingual collection by looking at the demographic data, as communities with large immigrant populations may need a more comprehensive multilingual collection. Moreover, hiring bilingual staff that can communicate with library patrons in their non-English language is beneficial. Overall, this article provides numerous ways libraries can create an effective multilingual collection for patrons to meet their information needs.  

From the article, I liked the idea of doing community consultations to understand the needs and interests of multilingual library patrons. The library system I work at primarily uses demographic data to determine which languages to include in their multilingual collections, however community consultations are usually not conducted. I have seen many multilingual books that are not circulating at my library and have been discarded, because they do not meet the interests of the patrons. I think community consultations can be very beneficial in creating a relevant collection that meets the needs and interests of diverse communities. Moroever, I liked that this article mentions the importance of hiring bilingual library staff as this greatly assists patrons with language barriers. 

Strong school libraries help give California students the best chance to succeed.

 A Ph.D. dissertation by Doug Achterman written in 2008, titled "Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement in California" discusses the strength of the relationship between California school library media programs and student achievement. Doug Achterman, used data from California criterion-referenced state-wide tests, publicly available school and community demographic data, and a state survey of school library programs to determine the fact that there is a benefit in having school library media programs and increased student achievement. The results of the study indicate a substantial discrepancy in library staffing levels from the elementary grades through the high schools. 

Basically, a study found that when there was a certificated librarian teaching students and assisted them their academic achievement increased. The report stated that when there was a librarian that was classified the students didn't show as great of achievement if there was a certified librarian. 

This report is interesting to me because before being the Certified Librarian at my school I was a Certified Elementary Teacher. In order for me to stay in the role of the teacher librarian I have to have my teacher librarian credential. I do believe that someone who is classified can do a good job as a librarian, however after being almost done with my teacher librarian credential I know that being a certified librarian will hope students that much more. 

Dissertation: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9800/

Latin American Collections Concepts

Williams, & Krentz, J. L. (Eds.) (2019). Latin American Collection Concepts: Essays on Libraries, Collaborations and New Approaches. McFarland & Company, Inc.

Jana Krentz and Gayle William’s edited volume showcases some of the specific trends, themes, and challenges that shape the work of librarians collecting materials from Latin America and about topics in Latin American Studies. The volume grew out of conversations facilitated by the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM) meetings and aims to share models of collecting and collaboration that can be applied both within and beyond Latin American collection work. Krentz and William’s introduction notes that while the group “acknowledged that within their respective institutions, their work may be viewed as anachronistic and out of step when viewed against academic library practices bent on streamlining collection development practices,” it can also be “ground-breaking” and that their work has been “used as models for other branches of information sciences, especially other area studies disciplines" (p. 1). 

One through-line of the individual chapters is how geopolitical changes after the Second World War, particularly increased interest in and funding for area studies during the Cold War period, shaped the growth of Latin American collections across several decades. Multiple chapters discuss some of the challenges and legacies of the 1942 Farmington Plan for collaborative collection development as well as some of the agreements that preceded this plan and shaped its implementation. Several chapters discuss changes in Latin American publishing industries, particularly the role that eBooks have (or have not yet) played. Additional chapters focus on collection development for specific kinds of collections, for example music or legal materials.

This volume is indispensable not only for librarians building Latin American collections but also librarians initiating collaborations with colleagues at other academic institutions and those building collections in area studies with a strong print materials focus. Given that it was published a year before the beginning of the 2020 pandemic – and the significant changes in publishing and collections practices that it produced – the editors’ and contributors’ ongoing reflections and analysis would further add to scholarship on collections development.

Building a Reading Culture

Building a Reading Culture on K-12 Campuses 

Jordan Mattox 

Merga and Mason (2019) review data from a group of the thirty schools in Western Australia to draw some modest conclusions about how to build a reading culture on these campuses. The data are interviews with teacher librarians describing how they have attempted to build reading cultures on their campuses. While the research finds a variety of factors integral to the construction of a reading culture, the paramount among them is administrative support, in particular in gathering support from the various stakeholders across the campuses, including but not limited to teachers, support staff, parents, and the broader community.

