Featuring Social Emotional Learning in the Library

By Gwen Vanderhage, MLIS

Children’s books have always served as both entertainment and education. Whether characters are transported to a joust during King Arthur’s rule, exploring the Arctic, or experiencing the unique solutions offered by Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, there are sprinkles of history, science, and social skills throughout most stories.

Picture books for the youngest have especially focused on making friends, sharing, and gaining mastery over emotions. Over the last several years, school districts in 29 states have adopted Social Emotional Learning standards as part of their curricula. As my son’s first grade teacher said, “I’m focused on teaching kindness.” Authors and publishers are rising to demand, with more books than ever that focus on these topics.

Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, has become a buzz-term. What exactly does it include? SEL equips children to:

• Manage emotions
• Collaborate with others
• Communicate effectively
• Make responsible decisions

Librarians can support community efforts to help kids with these skills by featuring titles on emotions, growth mindset, and inclusion in displays and book lists.

As the 2021 school year opens to continued stressors caused by the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and parents will be looking for resources to help kids revive dormant social skills and deal with anxiety, grieving, and life changes. Understanding and coping with the current social upheaval in our country also falls within the SEL framework. How can libraries help? Encourage staff to face-out attractive titles that focus on diverse experiences from around the world and around the neighborhood. These include not just racial or religious diversity, but also poverty, neurodivergence, and different kinds of families.

Those of us who love and use children’s literature in our work are so fortunate that books continue to entertain and educate, no matter our circumstances.

After spending many years as a children’s librarian and collection development specialist at Denver Public Library, Gwen joined Brodart to share her passion for children’s literature with as many different libraries as possible. Click here for more.

Librarians Stare at Their Phones, Too!

By Gwen Vanderhage, MLIS

Just kidding… It’s true, though, that libraries of all kinds have gotten into the social media game, particularly during the period of COVID-19 closures.

Your library may have had a Twitter or Facebook account for years. Most public libraries have at least a small presence on these platforms for sharing information about press releases and library events. While many libraries were previously only using them for marketing, during the pandemic Facebook became one of the platforms for hosting virtual events. Storytime, genealogy presentations, summer reading program performers — these are all examples of events I attended virtually via Facebook during shut-downs. The best part for me? I was able to attend programs at libraries in other cities!

YouTube and Instagram, both so visual, have become platforms where patrons can go to find all kinds of things related to books and libraries. YouTube has a wealth of videos on any topic under the sun, including adults and kids recommending books, illustrators demonstrating their artistic process, and libraries posting about their resources. The Seattle Public Library’s YouTube channel posts author talks, job skills workshops, and general library information in many languages. The New York Public Library has created series called “Library Stories,” talking to their local patrons about the library’s impact on their lives. Wake County Public Libraries (South Carolina) update their storytime offerings on YouTube throughout the week on their “What’s Happening in Wake?” channel.

Source: Brooklyn Public Library’s Instagram Page

Instagram content from libraries really runs the gamut. Since Instagram is mainly photos, it gives libraries an opportunity to market themselves and their content in ways that are still somewhat traditional. The Free Library of Philadelphia @freelibrary account is a nice mix of promoting programming, sharing random trivia, recommending books, and issuing public announcements. Instagram is a good place to promote new library services; Salt Lake City Public Library @slcpl shared several attractive posts about their seed library this summer. Some libraries take a more playful approach and get involved in trends like #BookFaceFriday. The video capabilities on Instagram are a popular place for staff to recommend books or to post short video tours. Brooklyn Public Library @bklynlibrary has posted entire cooking programs on Instagram in their “Community Cooking” series.

Children’s authors and illustrators, in particular, really took to Instagram and its Instagram Live feature during the pandemic. Instagram is a great place to follow authors, publishers, and other librarians to keep up with new books and ideas. They often cross-promote, and you can get a real sense of what is trending.

Speaking of trends, TikTok is the hottest social media platform right now. TikTok is an app for very short video content. It is often under a minute and often uses musical overlays, not just speaking, when sharing a visual message. TikTok is really popular with teens, and you’ll find a lot of the book and library content is focused on YA books; some of the contributors with the most followers are school librarians. There are quite a few articles and posts around the web about why your public library ought to get on TikTok and how exactly to do it.

What kinds of things are libraries posting on TikTok? The very most popular is short book recommendations and even just cover shots of recommended books accompanied by music. #booktok content is so popular, it is driving book sales. Barnes and Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com) now even has a page dedicated to trending #booktok books. Many #booktok videos are live reactions to books as readers start a book they’re excited to read, cut to how they were feeling mid-book, and then finally tack on their immediate reaction at the end of the book – the more emotional, the better!

