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I appreciate Dr. Cuseo's comments and book selection procedures would make an excellent thread for this list. It is one of those things that should be rehashed every once in a while. For my part, it would be impossible to read every title I buy. When I started here, 8 years ago, this was a typical California school library. The average book was 28 years old and most were a health hazard due to dust and mold. I had the good fortune to have a principal who saw the library as a key to increasing literacy (imagine that!) and who put his money where his mouth is. We have spent over $200,000 since then on library books and we are about half way to having a model library (at least for California, our average pub date now is 1987). That is a lot of books in a relatively short time. This year, a relatively lean one for this school, I have already purchased almost 200 new fiction titles. With all of the hats I wear around here I am lucky to have the time to read the reviews. Add a family with two small children and my need to occasionally read adult books and, on rare occasions, sleep there is just no time. The need to take advantage of available funding-- which in California is a rare thing, to undo 20 years of criminal neglect of school libraries trumps the need to know in detail each volume in my library. The book in question was bought by me after reading several glowing reviews, including a Booklist starred review. I try to rely on multiple reviews when ever possible. Thanks to tools like Titlewave from Follett that is much easier. Of course it is not perfect and some questionable books will get through. But we do have a reconsideration policy in place and it is being followed. I am about 2/3 through with _Life is Funny_ and I have mixed feelings about it. Parts of it are excellent but it is the harshest, most graphic teen novel I have ever read. I am not sure I would have purchased it if I had read it first but I will wait until I finish it before making a final judgment. It has circulated here 16 times in the last three years and the students I have talked to don't see the big deal; to them it is just very realistic. Many of our students suffer through the same problems as the novel's protagonists and they use the same harsh vocabulary when they talk to each other. If you have the book in your collection I would read it. I am sure a lot of librarians would be shocked by it. Personally, I would not put it in a jr. high or a parochial school library. For some high schools, though it may be appropriate. ---- Tony Doyle, Librarian Livingston High School, Livingston, CA tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us <Http://www.lhs.muhsd.k12.ca.us/library/index.htm> "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."-- Ray Bradbury Dr. Allan O'Grady Cuseo wrote: > I am not taking a stand on this title - as I have not read it.... I > wish the district well which is involved in the controversy. I don't > particularly enjoy Frank as an author anyway. I do notice that > several middle and high schools in my area do own it. I have > advocated (and been highly criticized for such) for the past 40 yrs > that I will put no fiction on the shelf until I had read it and I > have evaluated it. Non fiction I scan - content and index - but > fiction I read cover to cover. Even as a reviewer I have always > cautioned - do not rely on reviews - "it is only one person's > opinion" - not the truth to end all truths. I believe that philosophy > holds for anything- reviews in professional periodicals, ALA lists, > etc. > > Sorry for spouting my philosophy I felt like getting on my soapbox > this snowy Friday afternoon. > > Allan > > Dr. Allan O'Grady Cuseo (Brother Donogh Allan, MGC) Bishop Kearney > High School Library 125 Kings Highway South Rochester, New York 14617 -------------------------------------------------------------------- All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/ LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------