The world is available to our patrons with technology--having electronic resources like Facts on File or Opposing Viewpoints, as well as the SIRS Issues Researcher Pro vs. Con helps us to have current information that allows students to get the BIG picture. So often, we only read or listen to programs that support the views we already have; the media center needs to encourage getting a broader view.
To achieve diversity in the media center, we need to evaluate our collection to see how it reflects our school culture as well as that of the world. This year, I was so discouraged to see that, in a knee-jerk response to pressure from the high school's principal, the middle school media specialist yanked a book on the history of gay pride in America because he saw a high school kid walking around with it. Statistics say that 10% of the population is gay. We need a collection that meets the needs of those students as well, in nonfiction as well as fiction.
We need to support boys in our media center. The perception of media center as a estrogen-rich environment needs to change, and we need to do this by promoting our media centers as boy-friendly. I want to do a "Real Men of Genius" ad for our media center, a play on the Budweiser commercials, that profiles some of the kids themselves and promotes the books they've checked out. Technology can be a powerful promotional tool for reaching out to all sorts of groups.
Technology meets the needs of special needs students beautifully as well. Adaptive technologies are almost mainstream today, with laptops taking the place of AlphaSmarts and speech-to-text software becoming less expensive.
I think strong record-keeping/data management will help keep us honest in terms of who we're attracting to the media center as well. A media specialist at Etowah talked about buying a $500 Accutracker that can give statistics on media center use. Because students use their student ID to check in to the media center, she can readily get a breakdown by gender or other demographic.
We need to be sure, not just in our heads, but on paper, with hard data, that we're serving our population. At our CHAMPS meeting today, our curriculum director talked about the harsh realities of the next 5 years, and we'll have to prove our worth every day. By maximizing who we serve and who we reach in as many ways as we can, we can truly be that hub of democracy that media centers aspire to be.
I believe that we are living in a day and time where we are serving many different students who are coming from many different families. Many of our students do not feel comfortable or safe enough at home to ask questions about things, so we have the responsibility to provide these students with information. Sometimes the information that we are providing is not such that we necessarily agree with, but it is our duty to make information available, but at the same time I also believe that the information we provide should be safe.
ReplyDeleteWe also serve different levels of students. Whether a student is gifted on special needs, each student should be able to find the information, on their level, that is helpful to them.
Being a media specialist can be a daunting task, but it can also be fulfilling when you provide students with information that is interesting to them and on a level they can understand.
I like the way you mention using hard facts to track your data. Too often I find myself influenced by a person or group of people and when I go back and look at the statistics, I get a different perspective. Destiny (OPAC) and Follett offer types of collection analysis. But rather than use that to deteremine, what is being used the most, I wonder if you can use it to determine HOW to get the under used materials used more. At one place I was we had a "unloved book" week. We marked books that had not been checked out in over 1 year and encouraged the students to come in and select a books they were not crazy about. When the marked book was selected, the student won a prize. We also spent a minute or two discussing the book with the student to help encourage them to read it all the way through. Quite a few of our books had a chance to be loved again, and the students liked the excitement of the finding one of the hidden unloved books. I'm sure there are other ways to keep the collection diverse and in use. It will be a challenge to find the right trigger to draw students from all interests and backgrounds into the media center.
ReplyDeleteAll of this discussion about diversity in the media center kind of makes me think about the Internet filtering debate and papers we did. Not only do we have to work around websites for information for our students, but now I also feel like we have to be careful about what books are purchased for the media center. I agree with you when you talk about having books available for all types of kids and their interests, but where is the line drawn? I am only playing the devil's advocate, because I too believe we should have books for the kids who are afraid to talk to their parents about feelings or emotions they are experiencing. I have a feeling, there would be strong parental opposition with those kind of topics.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll stick with my K-2nd graders!! :)
You make a lot of really great points in your blog. It is in essence a succinct review of the Library Bill of Rights, which I would really like to post in our media center if I can find a nice poster (nope: didn’t find anything at the ALA store, but I did buy a nice set of Dewey posters to put around ☺.)
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely deplorable that a media specialist pulled a copy of the history of gay pride because of pressure from a middle school principal. That makes me really sad for the patron. It infuriates me that the kid was trying to do something really brave and the adults around him acted like morons. Do they think this child was going to cause an epidemic of homosexuality at their school? If I were the parents, I would institute a reverse challenge on behalf of my child and take it all the way up the chain of command as far as it needed to go. You wonder if there was not a policy in place on that one?? The media specialist must not have gone to library school anytime recently, because we certainly reviewed this specific topic thoroughly in Selections at UWG. The media specialist needs a refresher course and the principal needs a spanking!!
I also like your idea of profiling the “Real Men of Genius” in the media center. I am a K-2 media specialist and we still have lots of little boys coming into the media center. They are as avid a reader as the girls are at this point. But I know something happens along the way to middle school because my son told me yesterday he only goes into the Junior High library to see the l-zadies ☺. I think the idea of recordkeeping and data management is really valid. It is always interesting to know who your patrons are, particularly so you can know who they aren’t and reach out to them!
It is so true about proving our worth these days. Our school has to cut seven positions next year. I think I am safe, but it bears reminding that none of us is owed this fabulous job. I remember it every minute!!!