Other popular library content includes dispelling myths about libraries, showing how services work, and sharing observations about daily life in the library. A LOT of content is library comedy, silly shenanigans, and gags. Do you have a tech-savvy comedian on your staff? Put them in charge of your TikTok. The best way to get a sense of what is out there is to look at popular accounts and hashtags and see what other libraries are doing.

Kelsey Bogan, the Library Media Specialist at Great Valley High School (PA) has over 41,000 followers @gvhslibrary. She says one of her favorite parts of using #librarytiktok is reaching out to other librarians and creators and sharing ideas. According to her, TikTok is a much more genuine place than the other social media platforms and people are willing to help out. Miss B. also says not to let your age worry you; users don’t care how old you are or how you look, they just want good content. I have heard Miss B. speak a couple of times, but you can read more from her article in Schools Catalogue Information Services.

Here is a handy list of hashtags and handles to help you get a feel for #librarytiktok:

#librariansoftiktok

#tiktoklibrarian

#booktok

#blackbooktok

#diversifyyourbookshelves

@maricopalibrary

@comsewogue.library

@doverpubliclibrary

@gppubliclibrary

@ezeekat

@baille.the.librarian

@alifeofliterature @kendra.reads

Please share with us: Does your library have a social media account you’re especially proud of? Do you have favorite content we should check out? I am very new to TikTok and would love to hear more!

After spending many years as a children’s librarian and collection development specialist at Denver Public Library, Gwen joined Brodart to share her passion for children’s literature with as many different libraries as possible. Click here for more.

Resiliency in Graphic Novels

By Kat Kan, MLS

The word “resiliency” can refer to emotional resilience, mental resilience, or physical resilience. A school counselor at my local school district said that students who have good resilience are better able to handle emotional stresses, environmental stresses (in our area, we suffered from a Category 5 hurricane in October 2018), and all the problems so many have faced with COVID-19—not to mention poverty, food insecurity, racism, and many other problems.

When I was young, I dealt a lot with feelings of being an outsider. I’m mixed Japanese/White, and I didn’t feel that I belonged anywhere, even though my parents loved my siblings and me. When we lived in Japan, my Japanese grandparents’ neighbors would stare at me, because I didn’t look very much like them. Back in the United States, in the town where we lived, we kids were double outsiders: mixed race and not locals. My classmates didn’t like the fact that I “passed” as White, and at least one older student in our small school called my mother horrible names.

To cope, I basically escaped into books, mostly adventures, mysteries, and science fiction. A lot of the books I enjoyed featured outsider characters who overcame their circumstances and saved themselves, their friends, their town—sometimes even a whole world. Andre Norton, in particular, created fascinating worlds and portrayed strong female characters who took action and did cool things. I know that these books, and certain television series, especially “Star Trek” (the original 1960s series), helped me see more of myself in the characters and recognize that I wasn’t just some weirdo kid.

A colleague and I, both librarians at Bay County Public Library in Panama City, Florida, were guests on a podcast done by Alignment Bay County, a nonprofit agency focusing on helping youth with stress and mental health issues. For our podcast recorded on May 4, 2021, we chose a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction. I, of course, selected graphic novels and graphic memoirs. We provided our lists to the podcast host and her co-host for this particular episode, a school counselor. They researched the books so they could discuss how the books demonstrated certain types of resilient behavior.

I brought Jarrett Krosoczka’s “Hey, Kiddo”—his memoir of growing up raised mostly by his grandparents because his drug-abusing mother couldn’t take care of him. Teens who read his book know that Krosoczka managed to grow up and enjoy a happy life, simply by virtue of the fact that he created it. His graphic memoir takes readers through his youth to witness how his imperfect but loving grandparents gave him some stability.

Jerry Craft’s “New Kid” tells the story of Jordan Banks, a Black 12-year-old whose parents send him to a private school where he’s one of the few non-White kids; he also doesn’t fit most people’s idea of a Black boy, because he’d much prefer to draw comics. Anyone who feels alone and out of place can relate to Jordan. If this book had been published when I was that age, I would have loved it at least as much I love it now.

