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Collection Development for Religious Schools, CSLA 2011

by Valley Christian School on Nov 12, 2011

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*Thanks for coming. \n* I’m talking about this subject today because it’s something I was hoping someone else would talk about at every conference I’ve attended! My faith plays a very important role in my life and it was getting harder and harder for me to not have some forum to discuss whether or not it’s possible to ethically integrate my faith with my profession as a library. I finally decided to talk about it myself. I just want to share what I’ve learned/experienced and talk to other who are in the same situation. You might disagree with me and that’s fine. Most of my examples today will deal with Christian school libraries, because that’s what I know. But I think librarians who practice other faiths can relate to some of my experiences and thoughts. \n* I will leave time for discussion and questions at the end, but if you have a question, feel free to let me know at any time. \n* I don’t want to seem like I have it all figured out, because I don’t. And quite honestly, I don’t think I ever will, but I just thought it was time to start talking about this. So here goes...\n
Here is what I’ll be covering today. \n
* First let’s start off with some things I think we can safely assume in regards to religious school libraries. \n* As someone who works at a religious school, you either practice the school’s faith and agree with it’s philosophies OR you accept that the philosophies and tenants of the faith are integrated into your school culture and curriculum. \n* Same thing with parents who enroll their children their. They either want their children to be brought up in that faith, or maybe they are interested in other things the school can provide them, so they’re willing to accept the religious aspect. \n* These are fair assumptions when you’re working in a religious school and we should keep them in mind as we talk today. \n
* I think that many librarians experience a tension between professional and personal ethics. \n* Most of us would agree that in a public institution, we must learn to accept the separation of church v. state. My institution is not religious, so I cannot let my religious beliefs affect how I carry out my professional duties. \n* But what about those of us who work in a place where we’re encouraged or expected to do just the opposite? For example, my school REQUIRES teachers and faculty (that includes me) to integrate Biblical principles into our teaching- no matter the subject. In fact, they usually give us 1 or 2 workdays a year to work on Biblical integration. I’m sure many of your schools do something similar, too. And I love being in a place where I’m allowed and encouraged to share my faith with my students. But I find that sometimes, I feel torn between my personal convictions and my professional convictions. It’s hard to figure out how I can do both. \n* So as we talk today, I’d like you to keep in mind the following questions: \n* So how do I keep the standards my school wants me to keep while also keeping the standards of unbiased service that was taught to me in library school? \n* And, if I do let my religious beliefs influence the way I build my collection and provide service, will I still be taken serious by my librarian colleagues? \n* Do I have to live a dichotomous life?\n\n
* So as we talk today, I’d like you to keep in mind the following questions: \n* So how do I keep the standards my school wants me to keep while also keeping the standards of unbiased service that was taught to me in library school? \n* And, if I do let my religious beliefs influence the way I build my collection and provide service, will I still be taken serious by my librarian colleagues? \n* Do I have to live a dichotomous life?\n\n
* Let’s look at the ALA Code of Ethics- overarching set of professional ethics for librarians. \n* There may be other standards, guidelines, or values that are unique to suborganizations like AASL or CSLA, but I think it’s safe to say that most of those stem from the ALA Code of Ethics. \n* 8 statements. We’re looking at 3 that deal with personal v professional belifs. Not an expert. Just my opinion, and the questions that I have when I read the code. \n* I feel like a lot of the tension I experience stems from Statements 1,2, and 7. \n* As we read the statements, I’d like you think about how \n* Read Statement 1: The question that pops into my mind is what does an unbiased response look like in a school where, let’s be honest, we’re biased because we believe certain things and we’re trying to instill those beliefs into our students. \n* Read Statement 2: What does it look like to resist censorship in a faith-based school, yet still honor my faith’s school values? A lot of parents send kids to religious schools in order to protect or shelter them from the outside world. Whether or not I think that’s a good thing is irrelevant. It’s the truth. So how do I honor a parent’s desire to keep their children “safe” yet still provide them with the information they need or desire. \n* Read Statement 7: How does this play out in a school where we are encouraged, or maybe even expected to mix our personal views with our professional duties?\n\n\n
