"They're So Stinkin' Popular, How Could You Say No?" Graphic Novel Collection Development and School Librarian Self-Censorship

Moeller, R. A. & Becnel, K. E. (2020) “They’re so stinkin’ popular, how could you say no?” Graphic novel collection development and school librarian self-censorship. The Library Quarterly, 90(4), 515-529. https://doi.org/10.1086/710262

Librarians often engage in self-censorship pertaining to graphic novels, primarily driven by a feeling of professional insecurity and “fear of their occupational livelihood.” Most of the challenged books are those with school-aged audiences, and several are graphic novels partly because of the captivating images, which are more visceral than words. In addition, a majority of challenged books contain LBGTQIA+ themes. 

A total of twenty elementary and middle school librarians were interviewed for this study, and the following themes emerged from the interviews.

• Librarians are discreetly establishing hidden sections within collections where students must specifically request specific titles to check them out or are labeled to indicate there is “questionable content” contained in the book.

• Some librarians use direct censorship by covering up images to make them “cleaner.”

• Librarians are more cautious in selecting graphic novels for the collection because they find it riskier. 

• Librarians are preempting challenges from the community, especially in more conservative districts. They often rely on other librarians’ advice and experience with a title and warnings from vendors. Unfortunately, few participants used professional reviews when making decisions about graphic novels. 

• Most librarians need help understanding graphic novels and initially thought books with images would be friendly for all children. 

• Some librarians recognize the importance of the freedom to read and the value of graphic novels in improving literacy. 

Librarians who encounter book challenges are significantly influenced in their purchasing choices. Graphic novels are the most circulated materials in the collections and assist struggling readers and visual learners. Therefore, they should be considered an integral component of the library’s diverse reading materials and included in its collection development. We, as librarians, must stay firm on the frontlines of censorship to provide our patrons with the broadest possible range of viewpoints and opinions. 

Parents as Social Influences Encouraging Book Reading: Research Directions for Librarians’ Literacy Advocacy

Merga, M. K., & Roni, S. M. (2018). Parents as Social Influences Encouraging Book Reading: Research Directions forLibrarians’Literacy Advocacy. Journal of Library Administration, 58(1), 674-697. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2018.1514841

School libraries can support parents by providing the most current research insights to inform their approach to supporting reading at home. This journal illuminates the relationships between reading frequency,  gender, and parental encouragement. It also mentions the important role of the library's valuable educative partnerships with families in fostering literacy. As such, this paper seeks to investigate the role of parents as influential social agents in supporting young people’s reading beyond the early years, with a particular interest in the types of encouragement provided and the relationship between children’s gender and encouragement.  It suggests that while encouragement is being focused on the children who need it, infrequent readers, the gender disparity in favor of greater encouragement for girls, who read more frequently in general, is a serious issue worth further exploration and an important point for educative intervention by librarians and other literacy advocates. Librarians can use this research to support parent–child reading initiatives that extend beyond the early years of parents as Social Influences Encouraging Book Reading693of reading skill acquisition and support parents to highly encourage their children.

Informational Texts and our Littlest Library Patrons

Correia, M. P. (2011). Fiction vs informational texts: Which will kindergartners choose? Young Children, 66(6), 100-104.

In this article, Correia makes a strong case for the inclusion of non-fiction materials in primary classroom libraries. We often tend to stock shelves intended for nonreading and emerging reader students with beautifully illustrated fiction picture books. However, access to non-fiction materials is crucial for the development of literacy skills. According to the literature review, early access to informational texts, including books, magazines, and any other print sources, is proven to expand young readers' vocabularies and background subject knowledge. This was a study which sought to determine whether kindergarteners actually preferred fiction over nonfiction. The author found that despite many, including her own, assertions to the contrary, when given good quality options for both, students actually preferred the nonfiction informational genre.

Not Your Mom's Graphic Novels: A 10-year-old Article Still Worth the Read

Article: Jorgensen, A & Lechan, A. (2013). Not your mom’s graphic novels: Giving girls a choice beyond Wonder Woman. Technical Services Quarterly, 30 (3), 266-284. https://doi.org.10.1080/07317131.2013.785779

Summary: School librarians Arianna Lechan and Anna Jorgensen, take readers through the history of comic books and into the current day of graphic novel popularity, while looking through a feminist lens. They "provide criteria for vetting the new female protagonist...positive role models who appeal to all audiences" in order to assist librarians in evaluating and building relevant graphic novel collections (Jorgensen & Lechan, 2013). 