Raina Telgemeier, in my opinion, started something special with her book, “Smile.” When this book first came out in 2010, it grabbed the attention of many kids. I was working in a school library at the time. Scholastic sent me a review copy of the book, and I shared it with my lunch time book club students. That copy made the rounds at the school, and some of the students even wrote fan letters to Raina, which I sent to her via Scholastic. Her account of the dental trauma she suffered in sixth grade, plus dealing with friends who weren’t really great friends, and a massive earthquake, grabbed the kids’ attention. They’d never seen anything like this in comic book format before, and they loved it. When they saw that our Spring Scholastic Book Fair included “Smile,” lots of them bought it. This book sold out THREE times, something that had never happened before. Each student who talked to me about the book said they felt a deep connection to Raina, that they loved how she portrayed her feelings.

Each of Raina’s original books, including “Drama,” “Sisters,” “Ghosts,” and “Guts,” depict characters (sometimes Raina and her family, sometimes fictional characters) experiencing all kinds of challenging situations. These include family relationship troubles, dealing with school, and trying to find one’s place in the social order, while dealing with long-term health issues. Raina’s art makes the stories approachable, understandable, and young readers love them. I think it’s fantastic that so many other creators have published their own comics over the past 11 years, comics that also help young readers see how kids like them are learning to overcome difficulties that make them stronger.

When I was young, I didn’t want to read self-help kinds of books. I didn’t want didactic books that just told me what was wrong and how to fix myself. I wanted mostly to escape, but I ended up finding help by reading stories that helped me experience struggle and adventure vicariously through characters I liked. I have loved superhero stories since I could read, and many of those heroes also dealt with problems. Gene Luen Yang’s “Superman Smashes the Klan” is adapted from a 1940s radio drama. Yes, Superman is a superhero, but Yang portrays his struggle with his identity as an alien: an immigrant to Earth. This story focuses on a Chinese immigrant family facing racism in Metropolis, but also shows the reader how a young White boy starts coming to terms with his racist relatives. This book is also highly relevant to current racism and the attacks so many people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have suffered for the past year or so (and for over a century). Yang’s young Superman doesn’t fully come into his powers until he accepts his alien nature. Tommy and Roberta Lee have to learn who they can trust to treat them with respect and friendship, while Chuck has to decide who and what he really wants to be.

I think that almost any book can be a source of inspiration that touches a young reader and helps them feel more a part of their world. It might be the main character, or the society depicted in the story, or the family relationships—anything could be the critical factor that helps readers build more resilience in whatever form they need to feel stronger and better about themselves. And we at Brodart help librarians find more of those books to put onto their shelves for their patrons.

If you’re looking for a graphic novel guru, you’re looking for Kat Kan. Kat looks like the stereotypical librarian with glasses and a bun, until you see the hair sticks and notice her earrings may be tiny books, TARDISes from Doctor Who, or LEGO Batgirls. Click here for more.

Reading Old Favorites in a Changing World

By Fern Hallman, M.Ln.

Who doesn’t love Judy Blume? In this 50^th anniversary year of “Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret.” the beloved author was apparently living her best life in Key West before the pandemic, tap dancing in bars and pedaling her bike to the bookstore that she operates. And how about since COVID? “The New York Times” has put together a clever piece that reimagines the works of famous authors during the lockdown. This one could be Blume’s new pandemic-related title.

Source: “The New York Times”

It’s said, right here in “The New York Times,” that Judy Blume knows all your secrets. She certainly knew mine, especially my personal conflicts concerning religion. I was confused about what I learned at the super-religious Jewish Day School I attended and more confused when my mom took us to McDonald’s for super un-kosher cheeseburgers and milkshakes on the way to Brownies at the First Presbyterian Church. But even weirder, how did Blume know about my mother’s inability to choose furniture for the living room? And how could she so aptly describe the overwhelming combination of embarrassment, apprehension, and excitement girls experienced when we were shown “the movie” about becoming a woman?

Rereading ”Are You There, God?” all these years later, I give it five stars for nostalgia, and two to three stars for relevance. But what do I know? Turns out there may be a movie adaptation on the way, produced by nostalgic director James Brooks.

By the time my niece and cousin were young teens, waiting to wear a bra or worrying if the straps were showing was no longer a thing. The books that spoke to them at that age were more in the realm of “The Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter.” Today’s teens are more likely to relate to grittier books, such as “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas. This book tells the story of a girl who sees her best friend being shot and killed by police. It doesn’t reflect my experience, but it’s relatable for many who are experiencing this kind of thing now.

Many recent YA titles attempt to address the spectrum of modern teenage issues such as mental health, body issues, racial disparity, sexuality, and the immigrant experience. There have been many attempts to ban titles that portray realistic issues such as drug use, profanity, and rape. Judy Blume’s “Forever” was questioned for mentioning masturbation and birth control. Despite the concern they may cause, these books are critical to helping teens see themselves through fiction and make sense of difficult experiences.