You are completely right about the fact that as Media Specialists, we must have a collection of multiple resources that support learners of ALL types. No matter what their background, social status, or special needs. We must have resources that are diverse to ensure that every student wants to come to the media center to use it effectively.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of "Facts on File or Opposing Viewpoints, as well as the SIRS Issues Researcher Pro vs. Con." I will check these resources out because they seem to be excellent resources to add to a collection to support all learners.
I never thought of the Media Center as estrogen rich until your perception. In ways I could see that, but not all of the time. Maybe because I am in an Elementary School. All of my students want to go to the Media Center every day. It is amazing.
E.Thornton
I too believe that we see all types of students in the media center. This is our job to provide for students of all sorts. Even the special needs children as well. I also believe that if you are going to reach all studens you need to have the resources readily availble for them. Having all sorts of technology availble as well will ensure that you would have daily vistors in the media center as well. Being a media specialist takes a lot of work. Especially when you are dealing with the all the diverse groups that in the world today :).
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You made a lot of excellent comments that really made me think. Although I never really thought about I agree with you that media centers are often very estrogen rich. This is one angle of diversity that often gets overlooked. Things such as collection analysis and the software you mentioned are great ways to combat this problem and make sure we are providing adequate resources for all of our patrons.
ReplyDeleteI loved it when you said "A place of intellectual freedom involves encompassing the world--supporting opposing viewpoints, multiple theories, and controversial issues--all while respecting the culture of our school home and the community we serve." I couldn't have put it better myself. I think that elementary schools have a long way to go in this area. When I was getting my Master's degree we did an intense study on Critical Literacy. When looking for books with alternative viewpoints or important yet sensitive issues in my school's collection there was very little to be found. I purchased several books for my own personal collection and did several projects with my kids using those materials. Some were appreciative that we addressed issues such as racism when reading White Wash. Some were compelled to draw posters for animal rights after reading Faithful Elephants. I was amazed how my students soaked up these materials that were not really the norm.
Today's child is so different from how many educators grew up. Your example of the student who checked out a book on the history of gay rights is an excellent example of this. I know that at my school gangs in local neighborhoods are a big deal. Rather than shy away from materials on this topic I feel that the media center should be a place where students can go to find information to answer their questions. Children today face so much more than I ever had to and the media center can serve as an excellent resource to help them face different issues.
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that everyone should be able to find a home in the library. I never thought about the boys not populating the library, but then I do teach in lower elementary grades and my boys are just as avid of readers as my girls. I do believe we have to provide the information students are seeking because so many students feel that they don't have an adult they can talk to about important, possibly diverse, issues in their lives.
I also like the idea of tracking the materials to be sure that we are indeed serving all populations. Students use their ID's to check out books, so having the program to show us the populations we are meeting can help us focus on the populations that still need to be met. Then we can truly become the hub of the school, a place all students can come to find information they are seeking in a safe, positive environment. Good Post!
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ReplyDeleteWendy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out some of the real issues that affect us in serving all of our students and media centers. And…Kudos to Margaret for saying the principal needs a spanking! When it comes to the issue of a book about gay pride, I must point out how much less of an issue this is in each younger generation than the one before it. I don’t think today’s students even see this as an issue or controversial topic. When homosexuality became main-streamed in the media (MTV…), viewpoints shifted. I guess I just point this out because I bet that no student complained and said it made them feel uncomfortable. One additional place I would like to see Media Centers become more diverse is in the area of religion. There are many common religions not represented in the media centers I have visited. In playing devil’s advocate, Wendy Wells asked, “Where do we draw the line?” I think the line is always moving and not a constant at all; therefore we must look at our ever-changing population and community, ensuring each material will enhance our collection and the minds of our patrons.
Wendy - I agreed with so many of your statements...the first and foremost that the media center should be home to everyone. I think that it needs to the central to all students and all students can find their niche because in high school sometimes the curriculum is more one sided (though we try to teach history from a multicultural perspective. I think that as schools are changing so much from year to year - knowing both the collection and current school population is really important. I think that having an accurate system to see what books what students are checking out is great - I think you could really see who the "neglected populations" are each year.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the gender thing but you are so right! I do not see as many boy recreational readers as girls. Perhaps promoting to this group would be a great goal. We have a program at our school called Hoya Men that promotes leadership among African America students (a minority at my school with 8% both boys and girls. I think that promoting reading among this group would be a huge positive component to this group. Something for me to look into...
As media specialists we should be professional everyday that we walk into our media centers. We should leave our personal beliefs and biases at the door. As humans we all have personal beliefs. As professionals it is our responsibility to meet the needs of all our students and challenge them to explore new areas and new ideas. Diversity is a huge part of our educational system. Everyday is a diverse day. Every student is a diverse student. Even students that have lived on the same street their entire lives together still have different backgrounds they bring with them to the classroom. It is important to recognize and celebrate the differences are students bring with them.
ReplyDeleteAs a media specialist, it is important to meet the needs of all the patrons and have materials that address the interest of each child.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in another blog, I am going to do a survey at the end of school for every patron to complete. The surveys will be anonymous but will provide me a good idea of topics and interest that my patrons want in the media center. I think I will get a good idea of how to make my media center more diverse.
I think you are exactly right about surveying the population to see what students want in their library. I think a media center needs to provide books that interest students and will make them want to visit. It disappoints me to hear about schools that pull books from the shelves...where has the freedom gone? Students should be able to choose books they enjoy, how can we continue to filter their lives? We push so much for diversity, but our actions are not working towards this. By filtering the types of books in our libraries we are keeping students from being diverse.
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