Evaluation: This well-written, peer-reviewed article begins with an evaluation and highlight of comics through the decades:

• 1930s: Tarzan, Dick Tracy and Superman; the portrayal of "the ace girl reporter,"
• 1940s: DCs Wonder Woman, Marvel's Black Cat are created
• popularity of "career girl" comics (Tessie the Typist, Nellie the Nurse, Millie the Model) mock women in the workplace.
• The Archie comics with Betty and Veronica lead to the rise of teen comics as a genre.
• 1950s: "Romantic comics" are created a popularized 
• The "Comics Magazine Association of America" is formed and establishes rules and standards for portrayals of violence, profanity, and nudity in comics. Most comics with "gripping action or horror" are 'gone' by the end of the decade.
• 1960s: Social change with sexual liberation and women's liberation, but comics feature women who have "little opportunity to be a hero."
• 1970s: First all-women's comic It Ain't Me Babe: Women's Liberation depicting real-life issues of women (such as depression and single parenthood); first autobiographical (and lesbian) comic published by Alice Kominsky.
• 1980s: Messaging that women can have both careers and families; Comic book creators seem out of touch with readers, creating romance comics that ultimately fail.
• 1990s: Majority of comics created with an emphasis on the sexual characteristics of women, with "balloon-sized breasts and thighs wider than their waists, posed in anatomically impossible positions" (2013). Female characters are often used as plot devices involving rape, violence, or the murder of a loved one.
• 2000s: The last decade studied in this paper, seen as a "hopeful time" for female authors and illustrators in the comic book industry, although comics are still produced portraying women as sexual prizes. Female writers, such as Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) and Fiona Staples (Saga) are among several women successful in the industry.

    Collection Management: Jorgensen and Lechan believe that historical analysis of female representation in comics is important in building a strong, equitable, diverse graphic novel collection in the library. The last half of the article discusses guidelines for choosing graphic novel titles with consideration to the characteristics of a strong female character, character portrayal, storylines and artwork, with several examples and sources given for each point. Although the article was written in 2013, the suggestions given are relevant and helpful today.

 

Ensuring a diverse collection: promoting equity of access and free expression

Howe, Jackie

ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee. (2020, June 20). Ensuring a diverse collection: promoting equity of access and free expression. https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2020/06/ensuring-a-diverse-collection-promoting-equity-of-access-and-free-expression/ 

Summary & Opinion: 

This article notes the importance of having a diverse children's collection, and the value for all children to see themselves represented in literature. The article noted one example, that the children's library at the University of Wisconsin saw a 34% increase in books published by diverse authors, but only 15% of children's books in the collection were by diverse authors. One of my critiques of this article is that it does not outline or clearly define what a "diverse" author is. While it appears the authors are more specifically referring to race they do not go far enough in further breaking that down for readers, just simply stating "non-white". They wholly disregard the myriad and varied ways that individuals identity can be "diverse". 

Additionally, the second part of the article then helps readers to select a diverse collection. They included helpful links to outside resources, but on the whole did not provide concrete steps a librarian could take in ensuring that their collection is representative of the diverse life experiences children come to the library with everyday. While this article is a good starting point and conversation starter about the importance of developing diverse collections it could dig deeper. 

Why California Schools “May” Have Qualified Librarians

Jaclyn Graham

Article:
Lambert, D. (2022, April 14). Where are all of California’s school librarians? EdSource. https://edsource.org/2022/where-are-all-the-school-librarians/670164

Summary: Teacher librarians have a unique role to play in the education of today's youth. Teacher librarians “positively impact student achievement at all grade levels” (Lambert 2022). They support student learning and foster curiosity. They teach information literacy, digital safety, research skills and providing quality reading materials that connect to classroom content and cater to student interest.  

But still, California schools “may appoint a librarian or librarians to staff the libraries provided they qualify as librarians.” (California Legislative Information, 1990). California schools have the option to hire and pay a qualified skilled teacher librarian or hire and pay a paraprofessional at a fraction of the cost. Because of this non obligatory California students are missing out. And with some of the lowest adult literacy rates in the country, it shows.

The wording in this section of the California Ed Code allows school districts more flexibility with staffing, and contributes to an unstable job market for potential teacher librarians. When budgets are robust teacher librarians are hired, but when funding dries up teacher librarian jobs are easily cut. Credentialed teacher librarians are pushed into classroom teaching or searching for positions elsewhere. Those aware of the optional role of teacher librarian in California schools may see committing time and money towards the extra credential as an unwise investment. This contributes to a low supply of new teacher librarians in the state.

Opinion and Evaluation: I write this as a high school library paraprofessional, afraid to lose their school's teacher librarian. Afraid that the students we now serve will lose the welcoming library that supports their curiosity and growth. Afraid that future students might be pushed into the world unprepared for the glut of information and misinformation. We write letters to our senators and assembly people, we show up to board meetings and every March we cross our fingers, hoping we won’t see any pink slips. This article offers an overview of the problem, but we really do need a solution.

California Legislative Information. (1990). CA Education Code § 18120. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=18120.#:~:text=18120