In this day and age of “cancel culture,” some books and series that were once beloved are being examined in a new way.  A few years ago, after long and agonizing debate, the American Library Association changed the name of a prestigious award due to new thinking about beloved author Laura Ingalls Wilder. And one of my favorite authors, Sherman Alexie, is no longer considered a role model by many.

There have been several recent nonfiction books that examine our relationship with and nostalgia for certain well-known books and authors. These books (and hundreds of articles) illuminate the idea that context is important, and that values and our feelings about issues evolve over time. Seemingly innocuous Junie B. Jones has been challenged for encouraging disrespectful behavior, poor grammar, and the inclusion of a same-sex couple. Was she a nightmare child or a feminist icon? Dr. Seuss was probably insensitive to other races and cultures. Does that make some of the most popular children’s books in history inappropriate? Was Huckleberry Finn a racist, or was the author one?  These are all good questions. Does exposure to stereotypes in literature perpetuate prejudice? Many say that’s true, and others say it’s just political correctness. Here’s a list of titles from New York Public Library that addresses adult books critical of children’s favorites.

OK class, here are your assignments:

Reread your old favorites in a new light and decide for yourself whether they still speak to you. Maybe reading them again will reveal new aspects that you didn’t notice before.

When recommending books to patrons, it’s still OK to suggest oldies that stand the test of time and deal with universal themes. The books that were most important to you years ago remain valuable and relatable for current and future generations, but they will likely be interpreted and enjoyed in ways that never occurred to you.

Finally, a good librarian remains a great resource who can steer readers to past, present, and future books that will make them think, laugh, or cry. Maybe all three.

Fern has worked for Brodart as a Collection Development Librarian since 1990. She also did a stint as a reference librarian in the CNN newsroom and is married to a newspaper librarian. Click here for more.

Origami How-To: 3 Videos to Get Started

By Kat Kan, MLS

Many people are going stir-crazy these days, so I thought now was a good time to share a few of my origami videos. Feel free to share these tutorials far and wide—and don’t forget to try some origami, yourself!

I have been folding origami since I was like eight years old. I started with origami paper, and when we moved back from Japan to the United States, I actually started using notebook paper from school. You can easily adapt notebook paper, wrapping paper, and others to make origami paper squares, even if you don’t have any at home.

No scissors? No problem! Just fold a piece of paper back and forth along the same edge until the paper weakens. Then, carefully tear in a straight line (It’s easier than it sounds!).

In the first video, I’ll show you how to build three things out of the same piece of paper: a house, a piano, and a fox. Let’s get started.

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The traditional paper crane is called the orizuru. This was the very first thing I ever folded. I’m amazed that I did it! But I loved it so much that, of all the different origami that my grandmother taught me, this is still my favorite one. We’ll also be making a flapping bird toy.

In Japan, in the Shinto religion, each time you fold a paper crane, you’re praying. The idea is that if you can succeed in folding 1,000 cranes, your prayer will come true. I also share the true story of a little girl named Sadako Sasaki and the legacy she inspired. Do you have your paper ready?

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“Trash Origami” is a really fun book with a lot of different kinds of ideas. We’re going to look at how to make two things from this book: a Jumping Frog and the Crown & Towers Game. That way once you’ve made your frog and your crowns, you can play a fun game with them.

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Videos originally posted by Northwest Regional Library System, Florida.

If you’re looking for a graphic novel guru, you’re looking for Kat Kan. Kat looks like the stereotypical librarian with glasses and a bun, until you see the hair sticks and notice her earrings may be tiny books, TARDISes from Doctor Who, or LEGO Batgirls. Click here for more.

Is it Time to Eliminate Overdue Fines?

By Fern Hallman, M.Ln.

I have been a library user my whole life. My mom took us to the library every week, and kept perfect track of all of the books we borrowed. We were never late. I won’t say we were afraid of the local librarians, but we certainly understood that the library was a great service and that we should cooperate fully with the rules. However, the rules were not always easy for those with limited resources, like families with unreliable transportation or personal issues. Also, to use a watered-down cliché, THINGS HAPPEN. Maybe you left a book in a hotel or a taxi, and were unable to confess at the library. Would this go on your permanent record? Will this prevent you from ever visiting the library again?

