CCBC-Net Archives

RE: "Marginal" Awards

From: Claudia Pearson <pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2014 14:31:39 -0600 (GMT-06:00)

Absence from "best" lists and exclusion from websites that identify "award winners" does marginalize books that are excluded, and has a bearing on how books are selected for purchase, not just by librarians and educators, but by intelligent parents ready to buy. 

In my former life, I was an equal employment rights attorney. One thing that was repeatedly noted in the case law was the suspect nature of "word-of-mouth" selection processes which tended to create barriers to entry. People wanted to hire people they knew or people who were recommended to them, and if most of those already employed were all of one race/ethnicity, relying on "word-of-mouth" advertisement of vacancies and identification of candidates tended to perpetuate non-representative employment patterns. 

How many of us rely on book lists and reviews, how many of us have been taught that certain websites that identify award winners are reliable resources when we are thinking about what to read next? And if we aren't reading books by/about "others" - we aren't posting reviews either. I do love Goodreads because I find great recommendations there, but have to confess that I have not posted enough! So, I just looked and one of my old favorites only has one review on Goodreads, HOW WE WORK by Anita Lobel (1977) a wonderfully diverse book, but apparently it is OOP now, so I may be one of the few who can post a review. 

There are so many wonderful books OOP and languishing on bookshelves, and so many that haven't made it to print yet. 

We must make a conscious effort to be more inclusive and more proactive in enhancing the diversity in our collections, our lists, and our recommendations/reviews.

Claudia Pearson



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Received on Tue 04 Feb 2014 02:31:56 PM CST