[CALIBK12] Collection Development and GN After School Nightmare

[ladewig]

Connie,

 

You bring up several important issues. I think a class led by a professional
(maybe someone from your nearest college with a library training program?)
for your library staff with a discussion period following would be
beneficial - why wait for CSLA? - your paras might not even attend the
conference. I know I gained a better (and broader) perspective from my
classes at a local college while getting my Library Tech certificate, and
from being a member of ALA. You might even consider having board members
and/or members of the English dept. participate, and invite the principal to
attend. After all, a potential book challenge in the future might ultimately
involve them all anyway. 

 

Obviously the techs should not be dictating to you, but not only do they
have varied opinions but they probably reflect the varying views of your
local community. You are smart to at least listen to their concerns and get
their input, and keep them "on board" while retaining the final say.  When
even your students are telling you specific things are not appropriate,
please listen and at least consider their opinions (obviously you are, since
you mentioned it). Perhaps you might also sponsor a session for student
representatives to talk about these issues after having a good speaker
discuss it, along with your district policy and library mission statement. I
think it's important for students and staff to understand why having
"controversial" materials available is important to society. And that
there's A LOT of debate and diverse difference of opinion on this issue,
especially when it comes to providing materials for students under 18. On
our on listserve we have well-respected professionals who argue for "In loco
Parentis" (hope I spelled that phrase right!) who support limitations on
what should be available, just as a parent might, and others who argue for
no such restrictions (at least at the high school level, but often lower).
Then those poor souls in charge at schools that go from 6th through 12th
grades, or even K - 12th are really in an awkward spot figuring out how to
handle such issues.

 

BTW, Thomas Kaun, I appreciated your post which went up as I was writing
mine. 

 

Joanne Ladewig  (A.K.A. "Library Lady")

Library Media Tech

Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD

Garden Grove, California

shatz at verizon.net

 

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD

 

  _____  

From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of ode2living at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:04 PM
To: calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
Subject: [CALIBK12] Collection Development and GN After School Nightmare

 

Hello. I was wondering how many of you carry the series, After School
Nightmare, or are familiar with the series. I ordered the series, but
Follett delivered just one volume because the others were out of stock. One
of my technicians was disturbed by the fact it is about a hermaphrodite and
that on one page, there is a sex scene (bare shoulders in bed with no
breasts showing). We also have a couple of students who are manga "gurus";
they've read tons of GN and recommend a lot of titles to me. Anyway, these
girls told my tech that this series is NOT appropriate for high school and
that one volume (or more?) has a scene that contains "full nudity." Does
anyone know? My tech also said that in the MARC record Follett has the
series identified as "adult," which is true. However, the publisher has the
series classified as "OT: Older Teens 16+," and it was named a Top 10
Graphic Novel series for teens by CSLA. 

 

So, this experience has me really thinking about:

1. Should I carry this in my HS collection? If so, how do I address the 16+
recommendation (if at all)?

2. a. How do you address the issue when one of your techs disagrees with
your collection development decisions? Obviously, it's ultimately the TL's
decision, and we've been trained to deem what's appropriate. However, I
don't want to exclude my techs and would rather get them "on board" with
what we have in our collection, especially when they, too, recommend these
books to our students just as much as I do. 

b. I also once had a different tech upset that I had purchased a novel that,
in her opinion, had too many vulgar words. Of course, she hadn't read the
book or the reviews. She is very conservative. I imagine many of us are
questioned about our purchases by our staff. When this happens, how do you
address it? Also, is this important enough for CSLA to address? Would
paraprofessionals benefit from having a CSLA conference session on
censorship and collection development, particularly those paraprofessionals
who are in charge of collection development and don't have the benefit of a
TL?

 

If you've made it this far, thank you! This post is really two-fold. TIA for
any input. 

 

Connie Joyce

Teacher Librarian

Rancho Cucamonga High School

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

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