Take a look at this map from the Urban Libraries Council. It shows a strong national movement for the elimination of library fines. While some libraries see the fines as a revenue stream, in many cases the fine money just goes back into the city or county general fund and does not directly benefit the library. This study from Library Journal, perhaps the most scientific one available, notes that only 15% of fines collected nationally by public libraries is spent on library materials. A little more unscientifically, you may take into account that libraries incur labor costs when they track and collect fines, and that some libraries even pay collection agencies to collect fines.

According to one perspective, fines are a useful way to teach and promote personal responsibility, while others feel that it’s more important to encourage reading and forego the morality. You can read more about the debate here.

Some library systems have been reluctant to completely eliminate fines, choosing other creative ways to approach the issue. A different option is to eliminate fines only for youth, since fines often keep parents from allowing their children to use libraries. Libraries hope to increase access to reading and other library services to those who need them most. Not to worry—most libraries still expect books to be returned before more can be checked out.

Here are two more examples of libraries that are eliminating fees for younger patrons:

• Eugene Public Library
• Boston Public Library

Several libraries—including Santa Clara County Library District and Dearborn Public Library—have established programs to allow patrons to pay their debts in alternative ways, including through food donations. Perhaps this is a good way to generate goodwill and retrieve long lost library materials.

It may be too soon to determine how this issue will play out, but here’s an early result. According to news reports, the Chicago Public Library, one of the largest library systems in the country, has seen a 240% increase in book returns since the implementation of a fine-free policy. The new policy has also improved public perception of the library system and attracted new users.

Your library system may not be ready to make this move, but it’s certainly something worth thinking about.

For more on the magic we librarians create, here’s an interesting article on the role of librarians.

 

Fern

Fern has worked for Brodart as a Collection Development Librarian since 1990. She also did a stint as a reference librarian in the CNN newsroom and is married to a newspaper librarian. Click here for more.

The Evolution of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

By Kat Kan, MLS

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards have seen significant changes over the past 14 years, and I have been honored enough to be a part of the process. I witnessed first-hand the impact librarian judges have made on the Eisner Award voting and how the Awards have evolved to reflect emerging trends in publishing and society at large. It has been a fascinating journey to witness and participate in.

I’ve worked in libraries for about 36 years now. For most of that time, I have pushed to promote the acceptance of graphic novels as a vital component of library collections. For a couple of decades, it felt like a long, hard slog to convince other librarians of the value of graphic novels. Writing my “Graphically Speaking” column in Voice of Youth Advocates since 1994 may have helped—at least I like to think so! In late fall of 2004, when I was serving as chair of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Graphic Novel Task Force proposal, I received a phone call from Jackie Estrada, who administers the Eisner Awards for the San Diego Comic-Con International.

I spent my 50th birthday traveling to serve as a judge for the 2005 Eisner Awards. Jackie Estrada and my fellow judges surprised me with a cake and a very cute stuffed bunny, which I still have to this day.

She said that she wanted to add a librarian to the judges’ panel for the 2005 Eisner Awards, and she asked me to be that librarian judge. The Eisner Awards are the Oscars of the comics industry, so it was a huge deal that she wanted a librarian to be part of the awards. Of course I said yes! I didn’t find out until years later that Mr. Eisner himself had requested librarians to be included as judges for the awards. Incidentally, he passed away in early 2005. I’m sad I never had the chance to meet him.

I had served on various book list selection committees for YALSA over the years, so I had experience with having to read a lot of books, but this time all the reading was comics! For the Eisners, we judges were to select up to five nominees for each award category. We were also tasked with creating a new award category for best digital comic.

We all gathered in San Diego over the first weekend in April 2005. We spent the next two days in marathon discussion sessions, punctuated by someone dashing to a table or box to pull out the comics in question. We talked about the writing, the art, the stories. It was amazing and invigorating. We argued, but things never got heated among us. Jackie sat with us, ready to referee if needed, but our discussions remained cordial. I imagine the interaction between judges is similarly animated and stimulating every year.

There are two stages to the Eisner Awards process (from the Comic-Con Eisner Awards FAQ):

Judging (Nominations)

“The nominees in each category are chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges who meet in San Diego in the spring of each year… The judging panel, which changes each year, consists of five or six people representing various aspects of the comics industry.”

Voting

“Once the nominees have been chosen, voting…usually occurs in mid-April, with a deadline in early June. Voting is open to comic book/graphic novel/webcomic creators (writers, artists, cartoonists, pencillers, inkers, letterers, colorists); all nominees in any category; comic book/graphic novel publishers and editors; comics historians and educators; graphic novel librarians; owners and managers of comic book specialty retail stores.”