* Let’s look at the ALA Code of Ethics- overarching set of professional ethics for librarians. \n* There may be other standards, guidelines, or values that are unique to suborganizations like AASL or CSLA, but I think it’s safe to say that most of those stem from the ALA Code of Ethics. \n* 8 statements. We’re looking at 3 that deal with personal v professional belifs. Not an expert. Just my opinion, and the questions that I have when I read the code. \n* I feel like a lot of the tension I experience stems from Statements 1,2, and 7. \n* As we read the statements, I’d like you think about how \n* Read Statement 1: The question that pops into my mind is what does an unbiased response look like in a school where, let’s be honest, we’re biased because we believe certain things and we’re trying to instill those beliefs into our students. \n* Read Statement 2: What does it look like to resist censorship in a faith-based school, yet still honor my faith’s school values? A lot of parents send kids to religious schools in order to protect or shelter them from the outside world. Whether or not I think that’s a good thing is irrelevant. It’s the truth. So how do I honor a parent’s desire to keep their children “safe” yet still provide them with the information they need or desire. \n* Read Statement 7: How does this play out in a school where we are encouraged, or maybe even expected to mix our personal views with our professional duties?\n\n\n
* Let’s look at the ALA Code of Ethics- overarching set of professional ethics for librarians. \n* There may be other standards, guidelines, or values that are unique to suborganizations like AASL or CSLA, but I think it’s safe to say that most of those stem from the ALA Code of Ethics. \n* 8 statements. We’re looking at 3 that deal with personal v professional belifs. Not an expert. Just my opinion, and the questions that I have when I read the code. \n* I feel like a lot of the tension I experience stems from Statements 1,2, and 7. \n* As we read the statements, I’d like you think about how \n* Read Statement 1: The question that pops into my mind is what does an unbiased response look like in a school where, let’s be honest, we’re biased because we believe certain things and we’re trying to instill those beliefs into our students. \n* Read Statement 2: What does it look like to resist censorship in a faith-based school, yet still honor my faith’s school values? A lot of parents send kids to religious schools in order to protect or shelter them from the outside world. Whether or not I think that’s a good thing is irrelevant. It’s the truth. So how do I honor a parent’s desire to keep their children “safe” yet still provide them with the information they need or desire. \n* Read Statement 7: How does this play out in a school where we are encouraged, or maybe even expected to mix our personal views with our professional duties?\n\n\n
* So where do we begin? How do we start to alleviate some of this tension and at least partially resolve some of the questions. I don’t want to mislead anybody. I’m not proposing that I have all the answers and that I never feel conflicted about this. But I’ve learned to reduce the tension at least somewhat. \n* Enough of my angst-filled questioning. I want to share with you some of the ways I’ve learned to alleviate some of the tension. \n* I think we need to begin with your school’s mission statement, vision, and goals. If you’re not familiar with your school’s mission, vision, and goals, I’d suggest you start by reading them and familiarizing yourself with them. \n\n
* The reason why it’s so important to know you’re school mission, vision, and goals is because they should directly inform or align with your library’s mission, vision, and goals. \n* If your library’s mission are in sync with your school’s mission, it a starting point for you to figure out how to maintain both professional and personal ethics.\n* Another reason why I like aligning my library mission, vision and goals with those of my school is because it forces me to state you’re doing in language and vocabulary which is already familiar to your parents and administration. \n* It’s a good way to build common ground and trust between you and them. \n* Now, of course, you can have sub goals in your library that aren’t necessarily a part of the larger goals of your school. And those can have library specific vocabulary, BUT you need to make sure that your overarching goals jive with those of your school. Show links to VCS library and school goals\n
* Let me show you how I’m attempting to use my school’s mission/values/goals to inform that of my library. This was approved by our superintendent back in 2008, and looking at it now, I may have worded it a little differently, but I’ve had more time to think and reflect since then. But for me, the important thing was that I get something in place that was approved by our administration. \n* This is an abbreviated version of my school’s mission/vision/and goals. I kind of condensed it into a small paragraph for purposes of this presentation. The library goal section is complete and unabridged. \n* So I’ve color-coordinated the areas of the school goals and library goals that I tried to sync up. I think if I could do it again, I’d make the vocabulary a little more similar, just so the language of my library is consistent with that of the school. Like, if I were to leave my job, I wouldn’t want someone to read it and hear my voice. I’d want them to read it and say, “Yeah, that sounds like Valley.” \n* Red- School wants to provide a quality education. The library’s version of providing a quality education is supporting what’s going on in the classroom. \n* Green refers to developing that foundatin of Christian values and growing students to be Christian leaders and servants. We do that by providing them with resources that help to develop their Christian worldview and their relationship with God.”