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RE: Professional Responsibilty
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From: sully_at_sully-writer.com
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:36:35 -0700
I don't believe Jennifer Donovan is a book banner but she has no business deciding that the Claudette Colvin biography is inappropriate for every child who uses her public library. At the elementary school I worked in, I had books about slavery, the Holocaust, wars of all kinds, and lots of other unpleasant topics. There were books about the Civil Rights Movement that showed children being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses. Is any of that pleasant? No, but it's reality and history. Ms. Donovan has every right to tell her own children not to read about certain subjects but she has absolutely no right to make that decision for anyone else's children. And I do hope that librarian Ms. Donovan spoke to did read the book herself before removing it from the children's collection. The idea that a librarian would remove a book based on one person's say so makes me absolutely sick.
Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday House, 2007) Visit my web site, http://www.sully-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About Books and Reading http://sullywriter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re:
Professional Responsibility From: Susan Thomsen Date: Sun, September 26, 2010 11:02 am To: Susie Highley , CCBC Network
Here is an interesting opinion piece about a library patron's request (which was granted) to move the book CLAUDETTE COLVIN from her library's children's section to the Young Adult section. I know the author, and although I do not agree with her viewpoint, I think she raises some interesting questions, especially in regard to professional responsibility.
"Am I a Book Banner," by Jennifer Donovan
I'm a library patron, too, but not a librarian. My hometown library, the wonderful Westport (CT) Library, shelves this book in the children's section. The NYPL puts it in YA. In Montgomery, AL, where most of CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE takes place, the book is in Juvenile Biographies.
Susan Thomsen
From: Susie Highley To: CCBC Network Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 5:45:31 AM Subject: RE:
Professional Responsibility
I really appreciate this discussion about responsibility, cultural awareness, and book selection. All of this has led me to question yet another aspect of all the cutbacks of school library media personnel: who will be able to make informed decisions and maintain good, representative collections? More and more, school media centers have limited supervision by trained staff. Susie Highley Indianapolis
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:36:35 -0700
I don't believe Jennifer Donovan is a book banner but she has no business deciding that the Claudette Colvin biography is inappropriate for every child who uses her public library. At the elementary school I worked in, I had books about slavery, the Holocaust, wars of all kinds, and lots of other unpleasant topics. There were books about the Civil Rights Movement that showed children being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses. Is any of that pleasant? No, but it's reality and history. Ms. Donovan has every right to tell her own children not to read about certain subjects but she has absolutely no right to make that decision for anyone else's children. And I do hope that librarian Ms. Donovan spoke to did read the book herself before removing it from the children's collection. The idea that a librarian would remove a book based on one person's say so makes me absolutely sick.
Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday House, 2007) Visit my web site, http://www.sully-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About Books and Reading http://sullywriter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re:
Professional Responsibility From: Susan Thomsen Date: Sun, September 26, 2010 11:02 am To: Susie Highley , CCBC Network
Here is an interesting opinion piece about a library patron's request (which was granted) to move the book CLAUDETTE COLVIN from her library's children's section to the Young Adult section. I know the author, and although I do not agree with her viewpoint, I think she raises some interesting questions, especially in regard to professional responsibility.
"Am I a Book Banner," by Jennifer Donovan
I'm a library patron, too, but not a librarian. My hometown library, the wonderful Westport (CT) Library, shelves this book in the children's section. The NYPL puts it in YA. In Montgomery, AL, where most of CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE takes place, the book is in Juvenile Biographies.
Susan Thomsen
From: Susie Highley To: CCBC Network Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 5:45:31 AM Subject: RE:
Professional Responsibility
I really appreciate this discussion about responsibility, cultural awareness, and book selection. All of this has led me to question yet another aspect of all the cutbacks of school library media personnel: who will be able to make informed decisions and maintain good, representative collections? More and more, school media centers have limited supervision by trained staff. Susie Highley Indianapolis
---Received on Sun 26 Sep 2010 04:36:35 PM CDT