The article provides valuable insights in helping teacher librarians with the tools needed to develop their own reading cultures on campus. The qualitative data show the key links between administrative support and the success of the campaigns to enhance the culture on a campus. Some of the limitations are the lack of quantitative data to best evaluate the efficacy of the teacher librarians that identified success and the culture limitations of applying practice in a particular context to teacher librarians in other contexts.

Merga, & Mason, S. (2019). Building a school reading culture : Teacher librarians’ perceptions of enabling and constraining factors. The Australian Journal of Education, 63(2), 173–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944119844544

Exploring an Indigenous Nations Library Program

Kevin Brown (2017) The Role of an Indigenous Nations Library Program and the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge, Collection Management, 42:3-4, 196-207, DOI: 10.1080/01462679.2017.1367342


This article discussed New Mexico University’s “Indigenous Nations Library Program” and the process it took to become successful which included “contextual information literacy, collection development, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive research.” (2017) It begins with a close examination of what “Indigenous Librarianship” looks like and how it is defined by Indigenous scholars. One key definition described it “as the provision of library services by and to patrons who are members of the same Indigenous group, in libraries whose purpose is primarily to acquire, provide, and perpetuate that group’s knowledge in ways it deems appropriate”



One consideration at the forefront of building an Indigenous Library Program or an ideal Indigenous Collection is recognizing the ways that Western values pervade all aspects of librarianship: selection, finding tools, and especially validity. Brown’s article discussed how Western knowledge places a higher value on certain forms of information, such as writing over oral narratives or images. He mentions that the Library of Congress has been altering the way they classify Indigenous works to be more inclusive and respectful to the communities and narratives .Brown points out that “According to Duarte and Belarde-Lewis (2015) the text over oral narrative supremacy is a clear signal that colonialism is still ongoing: ‘What makes Western-text based systems so visible and, therefore, apparently superior to oral, kinesthetic, aesthetic, and communal Indigenous ways of knowing—quipu, ceremonies, dances, songs, oral histories, oratory, stories, hunting and growing practices, healing arts, weaving, painting, pottery, carving, dreaming, and vision work—are the institutions through which Western text-based systems are legitimated.’”



Brown states that “because INLP librarians are Indigenous librarians, they are adept at quickly recognizing the scholarship history from various disciplines, contextualizing information through intellectual politics and its academic legacy upon Indigenous people and communities (Becvar and Srinvisan 2009).”



This article really explored the way this program at the University of New Mexico is an excellent blueprint for serving Indigenous communities in a library. It was fascinating to think about how to translate some of the principles used in the INLP program into building effective and accessible Indigenous Collections in libraries.

Where are the children in children’s collections? An exploration of ethical principles and practical concerns surrounding children’s participation in collection development.

Aggleton, J. (2018). Where are the children in children’s collections? An exploration of ethical principles and practical concerns surrounding children’s participation in collection development. New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship, 24(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614541.2018.1429122

Hi Everyone, 

This article was incredibly thought provoking as it discusses the idea of involving children in the development of children collections within school, public, academic libraries and archives. The author goes on to state that they are not looking to give complete authority to children on what to select, but instead would like for them to be more involved in the selection process. The example given is how a library in Cambridgeshire buys a small amount of children’s books that kids read and provide a review for. Based on this review, they choose whether to add the book to the collection or discard it. The reason why the author believes that it is important for children to have a say in these collections is because these books impact children's culture and their growth. It is believed that if only adults select books, some of the decisions in the selection process can derive from biases or trying to push their own beliefs onto kids. Therefore, if adults and children work together in the selection process, the librarian can add books that children will enjoy and will also positively impact them. 

One thing that I found very interesting was that the author encourages the idea of children and librarians working in unison within school, public libraries, and archives. The only place where they don’t fully encourage this is within academic libraries, the argument being that, within these spaces, children’s literature is mostly targeted to the students and adults within the institution and not directly impacting kids. Instead, it is mostly being utilized for assignments and analysis. Overall, an engaging read that discusses the freedom for kids to choose what they want to read within libraries.