\n* Blue- is a goal that is unique to the library, and so I labeled it as a secondary goal because it’s not listed as a one of our school’s primary goals. \n* Obviously, creating these goals and missions take time. And there’s a lot great resources out there that can guide you through that process, so I won’t talk about it today, but I’ll put some resources on my website. \n
* Let me show you how I’m attempting to use my school’s mission/values/goals to inform that of my library. This was approved by our superintendent back in 2008, and looking at it now, I may have worded it a little differently, but I’ve had more time to think and reflect since then. But for me, the important thing was that I get something in place that was approved by our administration. \n* This is an abbreviated version of my school’s mission/vision/and goals. I kind of condensed it into a small paragraph for purposes of this presentation. The library goal section is complete and unabridged. \n* So I’ve color-coordinated the areas of the school goals and library goals that I tried to sync up. I think if I could do it again, I’d make the vocabulary a little more similar, just so the language of my library is consistent with that of the school. Like, if I were to leave my job, I wouldn’t want someone to read it and hear my voice. I’d want them to read it and say, “Yeah, that sounds like Valley.” \n* Red- School wants to provide a quality education. The library’s version of providing a quality education is supporting what’s going on in the classroom. \n* Green refers to developing that foundatin of Christian values and growing students to be Christian leaders and servants. We do that by providing them with resources that help to develop their Christian worldview and their relationship with God.”\n* Blue- is a goal that is unique to the library, and so I labeled it as a secondary goal because it’s not listed as a one of our school’s primary goals. \n* Obviously, creating these goals and missions take time. And there’s a lot great resources out there that can guide you through that process, so I won’t talk about it today, but I’ll put some resources on my website. \n
* Once you have gone through the process of creating your mission/vision/goals, you can use them to help you create your CD policy.\n \n\n
Your CD policy is crucial because it sets the foundation for your entire program. It determines which items you buy, which items you don’t buy, which items you discard, and what you accept as donations. It determines what your students have access to. Among other things, your CD policy will include your selection criteria, your donation policy, your challenge policy, your and your weeding policy. \nI’m not going to spend too much time on challenge policies and weeding/discard policies. There’s a lot of info out there and I’ll put links to that on my online handout. \n\n
* So let’s talk about selection criteria. If I go back to my goals, they guide me in what I should be selecting. \n* My goals let me know that I’m looking for Items that 1) support the school’s curriculum, 2) assist them in developing a Christian worldview 3) deepen their relationship with Christ and 4) help them develop a love of reading and learning. \n* You might say “Well that can pretty much encompass everything.” Yes, but it also gives me a kind of ranking system. If there’s an item I’m really not sure about, for whatever reason, I can see which category it fits into and if it fits into more than one, then I have more reason to buy it. This is helpful when you have limited funds. If I have $100 I’m going to focus on items that fit more than one category. And it’s also helpful for giving answers when parents or administrators question your selections. If that hasn’t happened to you yet in a religious school, it will. Just stick around awhile. \nThis idea of using your goals as selection criteria can be done no matter what your goals are. \n\n
* Let me get a little more practical here and talk about somethign other selection tips that are helpful in religious school libraries. \n* The stuff on this slide doesn’t necesssarily have to make it into your CD policy. These are just things I think about when it comes to CD. \n* It’s not my opinion that a religious school library should only hold items from religious publishers. To me, that in itself is a form of censorship and I’ve been to many Christian school libraries where they might have secular nonfiction resources, but they have ZERO popular fiction. Everything is Christian fiction. It breaks my heart when I see libraries like that. First of all, there’s so much more secular material out there. It isolates male readers and non religious students. Second, it doesn’t present students with a broad enough selection of books to be an accurate reflection