Serving as an Eisner judge is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I can never serve again. However, what Jackie did was open voting privileges, first to me, because I had served as an Eisner judge, then to all librarians who work with graphic novels. Why was this so special?  Before 2005, only those people working directly in the comics industry as publishers, creators, retailers, and journalists, could vote. Librarians were excluded from this list. But within a couple of years, voter eligibility was expanded to include not just comics industry professionals, publishers, and the librarian judges, but also any librarian who works with comics and graphic novels. Broadening representation among judges and voters has helped the Awards to develop.

The following 11 awards categories were introduced after librarians were added to the judges’ panel and are still being presented:

• Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) (2012-present)
• Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) (2008–present)
• Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17) (2008–present)
• Best Reality-Based Work (2007–present)
• Best Adaptation from Another Medium (2013-2014, 2016–present)
• Best U.S. Edition of International Material — Asia (2010–present)
• Best Archival Collection/Project — Comic Books (2006–present)
• Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism (2008–present)
• Best Academic/Scholarly Work (2012–present)
• Best Digital Comic (2005–present)
• Best Webcomic (2017–present)

Since librarians became eligible voters, and as more librarians have taken advantage of that opportunity, we are seeing more independent comics creators and independent book trade publishers being nominated—and winning. Certain categories, especially YA and international adaptations to English, have been expanded. These changes reflect the maturation of the comics/graphic novels segment and growing contributions from what were once considered fringe sources.

Each succeeding year has brought more nominees from outside the Marvel/DC superhero mainstream, and various judges’ panels expanded the younger reader category into three age levels. The international comics category has also been split into two, separating Asian comics from those published elsewhere in the world.

In 2005, seven women were nominated and two of them won. Fast forward to the 2015 Eisner Awards, when there were 30 nominations for women, and 12 of them won. Of the 29 categories, independent comics publishers and trade publishers won most of the awards; DC won one, and Marvel didn’t win any.

In 2019, there were 31 categories. New this year, the webcomics category was divided into digital comics and webcomics. More than 40 of the nominees were women, and Image Comics swept the entire Best New Series category.

The Eisner Awards have undergone dramatic changes over the past 14 years. I’m looking forward to seeing even more diversity and representation among nominees and winners in the years to come.

Sources:

Eisner Awards FAQ

2005 Eisner Award Winners

2015 Eisner Award Winners

2019 Eisner Award Nominees

2019 Eisner Award Winners

Katharine

If you’re looking for a graphic novel guru, you’re looking for Kat Kan. Kat looks like the stereotypical librarian with glasses and a bun, until you see the hair sticks and notice her earrings may be tiny books, TARDISes from Doctor Who, or LEGO Batgirls. Click here for more.

Does Your Library Carry Las Novelas Gráficas? Perhaps It Should.

By Jessica Blaker, Spanish Services, Collection Development & Acquisitions

Over the last decade, graphic novels have gained in popularity and are now widely considered an essential component of almost any library’s collection. Beyond graphic novels in general gaining recognition, librarians have been clamoring for expanded Spanish graphic novel collections. There are two main audiences driving the increased demand for Spanish language graphic novels: Spanish-speaking library patrons and students learning Spanish (or, more precisely, teachers trying to encourage students who are learning Spanish).

So why are Spanish graphic novels so important to a library’s collection? Graphic novels, whether in English or Spanish, have high appeal because these types of books are fun to read and encourage literacy. Spanish-speaking patrons are picking up (and checking out) graphic novels in their native language. One librarian mentioned to me that while some children from bilingual families may speak English outside of the home, they still prefer reading in their native language and may also share their reading material with their parents. Graphic novels translated from English to Spanish can provide immigrants with valuable insights into their adopted culture.

Spanish graphic novels are beneficial for students learning Spanish because there are numerous visual aids that provide hints to the plot of the story and aid in comprehension. The dramatic illustrations grab readers’ attention, pulling them in. With the help of such visual cues, students are more apt to absorb and retain vocabulary. Reluctant readers are also more inclined to pick up a graphic novel because the exciting illustrations and small amounts of text provide a sense of accomplishment when finished, building the reader’s confidence.

Demographically speaking, the demand for Spanish-language graphic novels has increased because there are more Spanish speaking people in the US than there have ever been before. Hispanics accounted for 18% of the nation’s population in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center. Not surprisingly, libraries across the country have more Spanish-speaking patrons requesting reading material.

In addition, immersion programs have gained momentum in urban areas with diverse populations. One of Brodart’s customers recently noticed that children whose first language is English are checking out graphic novels in Spanish. They may be in immersion programs and feel comfortable reading in Spanish — doing so for pleasure, not necessarily for classwork. It stands to reason that demand for Spanish graphic novels will also continue to grow.

