Thank you, Peter, for allowing us to keep the thread going (at least long enough
for me to get my two-cents in;).
Regarding Gina Bierne's post, I followed the link to her hometown newspaper's site
and read the article that Gina pointed out. It hit a nerve and I have to respond.
Here is a link to the article, so you all can get the content. Below is my
response.
http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/COLUMNIST06/702260316/1056
<http://webmail.monroeps.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/COLUMNIST06/702260316/1056>
<http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/COLUMNIST06/702260316/1056
<http://webmail.monroeps.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/COLUMNIST06/702260316/1056>
>
Dear Ms. Costello,
I expect that you will receive many responses to your column in the online edition
of the Star-Gazette. I respectfully add my voice to the cacophony.
It's easy to bandy about terms such as "scores of librarians," and "banned....from
numerous libraries across the country, " and "most libraries and bookstores
automatically order at least two copies of each year's Newbery Medal-winning
children's books (emphasis mine)." But these statements are nebulous at best and
irresponsible journalism at worst.
Who are the "scores" of librarians? Have you talked to multiples of twenty
librarians who will be banning The Higher Power of Lucky from their libraries? Have
you found hard evidence that "numerous libraries across the country" are "banning"
this book? Or have you become caught up in the hyperbole that first appeared in a
New York Times article that extrapolated exaggerated figures from a small
discussion on a professional school librarians' mailing list (LM_NET), and which
now threatens to give lie to the very real respect that librarians have for
intellectual freedom and the right of children to read whatever they and their
parents feel is appropriate?
Before the exaggerations, stereotypes, hyperbolic accusations, and outraged
protests run away with us, let me tell you what a real librarian thinks. I am a
middle school Library Media Specialist. I serve a school of seventh and eighth
grade students in suburban Fairfield County, Connecticut. I have a limited book
budget. I try very hard to take many things into consideration when selecting
fiction books for my students. Perhaps the first criteria I look at is interest
level. Will this book be read by students in my school, or will it languish on the
shelves for lack of interest? I want to choose books, first and foremost, that my
kids will READ. I check reviews in respected professional journals such as School
Library Journal, Voya, Horn Book, among others. I choose books that are at the
appropriate reading level for my students, which means that I purchase some books
that are on the lower middle-school level (where Higher Power of Lucky seems to
fall), and some that are written for the mid-high school level.
I do take into consideration whether a book is an "award winner", but I DON'T
automatically purchase "at least two copies of each year's Newbery Award winning
book." I don't know any librarians who do so. We select. We discriminate. We weigh
our options. We consider our budgets and our patrons' needs and desires. We buy
some books that are popular but might not be considered great literature by the
arbiters of literary taste. We also purchase some books that are wonderfully
written and will withstand the test of time (modern classics, if you will). I am
not intimidated by anatomical terms in fiction books. I do not shy away from books
with controversial themes, such as family dysfunction, alcoholism, gambling, or
drug abuse, which are prominent in Higher Power.... I've been known to select books
for my library that have some pretty raw language, much edgier than that found in
this year's Newbery winner. I make my collection development decisions on a variety
of criteria, but I will not automatically order a book because it carries a gold
sticker on its cover.
Ms. Costello, I don't know how many librarians you've spoken to lately. I don't
know if you hold the stereotype of the bun-wearing, sensibly-shod, shuusher of
lore. I don't want to fight the stereotype. I'm tired of having to defend my
profession from those who believe our members are uptight bluenoses. But your
column today shows a lack of research, specificity, and knowledge of today's
librarians. We are all about access to information and literacy materials. We
defend our patrons' right to find, evaluate and use information responsibly. We
respect the privacy rights of our patrons. And if our book budgets and shelf space
would allow, we'd order ten times as many books as we do.
I still don't know if The Higher Power of Lucky will end up on the shelves of my
library. I have yet to read the book. And my students seem to be more interested in
dragons, knights, vampires, and fantasy than social issues and empowerment of
ten-year-old orphans. I will wait to see what the budget allows and what the buzz
for books is in my school. I suspect that "scores of librarians" in "numerous
libraries" throughout the country will do the same. I take the word of the
venerable New York Times and the mainstream press with a grain of salt these days
because it seems to me that they are all too willing to accept and perpetuate the
myth that librarians "ban" books for capricious reasons. I suggest you check your
facts. If you find that "scores" of librarians are "banning" The Higher Power of
Lucky from "numerous" libraries, please let us know. And back it up with solid
figures. We librarians like our information to be verified, concise, unbiased, and
responsibly presented.
Respectfully yours,
Jan Birney, "Media Diva" of Jockey Hollow Middle School, Monroe, Connecticut
I feel much better now.
Jan Birney, Library Media Specialist
Jockey Hollow Middle School
365 Fan Hill Rd
Monroe, CT 06468
203-452-2281
jbirney@monroeps.org
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