of society. I don’t want to get into a debate about sheltering your kids, but I’m going to assume that we all believe our libraries should have a mix. And finally, there are some really great books out there that kids might be missing out on! Many of them with nothing that even the most conservative Christian would deem objectionable or offensive. So aim for a good mix of both. I’ve included a list of good secular resources and religious resources for several different faiths. \n* Quality of religious works- a lot of well-intentioned authors out there who are sincere about their faith, but have questionable research methods or don’t quite have their facts straight. Or they tend towards extremism. So for that reason, if I’m looking for a particular topic or subject from the Christian perspective I’ll start with the major publishers first. I’ve noticed that some of the self-published items I’ve come across in our library don’t quite get their facts stragith and haven’t really been vetted by editors. So, make sure you’re buying quality material and not buying it just because it labels itself as areligious. \n* Religious titles- if your school represents a certain denomination, it’s going to be really hard to include titles that reflect only your demoniation’s beliefs. If you try to do that, you’ll have a very small library and you’ll be walking the censorship borderline. You need to have some wording in your collection development plan that allows for a wide variety of beliefs under the larger umbrella of your faith. For example, Baptist Christian schools can’t only have baptist books. They’ll have books by Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, etc. \n* I guess when it comes down to it, I just always try to present both sides. I know this is library school 101 but I think sometimes we forget. \n* For me, my biggest concern is not that I’ll purchase something that will get me fired. My concern is that my library is not going to accurately reflect the reality of being a person of faith in the world we live in today. To me that means educating my students about what Christians believe and about what other faiths believe, so that they can decide for themselves if they really believe it, too. \n\n
* Let me get a little more practical here and talk about somethign other selection tips that are helpful in religious school libraries. \n* The stuff on this slide doesn’t necesssarily have to make it into your CD policy. These are just things I think about when it comes to CD. \n* It’s not my opinion that a religious school library should only hold items from religious publishers. To me, that in itself is a form of censorship and I’ve been to many Christian school libraries where they might have secular nonfiction resources, but they have ZERO popular fiction. Everything is Christian fiction. It breaks my heart when I see libraries like that. First of all, there’s so much more secular material out there. It isolates male readers and non religious students. Second, it doesn’t present students with a broad enough selection of books to be an accurate reflection of society. I don’t want to get into a debate about sheltering your kids, but I’m going to assume that we all believe our libraries should have a mix. And finally, there are some really great books out there that kids might be missing out on! Many of them with nothing that even the most conservative Christian would deem objectionable or offensive. So aim for a good mix of both. I’ve included a list of good secular resources and religious resources for several different faiths. \n* Quality of religious works- a lot of well-intentioned authors out there who are sincere about their faith, but have questionable research methods or don’t quite have their facts straight. Or they tend towards extremism. So for that reason, if I’m looking for a particular topic or subject from the Christian perspective I’ll start with the major publishers first. I’ve noticed that some of the self-published items I’ve come across in our library don’t quite get their facts stragith and haven’t really been vetted by editors. So, make sure you’re buying quality material and not buying it just because it labels itself as areligious. \n* Religious titles- if your school represents a certain denomination, it’s going to be really hard to include titles that reflect only your demoniation’s beliefs. If you try to do that, you’ll have a very small library and you’ll be walking the censorship borderline. You need to have some wording in your collection development plan that allows for a wide variety of beliefs under the larger umbrella of your faith. For example, Baptist Christian schools can’t only have baptist books. They’ll have books by Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, etc. \n* I guess when it comes down to it, I just always try to present both sides. I know this is library school 101 but I think sometimes we forget. \n* For me, my biggest concern is not that I’ll purchase something that will get me fired. My concern is that my library is not going to accurately reflect the reality of being a person of faith in the world we live in today. To me that means educating my students about what Christians believe and about what other faiths believe, so that they can decide for themselves if they really believe it, too. \n\n