With the skyrocketing demand for Spanish graphic novels, publishers are doing their best to keep up with new titles. There are many children’s and YA popular titles in translation, such as Raina Telgemeier’s books, the Hombre Perro (Dog Man) series, and the Rick Riordan graphic novel adaptations of his novels, to name a few. Also, there are many Spanish editions of some adult graphic novels and graphic nonfiction. Some of the well-known publishers and distributors actively acquiring and promoting Spanish graphic novels include Lectorum, Spanish Publishers, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, IPG, and Stone Arch Books. The one area lacking in Spanish graphic novels, however, is superheroes. Marvel and DC do not currently have Spanish translations available to customers in the United States.

Booklist announced through ALA News that July 2019 will be Graphic Novels in Libraries Month. Suffice it to say, when a highly recognized and accredited journal deems an entire month should be dedicated to graphic novels, their importance should not be ignored.

 

Jessica

Jessica Blaker has been a Spanish cataloger and a customer account manager at Brodart. She came back to Spanish as a collection development paraprofessional, which she loves due to the variety and the opportunity to work with customers. Click here for more.

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Books (Quietly, So as Not to Incite a Riot)

By Stephanie Campbell, MLIS

When talking about their chosen profession to a general audience, librarians inevitably hear “You must really love books!” And while this is probably true of many of us, I have found that it’s the non-librarians who seem more attached to books, often maniacally so, especially when doing their own weeding projects or witnessing ours. Book sale donations, while wonderful for fundraising, can be the bane of our existence when they contain such gems as midcentury “Encyclopedia Britannica” sets, not to mention whatever wildlife took up occupancy in the boxes while they were in the attic or garage. And if you try to deny such materials with your donation policy, you are met with indignation about how expensive the set was when new and that “there’s still a lot of good information in there!”

Similarly, it can be hard for librarians to make decisions about old, expensive, previously revered materials. The biggest thing standing in your way of having a great collection is that your shelves are clogged with obsolete items. They haven’t circulated or been used in eons and you know they should go, but what to do with the materials that have been weeded?

Whether the books are donations or discards, make sure you exhaust organizations such as the American Rescue Workers, Goodwill, Salvation Army, Military Order of the Purple Heart, etc. Contact your local churches to see if they have any missionary projects in impoverished areas around the world. Private primary and secondary schools are also an option for unwanted but viable titles. Perhaps you can try selling items through Better World Books, Amazon, eBay, etc.?

Do be aware that charitable and for-profit organizations can be selective about what they will accept. Add to that the guilt you may feel about donating/selling items that are horribly dated or otherwise blatantly undesirable.

If you dumpster them, dumpster divers and/or tattletales will invariably report about the perfectly good books the library is throwing away, which may have been funded by taxpayer dollars. Boxing up books and putting them at the curb can also prove too scintillating. In my experience, boxes were inevitably torn open after library hours and rummaged through. I tried duct-taping the boxes shut and then putting the boxes in garbage bags to disguise them as trash, but not even those measures could deter the rabid bibliophiles (perhaps bibliohoarders or bibliopolice would be a more apt term).

This kind of activity can spur the librarian stealth ops. Place the boxes out at the curb under cover of darkness, or arrive at work pre-dawn and put them out just before trash pickup. It’s amazing we have to go to such lengths. Believe it or not, I once had a colleague who took the library discards home and burned them in her outdoor furnace in an attempt to avoid opprobrium. And librarians are the ones who usually oppose book burning!

Large sets are especially onerous. I once gave away a vintage “Oxford English Dictionary” set to a local shabby chic home designer and she turned it into a side table for a client (I’m still kicking myself for not getting a photo of that!). Municipalities will often only accept paperback books for recycling. So I also enlisted the help of the library maintenance man to make a complete Contemporary Authors set “go away” by cutting the hardcovers off with his table saw and recycling the pages.

But enough is enough! We never agreed to warehouse items that no one wants. And it’s exhausting trying to hide the dirty little secret that libraries regularly deaccession and often throw away books. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I absolutely love weeding. However, I absolutely hate clogging landfills with stuff that is otherwise reusable or recyclable.

All laughter aside, we must strike a delicate balance. We want to welcome well-meaning individuals who wish to donate their personal collections for our fundraising efforts. And we also value the members of our community who pay the most attention to us (and what goes into our dumpsters). Our biggest champions can also be our harshest critics. In terms of selling library discards in book sales, you can also face push-back, especially when expensive items are selling for as little as 25 cents.