-Scarlet Prieto-Hernandez

The Importance of Diversity in Library Programs and Material Collections for Children

Zubkov, Angelina

Hughes-Hassell, S. (2017, December 20). The importance of diversity in library programs and material collections for children. Equitable Inclusive Libraries for Youth. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://inclusivelibraries.web.unc.edu/2017/12/the-importance-of-diversity-in-library-programs-and-material-collections-for-children/

From this article, I learned that one place where children can interact with stories on a regular basis is the library. Through its materials, collections, and programs, the library introduces children to many stories, starting at a very young age. This paper emphasizes the importance of developing print and digital library collections that reflect cultural diversity, and details how librarians can promote cultural understanding through library programs that embody the diversity of their communities and the large world. After reading this paper, I learned that stories reflecting diversity should be routinely included in library programs throughout the year and represented in print and digital material collections and displays. 

I found this article to be important and interesting since it addressed access to a diverse collection from an early age. Early education that promotes cultural understanding can influence the foundational outlook of an entire generation and change the course of how society approaches diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Canada's Bill C-11 and its impact on Canadian content creators (including libraries as content creators), and Audience

 REFERENCE:

Gonez, B. (June 6, 2022). Canada’s Bill C-11: What it could mean for creators and discoverability on YouTube [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKEGnAo4Eqg

 

This Youtube presentation originally published by Canadian journalist Brandon Gonez outlines a new legislative bill in the process of being officially made law in Canada. 

 The bill is being titled The Online Streaming Act or BILL C-11, and has the potential to affect the level of control content creators have and how audiences in Canada will be able to interact with content (Gonez, 2022). The passing of this bill can also mean that the CRTC will have the authority to exert control and influence over content and recommendations to push Canadian content onto Canadian based viewers, therefore limiting their ability to discover global content, and restrict global audience reach for content creators (Gonez, 2022). 

In an interview with Todd Beaupre, the director of product at Youtube, he stated that recommendations on YouTube play a crucial role in audience reach, discoverability of new content and how creators are able to monetize using the platform (Gonez, 2022). he even uses a library as an analogy to say that YouTube functions as a librarian and gatekeeper, assisting viewers in finding content and creators they want to watch and like while remaining largely impartial (Gonez, 2022). If this bill now becomes officially a law, that dynamic will all change, creating a bias in how the platform is meant to function (Gonez, 2022). 

For a moment, if we consider how libraries actually use digital platforms, we could imagine a similar scenario. In recent years due to COVID, libraries have made use of the platform to generate informative video content for programming, branding, and as a news outlet for patrons. If this bill does become law, it could mean patrons will have less control over access to library content from around the world. Yes, supporting Canadian libraries is a good thing, but both patrons, students and libraries should not have a regulator from Youtube via  the CRTC influencing how they search for content or creating a bias for content viewable on the platform, making it harder to search. Content will end up being mismatched with audiences, and affecting the level of interests and likes etc. that can play a big role in supporting creators. We all know that at a library, the last thing a librarian wants is to misdirect a patron to content that is not right for them based on their needs and wants. 

The same scenario can also be applied in theory to digital collections at a library. if a library wanted to create a digital YouTube collection of videos that include content from other countries, the same issues will arise. 

Ultimately these scenarios are created  ONLY IN THEORY, but the impact of this bill is quite real. 

 

 

 

Teacher Librarian Advocacy

   In this blog post, I am sharing a website that I created for teacher librarian advocacy. In this website I discuss in depth the necessity, and importance of teacher librarians as well as how to advocate for them in your school district. I discuss the dangers of eliminating credentialed librarians from schools, and how it will eventually affect all libraries in the future. 