* Let me get a little more practical here and talk about somethign other selection tips that are helpful in religious school libraries. \n* The stuff on this slide doesn’t necesssarily have to make it into your CD policy. These are just things I think about when it comes to CD. \n* It’s not my opinion that a religious school library should only hold items from religious publishers. To me, that in itself is a form of censorship and I’ve been to many Christian school libraries where they might have secular nonfiction resources, but they have ZERO popular fiction. Everything is Christian fiction. It breaks my heart when I see libraries like that. First of all, there’s so much more secular material out there. It isolates male readers and non religious students. Second, it doesn’t present students with a broad enough selection of books to be an accurate reflection of society. I don’t want to get into a debate about sheltering your kids, but I’m going to assume that we all believe our libraries should have a mix. And finally, there are some really great books out there that kids might be missing out on! Many of them with nothing that even the most conservative Christian would deem objectionable or offensive. So aim for a good mix of both. I’ve included a list of good secular resources and religious resources for several different faiths. \n* Quality of religious works- a lot of well-intentioned authors out there who are sincere about their faith, but have questionable research methods or don’t quite have their facts straight. Or they tend towards extremism. So for that reason, if I’m looking for a particular topic or subject from the Christian perspective I’ll start with the major publishers first. I’ve noticed that some of the self-published items I’ve come across in our library don’t quite get their facts stragith and haven’t really been vetted by editors. So, make sure you’re buying quality material and not buying it just because it labels itself as areligious. \n* Religious titles- if your school represents a certain denomination, it’s going to be really hard to include titles that reflect only your demoniation’s beliefs. If you try to do that, you’ll have a very small library and you’ll be walking the censorship borderline. You need to have some wording in your collection development plan that allows for a wide variety of beliefs under the larger umbrella of your faith. For example, Baptist Christian schools can’t only have baptist books. They’ll have books by Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, etc. \n* I guess when it comes down to it, I just always try to present both sides. I know this is library school 101 but I think sometimes we forget. \n* For me, my biggest concern is not that I’ll purchase something that will get me fired. My concern is that my library is not going to accurately reflect the reality of being a person of faith in the world we live in today. To me that means educating my students about what Christians believe and about what other faiths believe, so that they can decide for themselves if they really believe it, too. \n\n
I know a lot of religious schools have very little money for school libraries. You might even be in a library with literally no money. I’ve seen a lot of schools in that situation rely on donations to build their libraries. I want to caution you in taking that approach. 1) It sends to the message to your school community that you really don’t need a budget because people are more than willing to give you their cast-offs and 2) collection development is about selection, not donations. I know that one of the hardest things to do is to refuse a donation from a well-meaning community member. But if you have your CD policy written, school approved and readily available, you can kindly and politely let them know the reasons why you don’t’ accept every donation. This was very helpful to me when a student’s grandfather wanted to give me his entire set of very old birdwatching books. It was a big deal. He personally invited me and our school’s chancellor to his office. I told the chancellor that in my experience, donations like these usually weren’t what we want, but he made me go anyways. I thought I was toast. I thought I’d have to haul home a whole set of those books. They didn’t fit any of my selection criteria- which remember was based on my goals and my school goals, and he understood when I explained. \n
I know a lot of religious schools have very little money for school libraries. You might even be in a library with literally no money. I’ve seen a lot of schools in that situation rely on donations to build their libraries. I want to caution you in taking that approach. 1) It sends to the message to your school community that you really don’t need a budget because people are more than willing to give you their cast-offs and 2) collection development is about selection, not donations. I know that one of the hardest things to do is to refuse a donation from a well-meaning community member. But if you have your CD policy written, school approved and readily available, you can kindly and politely let them know the reasons why you don’t’ accept every donation. This was very helpful to me when a student’s grandfather wanted to give me his entire set of very old birdwatching books. It was a big deal. He personally invited me and our school’s chancellor to his office. I told the chancellor that in my experience, donations like these usually weren’t what we want, but he made me go anyways. I thought I was toast. I thought I’d have to haul home a whole set of those books. They didn’t fit any of my selection criteria- which remember was based on my goals and my school goals, and he understood when I explained. \n