We take our role of information steward seriously. Transparency is key. Be forthcoming about what you are doing and why. Keeping up with your weeding projects will also prevent the massive deaccessioning jobs that arouse suspicion. I found it best to not “nickel and dime” the process and simply make discarded books free for the taking. And if anyone questioned it, I simply said, “Your tax dollars paid for these, now we’re giving them back to you.” In one of my last jobs, we would take cart after cart of materials that had been weeded, roll them into our book sale area with a “FREE” sign, and most of them would disappear within a few days.

We’d love to hear any funny (or not so funny) stories you’d like to share about navigating the world of unwanted books!

 

Further reading:

ALA’s LibGuide on Discards

“Weeding without Worry” from American Libraries

Check out Awful Library Books (Tagline: “Hoarding is not collection development”) for lots of laughs, plus a section on their website about how to “Discard Responsibly.”

 

Stephanie

Stephanie Campbell has worked for more than 20 years in public, academic, and special libraries. She is an avid gardener, bicyclist, and kayaker. Click here for more.

Newbery Award Final Contenders: Who Are They? Inquiring Minds Want to Know

By Suzanne W. Hawley, MLS

“The suspense feeds the crowd’s anticipation, which is palpable — it’s almost as if we are all holding our collective breath.”

-Kathleen T. Horning, “Secrecy and the Newbery Medal,” School Library Journal, July 6, 2011

The year I was fortunate enough to be a member of the Newbery Committee, we all agreed that we were inundated with a remarkable number of very fine titles. Our debates went on for hours; so many fascinating perspectives shared about so many wonderful titles. In the wee hours of the morning before the Newbery Award announcement, the committee had whittled down the prospective honors to about 20. At the gentle prodding of our wise chairwoman, we finally settled on four honor books. We could have chosen 16 more!

At the time, and often since then, I wondered how we could promote all the other titles that we found so compelling. Due to the secrecy surrounding the Newbery Committee’s discussions, committee members are not allowed to say what the other books were that rose to the top. Unfortunately, this means that librarians may miss these titles when they are building their collections. Budgets are small, and most of us rely on medal winners, lists of favorites like the Children’s Notables, reviews, and some word of mouth to help inform our choices. I can’t help thinking that some of those titles that were “off the table” would add richness to collections and provide opportunities for students to stretch their proverbial wings in the world of reading.

After the 2019 American Library Association awards were presented this year, Barbara Langridge reminded us on an LM_Net post that “shortlists” are announced for non-fiction finalists. Others chimed in by mentioning that shortlists are also announced for Carnegie and Morris awards. The question “Why not have finalists announced for Newbery and Caldecott as shortlists?” was asked by several people in that series of posts.

This is not a new idea. In 1972, the Children’s Library Division began publishing the list of committee nominations twice a year in Top of the News, as well as in School Library Journal and Booklist.

This practice, originally intended as a one-year experiment, was so successful that it continued for the next five years. Giving in to complaints, primarily that the lists invaded the beloved secrecy surrounding the Newbery discussions, the practice was discontinued in 1977.

Source: American Library Association

I like the idea of announcing the list of finalists for Newbery. However, I would suggest that the list be announced after the awards presentations at ALA Midwinter. Even though committee members correspond frequently throughout the year with suggestions — a process that culminates in seven nominations each — new titles released in December (as in my committee’s case) don’t have the opportunity for a real “vetting” until the committee meets at ALA Midwinter. Possibly, one or more of those would end up as a genuine contender for the award. But if the list were announced prior to the ALA Youth Media Awards announcement, such books would be missed on the list. Also, the committee hasn’t really determined the top titles until they decide on the award and the honor books. Usually, that doesn’t happen until the night before the ALA Awards are announced.

I believe that a list of the 20 or so contenders would be a valuable list for librarians and libraries to have at their fingertips. It gives them another resource for finding important titles to add to their collections and, often, there are titles that students wouldn’t discover unless they were “hand-sold.”

A counterargument might be that surely those titles would be in the list of Notable Children’s Books for that year. However, that list is often over 100 titles and librarians’ budgets are notoriously small. If they can purchase all the Notable Children’s books for that year, then lucky they are. If not, a good resource to draw on would be a list of the top 20 final contenders for the Newbery Award.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts!

 

Suzanne

In addition to selecting children and young adult materials for library collections, Suzy Hawley spends her days interfering in her children’s lives as much as possible, wheedling her husband into cooking dinner just one more time, and walking on the beach. Click here for more.