Teacher Librarian Advocacy Website

-Annika De La Rosa INFO 266 (Fall '22)

Creating and Establishing a Virtual Library

Since the pandemic locked down the world, many places including libraries had to get creative to provide services for customers and patrons or risk going-out-of-business. Some libraries in order to meet the needs of their patrons began creating virtual libraries using second life or other platforms where patrons could meet in a virtual space. Some created rooms for virtual books clubs or other activities. A patron could roam around the virtual library space and check out resource, listen to music, and interact with others. An example of a virtual library that was created is Community Virtual Library. This video provides information about the Community Virtual Library and establishing your own virtual library: 

                             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUyaUlIKAOk

 

References:

Hill, V. (2022, March 29). Virtual Reality Leading the Way: Librarians in the metaverse support critical thinking andmetaliterary. In Library2.0 Worldwide Mini Conference. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUyaUlIKAOk

Check Out "Challenges and Accomplishments in U.S. Prison Libraries"

Sabrina Rondero

 Lehmann, V. (2011). Challenges and accomplishments in U.S. prison libraries. Library Trends, 59(3), 490–508. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2011.0001 

Introduction.: EBSCOhost (sjlibrary.org) 

This article explores the library services that are made available in prisons in the United States and the evolving role of prison libraries in the last two centuries. The article highlights the challenges that arise in developing and providing library services in a prison environment by reviewing successful library services and projects that have been implemented in the past. Also covered in the article are collection development policies, law library services, resource management and other topics that are crucial to many other library settings.  

The American Library Association has written handbooks and journals attempting to define standards in prison library work. The journal emphasizes the main point, which is that at the root of any library work it is essential for librarians to understand the communities they serve and to strategize their resources in order to fulfill their patron's information needs.  

Review: Librarians to the Defense: Groups form to fight a conservative-led attack on libraries' efforts to promote social justice

Bader, E.J. (2021, October 19). Librarians to the defense: Groups form to fight a conservative-led attack on libraries' efforts to promote social justice. The Progressive Magazine. https://progressive.org/magazine/librarians-to-the-defense-bader/ 

This mentions many great programs that libraries around the country are conducting that promote inclusivity and awareness. One such program was a Holocaust book discussion group run by librarian Jeannie Ferriss for the Whitehall Community Library. Ferriss stated she mentioned the Holocaust to a group of young adults, and they had not heard of it before. Like me, upon hearing this news, Ferriss was very surprised, and that's when the idea of a Holocaust book discussion group began. The program is for 14–17-year-old teens and invites adults to join. It not only involves book discussion, but also offers visits to a Holocaust Memorial Museum, lectures by rabbis, and "discussion with both a Holocaust survivor and a former soldier who helped liberate the concentration camps".

There are numerous other initiatives across public libraries that seek to “protect against the distortion of history” by archiving pamphlets, leaflets, posters, prints, and other historical artifacts. 

However, the article also points out the pushback against these initiatives. Specifically, they point out what happened at the Niles-Maine District Library in Niles, Illinois. Right wing groups were able to win most seats on the library’s board and proceeded to influence library policy. They ended programs that “distributed books to the homebound and people who live in nursing homes; [cut] the overnight cleaning crew; [reduced] the adult services budget by $150,000; and [slashed] the number of [open] hours”. 

They did this because they believed that libraries should be run like businesses, aimed at saving taxpayer funds, and not as community enrichment organizations. They also won the conservative majority because only 8.4 percent of eligible voters participated in the election. 

It is important for organizations that support library programming aimed at inclusiveness and diversity, to be active at library board meetings, and in the community when there are important elections for board seats or library funding initiatives. The article mentions a referendum to fund renovations for a library in Plainfield, Illinois. Right wing organizations rebranded the referendum as a “property tax and paid for robo-calls to urge people to vote ‘no’.” The message was to vote no on taxes, not to vote yes on libraries. It is all about what message the community hears. There is support for libraries, but community members must be active to counter the message of right-wing organizations.

On Children's Media Literacy

 Watkins, Rachel

Buckingham, D., Banaji, S., Burn, A., Carr, D., Cranmer, S., & Willett, R. (2004). The media literacy of children and young people: A review of the research literature on behalf of Ofcom. Office of Communications. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10000145/1/Buckinghammedialiteracy.pdf

 

This is a review of the literature about media literacy of children. It discusses the aspect of media literacy: access, understand, and create. It also discusses barriers to children learning media literacy as well as things that enable them to learn media literacy.

 

 I thought this article was very intriguing. I think the subject matter is important and I feel like the authors did a good job evaluating the literature and presenting information in a format that made sense.