A quick word. Like I said there’s a lot of info online about this and I’ll put it on my online handout. But the most important thing is to be prepared. Make sure you have a challenge policy and that it is approved by your administration. It protects them and it protects you. Include it as part of your CD plan and have it readily available. Now, I must admit that my library doesn’t have a challenge policy, BUT that’s because our school has a complain policy in place. When I approached the subject of a challenge policy with my admin, we decided we’d use the same procedure as any other kind of complaints. The process was similar to a challenge policy so I agreed to that. The most important thing to me was that I knew what would happen in the event of a challenge, and my administration knows that too. \n
A quick word. Like I said there’s a lot of info online about this and I’ll put it on my online handout. But the most important thing is to be prepared. Make sure you have a challenge policy and that it is approved by your administration. It protects them and it protects you. Include it as part of your CD plan and have it readily available. Now, I must admit that my library doesn’t have a challenge policy, BUT that’s because our school has a complain policy in place. When I approached the subject of a challenge policy with my admin, we decided we’d use the same procedure as any other kind of complaints. The process was similar to a challenge policy so I agreed to that. The most important thing to me was that I knew what would happen in the event of a challenge, and my administration knows that too. \n
A quick word. Like I said there’s a lot of info online about this and I’ll put it on my online handout. But the most important thing is to be prepared. Make sure you have a challenge policy and that it is approved by your administration. It protects them and it protects you. Include it as part of your CD plan and have it readily available. Now, I must admit that my library doesn’t have a challenge policy, BUT that’s because our school has a complain policy in place. When I approached the subject of a challenge policy with my admin, we decided we’d use the same procedure as any other kind of complaints. The process was similar to a challenge policy so I agreed to that. The most important thing to me was that I knew what would happen in the event of a challenge, and my administration knows that too. \n
Again, there’s a lot of material out there, so I’ll put it online (including a presentation i did on the topic a few years ago atanother conference). It’s just as important to critically decide what goes OUT of your library as what goes IN. I know that a lot of religoius school libraries who have been around awhile might have a lot of OLD donations on their shelves. OLD books that were maybe cool to kids in the 90s, but not so cool anymore. Remember, just becuase it’s a nice religious book doesn’t mean it should stay. Most of discards have come from my 248.4- Christianity. \n
Again, there’s a lot of material out there, so I’ll put it online (including a presentation i did on the topic a few years ago atanother conference). It’s just as important to critically decide what goes OUT of your library as what goes IN. I know that a lot of religoius school libraries who have been around awhile might have a lot of OLD donations on their shelves. OLD books that were maybe cool to kids in the 90s, but not so cool anymore. Remember, just becuase it’s a nice religious book doesn’t mean it should stay. Most of discards have come from my 248.4- Christianity. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
* Encourage dialogue between parents, students, and yourself.\n* I recently had a parent call me up and she was concerned about some of the content in a book her 6th grade child checked out. She said her daughter came home and showed her some questionable passages and she wanted to know why we let a 6th grader check out this book. I told her that while we do separate our fiction into a high school section and a junior high section, we don’t put age restrictions on check outs for any of our items. I reminder her that our library serves students in grades 6-12, and there’s no way we can read every book that’s on our shelves. I complimented her daughter on having the guts to actually show the passage to her mother. I said, “It’s so great your daughter felt that she could talk about these things with you, and how great that you had the opportunity to talk with her about the beliefs your family has.” Now, I didn’t know if this family shared the beliefs of our school or not, but that doesn’t matte. The mother was able to see this as a teachable moment and she calmed down. \n\nI mentioned we have separate JH & HS fiction sections. They’re on opposite ends of the room and our nonfiction is in the middle. I let kids check out from any section, and they often seem to appreciate those guidelines. Some will venture into the other areas, some won’t. I think they like knowing that the books