[CALIBK12] building a diverse collection

Mon May 18 16:17:12 PDT 2009

I went through this years ago with my teachers. My teachers wanted books in
English only - a little different than the multi-cultural debate, but the
thinking was English would enhance their learning in this country. (Most of
our students are fluent in English whether or not it is their first, second
third, or fourth language.)
 The available literature will not necessarily be there to reflect the
school community, and your community will change year after year.  Isn't
this part of the "who tells the story" debate that came up with
properly-reflecting-Native American-culture?  Some of the most carefully
approved "different culture" literature will offend a member of that
culture. Communities are rarely united in how they want to be portrayed, and
we hear the objections more often than the praises.  Should we try to have a
variety on our shelves?  Yes.
I use a suggestion box and my biggest request for a "culturally" different
book is manga - and that comes from all the cultures at this school.
Interesting don't you think?

What makes a book culturally diverse?  At our school, it is a culture
different than your own. ( and they call them diversity culture books and
they can be fiction books or true stories, but they are stories) You read
the book and then investigate the culture as a research paper.

My favorite thing at this school is walking across the campus at lunch time
and seeing the huge circle where students are sharing their native cuisine
with other students who are sharing their unique cuisine. (this is probably
illegal)  To me, this interest, this caring, this sharing is what really
counts.  If the world could be as gracious - sigh

Vicki Headley (Media Specialist)
Kennedy Middle School
821 Bubb Rd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.253.1525 ex: 150

"And he reads to them, as he does every night, as if watering them, as if
turning earth at their feet."   JAMES SALTER

On 5/18/09 2:08 PM, "Doyle_Tony" <tdoyle at muhsd.k12.ca.us> wrote:

> Just to stir the pot a little...
> 
> What constitutes a multicultural book?  Is a series of country books serving
> the needs of minority students?  Is a book written by a white author about
> non-white characters a multicultural book?  Is _Whale Talk_ by Chris Crutcher
> a multicultural novel?  What about Taylor's _The Cay_?  What about _Indian in
> the Cupboard_?  Does Graham Salisbury accurately portray the Japanese
> experience in Hawaii?  What if the Japanese-American community is not united
> in its opinion of his works?  Who gets to determine if a book is culturally
> accurate/sensitive?  Is it the loudest voice, the biggest group, the one with
> the most famous spokesman?  Can a hetero author write Gay Literature?  Can a
> male write Feminist Literature?  Hmmm...
> 
> And how do you know if your collection is diverse enough?  Should my
> collection be 78% Hispanic literature and 11% Punjabi so that it reflects my
> student body?  Should you tweak your collection development standards for
> hard-to-find books (e.g. Middle Eastern, Indian, etc.) so that you have some
> representation?  Does having books by Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban
> authors serve my Mexican-American students' needs?  Do "Chicano" and
> "Mexican-American" mean the exact same thing?  Or are they completely
> different?  Or do they overlap?  How do I know if a novel is 1 or both of
> those?
> 
> I am not asking for personal guidance.  Hard to believe but I already have
> strong opinions on these issues.  I would like to see more discussion on the
> list on this topic.
> 
> Tony
> 
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------
> Anthony Doyle, Teacher Librarian
> Livingston High School
> Livingston, CA
> tdoyle at muhsd.k12.ca.us<mailto:tdoyle at muhsd.k12.ca.us>
> 
> What am I reading now? http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/whats-he-reading-now/
> 
> "When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can
> only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself."
> (Isaac Asimov, from his autobiography I Asimov)
> 
> The contents of this message are private and are intended for the recipients
> named in the To and CC fields.  You may not forward this message without the
> expressed permission of the author.  The contents of this message are the work
> of the author and do not represent the opinions or policies of the Merced
> Union High School District or Livingston High School.
> ________________________________
> From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu [calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On
> Behalf Of Lisa Gonzalez [lgonzalez at vcs.net]
> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:03 PM
> To: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
> Subject: [CALIBK12] building a diverse collection
> 
> Our school just finished our WASC accreditation process and one of our major
> recommendations was for the library to improve our collection in terms of its
> diversity and multi-cultural materials.  My administration is asking me to
> come up with specific criteria such as "What percentage of our resources
> should be multicultural?" and "How many multicultural books do we need to buy
> each year?"  I looked at the CSLA standards, specifically  2.1 ("Contains
> materials representing the community's diversity...") and 3.5 ("Contains
> resources that enlarge understanding of ethnic and cultural differences"), but
> the guidelines presented are for all books, not just multicultural books.
> 
> I posed this question to Maria Petropulos, who was the chairperson for the
> CSLA Standards for School Library Media Resources.  She responded by saying
> that setting a percentage of "multicultural books" would mean I'd also have to
> give a percentage for other types of books like poetry, sci fi, etc.  She
> encouraged me to build a collection that " meets individual needs of the
> students at your school and represent all types of cultures so that students
> can learn about cultures different from their own" and to make sure to include
> resources that validate and raise the esteem of minority groups.  She also
> encouraged me to post the question on CALIBK12.
> 
> So, can anyone share with me any wisdom or point me towards other resources
> that can help me satisfy my administration's requirements for a quantitative
> criteria?  I don't necessarily agree with putting a number on how many books
> are considered "diverse" or "multicultural," but for now, I do need to provide
> my administration with some sort of rough number.
> 
> I appreciate any suggestions you can give.  Thank you in advance!
> 
> Lisa M. Gonzalez
> Library Media Specialist
> Valley Christian School
> 100 Skyway Drive
> San Jose, CA 95111
> (408) 513-2426
> lgonzalez at vcs.net<mailto:lgonzalez at vcs.net>
> http://blogs.vcs.net/library/
> 
> 
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