Book Challenges: Classrooms, Parents, Court

 Pearsey, Eliza

Read the Room | On the Media | WNYC Studios. (2022). WNYC Studios. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-read-the-room

This podcast from WNYC (an NPR affiliate) focuses on how books get challenged and removed from classrooms and libraries, what rights parents have, and the 1982 Supreme Court case that ruled that school boards can’t remove books based on their disagreement of the ideas in them. 

This is a timely and helpful article in 2022. One important point is that when some items are challenged, we as librarians need to make sure we read in context. Generally, people who challenge a book haven’t read it. And because of that the context suffers. For example, in Go Ask Alice, many people point to a passage where she talks about sex, but basically she’s stating that she regrets what she’s done and hopes that one day, some one will genuinely love her. Overall, this could be a beneficial text for students. It's important that context and connotation are taken into account when challenging a book. 

Censorship Basics: Check out this Accessible Handbook!!

 McCord, Maria

National Coalition Against Censorship. (2020). Responding to Book Challenges: A Handbook for Educators. 1-18. https://ncac.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NCAC-Educator-Handbook-Final-Web-PDF-11.17.2020.pdf

Compiled by NCTE and NCAC, this user-friendly handbook provides the basics to understanding censorship within schools and school libraries. Definitions, a brief history, and rationales preventing censorship are explained simply. The reader is not only reminded that the first amendment protects all free speech and expression, a core value of public schools and school libraries, but that decisions regarding materials must follow clear selection review criteria.

Strategies for implementing book selection include: 1. check policy ahead of time 2. communicate and document intention 3. create opportunities for discussion 4. document student learning. 

Tools to handle book challenges are clearly outlined: 1.  understand school policies 2.  listen 3. document 4. contextualize the challenger’s concerns 5. offer options

Suggestions for active advocacy are outlined. A valuable appendix provides policy guidelines as well as two sample review policies. 

In our country currently with the incredible increase in banning books, this Free Expression Educators Handbook is a “must have” for every public school teacher and school librarian.

This short handbook is accessible  providing the facts in a non-threatening way while reminding us of our professional responsibility to prevent censorship of school materials. 

We, administrators,  staff, and school librarians, need to prioritize understanding school policies, so we can be aware of potential book and instructional material challenges. After reading this handbook, I am motivated to find my district’s selection policy as well as its book challenge policy. This handbook is a great reminder of the ongoing work to overcome our own biases and values in order to protect the freedom of thought, expression, and inquiry of our students. As NCAC recommends, “ The better you explain why you chose a text and how it supports curricular goals, the more supportive parents will likely be. No parent should decide what someone else's child may read.” What a worthwhile resource, especially for TL/MLIS students like myself who will not take any classes on Intellectual Freedom. 

Public libraries more popular & more digital than ever

Kristin Proctor

This article includes a ton of data about how public libraries' collections have changed. My summary focuses on the overall shift from print to digital use, but the article also includes information about the changes in costs and costs per use of digital versus print collections as well as information about the wages of public library staff toward the end. Definitely worth a read.

Rizzo, N. (2022). State of US public libraries - More popular and digital than ever. WordsRated. https://wordsrated.com/state-of-us-public-libraries/

Using data from 1992 through 2019 (i.e. right before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down many libraries for in-person visits) and a series of informative graphs and charts, Rizzo describes why some people mistakenly believe "libraries are dead" because overall visits to public libraries and checkouts of physical books have declined.

However, libraries have increased numbers of borrowers, programs, program attendance, and use of digital collections. Total checkouts (digital plus physical) have increased as libraries have shifted their collections to more ebooks, audiobooks, and digital audiobooks. In addition, more people visit the library specifically to attend the increasing number of library programs, which in turn correlates with increased circulation numbers.

Overall, the data illustrate a story that library staff and visitors are already keenly aware of: libraries are very much alive and thriving. Public libraries are clearly shifting their collections in response to the needs of their patrons. They are providing more information and collections in digital format which serves the needs of those who don't visit the library in person as often while they are also providing community connection through library programming attracting visitors to the library.