in their section are more relevant and age apprpriate to them. Some will self-police and I don’t think that’s a negative thing. It’s refreshing to me to see a child essentialy say, “I’m not ready for that yet. I’ll stay a child for a little while longer.” To me, restricting them would be censorship. \nAlong the same lines, I’m honest with them about what’s in a book. If I do have a child bring something up for checkout that might be a little too mature for them, I’ll let them check it out, but I might say something like, “Hey that’s a great book, but it’s a little intense. If it’s too intense for you, or if you get confused about it, you might want to discuss it with your parents.” or, “Hey that’s a great book, but I think it’s written for students a little older than you. If you find that you want something for kids your age, let me know and we’ll find something for you.” \nFor me, this is how I uphold the professional ethic of not censoring, not restricting, allowing free access, but also keeping my school’s Christian ethic of pointing kids towards what we believe to be true. If I know a student a little better, I might try to engage her in a conversaton later. “Hey what did you think about that book? I know there was a scene it in that might have been a little scandalous to some people. What did you think about that? How does that compare to what you’ve been learning in Bible class?” And this is useful for students who practice your school’s faith and those who don’t. Conversation leads to better understanding all around. Conversation is key. There some wording in my collection development policy that talk about using secular resources to engage students in learning activities and conversation. I like that because it acknowledges that there is value in understanding and critically looking at something even if I don’t morally or religiously agree with what’s being portrayed. \n* Another strategy is to really become aware of online resources for topics which may be a little more sensitive or controversial in your school. I know that a lot of religious school librarians may struggle with material on sexuality, or something like birth control. Our school’s official stance is abstinence so of course, I have a lot of materials which promote abstinence for both religious reasons and non religious reasons. But I also have books that give information on birth control because I know that not all our kids are abstinent. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the books I have on those topics, but if I did and if I was forced to get rid of them all, I could get a little more subversive and point kids towards credible sources online that present the same information. I think it’s really important if you’re going to do this, to make sure you give kids a pre-prepared list of SELECTED resources. Don’t jjust tell them to go Google it. I think it’s good to have this information available anyways, even if you don’t have a problem. Some kids, because of the religious nature of the school, might be embarrasssed to check those books out or afraid to do so. So having those online resources lists available near the computers (or even on your website) might be a good strategy, too. And again, on those resource lists, you can put both religious and secular resources. \n\nAnother strategy to avoid embarrassed kids is to try an honor collection for the most sensitive topics. I tried this for awhile at my old school (it was smaller) and it worked. Tell what honor collection is, how it worked. This can also protect you against any privacy battles. A parent wants to know if his kid checked out a book on birth control? Sorry, we don’t keep records of who checks those out. You may want to approve it with your admint first. Your call. \n
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\n
\n
I’d like to open it up for discussion for a bit. If anyone is willing to briefly share how they experience the tension we’ve been talking about, or some of their strategies they use to alleviate that tension. \n
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\n

Collection Development for Religious Schools, CSLA 2011 — Presentation Transcript

Collection Development forReligious & Parochial Schools Lisa Newton Valley Christian Schools San Jose, CA
Let’s Talk About• Assumptions• Professional v. Personal Ethics• Collection Development Policy• Balanced, Faith-Honoring Collection
An AssumptionYou, your students, and your students’ families... • Practice your school’s faith, or • Accept the integration your school’s faith into the curriculum and culture
Professional v Personal Ethics
• How do I simultaneously uphold my personal and professional convictions?• Is it unprofessional to let my religious beliefs inﬂuence my collection, even though I work in a religious institution?• Must I live a dichotomous life?
ALA Code of Ethics
ALA Code of Ethics• Statement 1: We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
ALA Code of Ethics• Statement 1: We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.• Statement 2: We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
ALA Code of Ethics• Statement 1: We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.• Statement 2: We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.• Statement 7: We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.
Where Do We Begin?
