In late June, I had the opportunity to attend the online American Library Association National Conference. Here are some slides that were shared highlighting ways to support intellectual freedom, diverse collection development and equity issues in our libraries.
Publishing, Marketing and Collections
Full citation: Huyck, David and Sarah Park Dahlen. (2019 June 19). Diversity in Children’s Books 2018. sarahpark.com blog. Created in consultation with Edith Campbell, Molly Beth Griffin, K. T. Horning, Debbie Reese, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, and Madeline Tyner, with statistics compiled by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/liter.... Retrieved from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/20....
We, the gatekeepers, the ones who believe we have the knowledge, the expertise, and the skills, who insist on labeling books by and for certain age groups, who continue to speak about protecting teenagers — we’re the ones who are broken. We fail to understand teenagers are wildly individual, uniquely intelligent, and perfectly capable of reading, understanding context, and relating their own experiences to those in the story. Anyone who has worked with teens knows they’ll give up on a book if they don’t like it or, in their parlance, it isn’t “relatable.” Teens are expert bullshit detectors. They aren’t reading a YA book because it’s intended for readers who are their age. They’re reading it because it’s relatable to them in some capacity, even if it’s an experience or world they never, nor ever will, be a part of.
Young Adult Librarian
New York Public Library
Crystal Chen (she/her/hers) is the Young Adult Librarian at the Woodstock branch of The New York Public Library. She earned a BA in fine arts from Amherst College, a MFA in printmaking from SUNY New Paltz, and a MSLIS from Pratt Institute. She is interested in the intersection of art, activism, and social justice and how libraries can create inclusive, responsive programming for youth communities.
Presentation(s): Problematic Titles and You: Inclusive Collections, Hot Topics, and Intellectual Freedom (IFRT Chair's Program) Saturday, June 26, 2021 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM CT
Publishing, Marketing and Collections
Full citation: Huyck, David and Sarah Park Dahlen. (2019 June 19). Diversity in Children’s Books 2018. sarahpark.com blog. Created in consultation with Edith Campbell, Molly Beth Griffin, K. T. Horning, Debbie Reese, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, and Madeline Tyner, with statistics compiled by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/liter.... Retrieved from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/20....
Companion Article
White Gatekeeping in YA Harms Teen Readers
We, the gatekeepers, the ones who believe we have the knowledge, the expertise, and the skills, who insist on labeling books by and for certain age groups, who continue to speak about protecting teenagers — we’re the ones who are broken. We fail to understand teenagers are wildly individual, uniquely intelligent, and perfectly capable of reading, understanding context, and relating their own experiences to those in the story.
Anyone who has worked with teens knows they’ll give up on a book if they don’t like it or, in their parlance, it isn’t “relatable.” Teens are expert bullshit detectors. They aren’t reading a YA book because it’s intended for readers who are their age. They’re reading it because it’s relatable to them in some capacity, even if it’s an experience or world they never, nor ever will, be a part of.
Young Adult Librarian
New York Public Library
Crystal Chen (she/her/hers) is the Young Adult Librarian at the Woodstock branch of The New York Public Library. She earned a BA in fine arts from Amherst College, a MFA in printmaking from SUNY New Paltz, and a MSLIS from Pratt Institute. She is interested in the intersection of art, activism, and social justice and how libraries can create inclusive, responsive programming for youth communities.
Presentation(s):
Problematic Titles and You: Inclusive Collections, Hot Topics, and Intellectual Freedom (IFRT Chair's Program)
Saturday, June 26, 2021
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM CT