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Hello Chris I would not weed this out of my collection. Paul Laurence Dunbar is noted in African American literature. It is probably out of print. He is probably in World Book. If you would still like to get rid of it, please let me know. I will take it off your hands.The dialect originates from the slaves. Some of this dialect is also found in Huckleberry Finn. Might be great for your multicultural day. Patricia Copelin, LMS Evans Middle School 5600 E. Capt. St., NE Washington, DC 20019 Email: pcopelin@capaccess.org or n2books@erols.com On Mon, 13 Oct 1997, Chris Turner wrote: > Georgia Richards wrote: > > I am the new media specialist in a K-5 and haven't yet fully explored the > > collection. One of the faculty has handed me a book of poetry from our > > collection with the suggestion that I weed it out. I have not heard of > > this poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. Every poem in it is written in what I can > > only describe as "dialect" which is extreme enough that most of our > > students would have difficulty deciphering it. My question is should I weed > > it out because > > 1. I really don't like things written in "dialect". > > 2. I doubt most of our students can read it. > > 3. It has been checked out 4 times since 1981, and that was to teachers not > > students. > > > > Or do I keep it because > > 1. It was written by a very remarkable young man, the son of a former > > slave. It was first published in 1895 though this is the 1968 edition. > > 2. According to the jacket "blurb" it is written "in this fine Negro poet's > > own soft dialect". > > 3. I really like his imagery and wish the poems were easier to read. If it > > was written in something closer to standard English I would keep it for at > > least another year and encourage the teachers and students to use it. > > Georgia, > You may have already received similar advice, but since you solicited > information, I thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth. > > I wouldn't discard the title based on a faculty member's recommendation; > you're the librarian, it's your library education, training, and > experience, it's your collection. As a new librarian, stake your claim > on your collection and don't get pushed around as the new person. > Remember, _Huckleberry Finn_ is also partially written in dialect, and > we all have that book in our libraries. Additionally, you shouldn't base > your discard options on your personal opinions or preferences; that > would open a whole can of worms regarding books on politics, abortion, > sex education, or HIV and AIDS in everybody's libraries. Rather, > weeding, or deselection, should be determined by what titles support > your school's current curriculum, what the book's physical condition is, > whether the nonfiction book has an index (one of my personal crusades), > whether the book is still popular and being used, whether is exists on > lists of books that each library must have, etc. All of the reasons we > learned back in library school. > > Finally, we should all have aspirations that our students can > potentially glean some meaning or level of understanding from a book in > our library. Some books may, indeed, be above some student's cognitive > level, but it may be perfect for others. I would argue that if we don't > challenge student's reading levels, they're reading skills and even > their minds don't advance as quickly. > > This is a thorny issue, and I look forward to more dialog on LM_NET, > Chris > -- > Chris Turner, Librarian (mailto:turner@scnc.glps.k12.mi.us) > Assistant Varsity Wrestling Coach > (http://scnc.glps.k12.mi.us/hs-sports/wrestling/home.htm) > Grand Ledge High School/225 W Kent St/Grand Ledge MI 48837 > 517-627-3354/517-627-1763 (Fax) > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > To quit LM_NET (or set NOMAIL or DIGEST), Send an email message to > listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER > 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST > For more help see LM_NET On The Web: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To quit LM_NET (or set NOMAIL or DIGEST), Send an email message to listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST For more help see LM_NET On The Web: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=