School mission = library mission School vision = library vision School goals = library goals
School Statement“Valley Christian Schools mission is toprovide a... quality education supportedby a strong foundation of ChristianValues ...equipping students to becomeleaders to serve God...Valley ChristianSchools supports the homes andchurches of students in providing aneducation that is grounded in the Judeo-Christian values of the Bible... “
School Statement Library Statement“Valley Christian Schools mission is toprovide a... quality education supportedby a strong foundation of ChristianValues ...equipping students to becomeleaders to serve God...Valley ChristianSchools supports the homes andchurches of students in providing aneducation that is grounded in the Judeo-Christian values of the Bible... “
School Statement Library Statement“Valley Christian Schools mission is to The Valley Christian School library’s main role is toprovide a... quality education supported support the school’s academic curriculum, while assisting students in developing a Christian worldviewby a strong foundation of Christian and deepening their relationship with Christ. TheValues ...equipping students to become library aims to provide our students with a setting inleaders to serve God...Valley Christian which they may “pursue academic excellence “by usingSchools supports the homes and a “broad base of resources with morally redeeming value,” “[presenting Truth] in the major ﬁelds ofchurches of students in providing an learning.” The Valley Christian School librarians selecteducation that is grounded in the Judeo- materials which present both Christian and secularChristian values of the Bible... “ world views in a balanced manner, with the goal of using the secular materials to engage students in learning activities which ultimately lead to the discovery of Biblical Truth. The secondary goal of the Valley Christian School library is to foster a personal love of reading and learning in every student, by providing resources for extra-curricular reading and research.
Your goals, mission, and/or values determine your Collection Development Policy.
Collection Development Policy• Selection Criteria• Donation Policy• Challenge Policy• Weeding / Discard Policy
Selection Criteria The Valley Christian School library’s main role is to support the school’s academic curriculum, while assisting students in developing a Christian worldview and deepening their relationship with Christ. The library aimsto provide our students with a setting in which they may “pursue academic excellence “by using a “broad base of resources with morally redeeming value,” “[presenting Truth] in the major ﬁelds of learning.” The Valley Christian School librarians select materials which present both Christian and secular worldviews in a balanced manner, with the goal of using the secular materials to engage students in learning activities which ultimately lead to the discovery of Biblical Truth. The secondary goal of the ValleyChristian School library is to foster a personal love of reading and learning in every student, by providing resources for extra-curricular reading and research.
Selection Tips
Selection Tips• Combination of secular & religious
Selection Tips• Combination of secular & religious• Quality religious works
Selection Tips• Combination of secular & religious• Quality religious works• Variety of religious viewpoints within your faith
Donations
Donations• Using donations to build your collection sends the wrong message.
Donations• Using donations to build your collection sends the wrong message.• Collection development is about selection, not accepting cast-offs.
Challenge Policies
Challenge Policies• Be prepared.
Challenge Policies• Be prepared.• Administration approval.
Challenge Policies• Be prepared.• Administration approval.• Readily available.
Weeding & Discards
Weeding & Discards• What goes out is just as important as what comes in.
Weeding & Discards• What goes out is just as important as what comes in.• Especially true for devotional books, “teen books,” and items which are supposed to make your faith look inviting.
Strategies
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents• Age guidelines not restrictions
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents• Age guidelines not restrictions• Be honest about the content- many children will set their own limits
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents• Age guidelines not restrictions• Be honest about the content- many children will set their own limits• Potentially offensive material = conversation
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents• Age guidelines not restrictions• Be honest about the content- many children will set their own limits• Potentially offensive material = conversation• Web guides for sensitive topics
Strategies• Encourage students to talk about it with their parents• Age guidelines not restrictions• Be honest about the content- many children will set their own limits• Potentially offensive material = conversation• Web guides for sensitive topics• Privacy concerns? Try an honor collection.
Avoiding Isolation
Avoiding Isolation• Don’t act weird if they need a resource on a sensitive topic.
Avoiding Isolation• Don’t act weird if they need a resource on a sensitive topic.• If you feel strongly about something, let the student know you’d love to talk about it sometime, if they’re willing.
Avoiding Isolation• Don’t act weird if they need a resource on a sensitive topic.• If you feel strongly about something, let the student know you’d love to talk about it sometime, if they’re willing.• Offer both secular and religious resources when helping search. Don’t ask which viewpoint they’d like unless they tell you.
Discussion• Your experiences?• Share strategies.
Questions?
Shameless PlugValley Christian Schools is hiring a full-time librarian! Contact me for more information
Collection Development for Religious & Parochial Schools Lisa Newton LNewton@vcs.net http://blogs.warriorlife.net/library Twitter @LibrarianLisaN

Collection Development for Religious Schools, CSLA 2011

by Valley Christian School on Nov 12, 2011

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Collection Development for Religious Schools, CSLA 2011 — Presentation Transcript