Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Sarah Dessen Dilemma



I have a dilemma as a librarian; I know that I can't buy only books that I enjoy and that I want to read and that I want the students to read, but it's so hard. I love YA fantasy and paranormal stories and I would love to fill my (yes, my) library with those books. My dilemma is that not everyone wants to read what I want to read and I acknowledge that my book buying needs to incorporate all members of the school population. The reason that I titled this post "The Sarah Dessen Dilemma" is that I really do not enjoy reading her books. There are a number of student suggestions sitting in my box requesting her books, so I know I have to buy some to put on the shelves, but I just don't want to!!!

Walking the line between choosing books that will circulate widely (and many students seem to love the paranormal/fantasy books) and books that may appeal to different readers. I really do want to serve the entire school population, but it's so hard. My eyes just don't go to those types of books. When I'm at Chapters, I love browsing the teen section, and I can easily spend hundreds of dollars, but if I don't go with a list that includes books like the ones by Sarah Dessen, I won't pick any of them.

How do other librarians deal with this? The library that I'm in has a collection that very much reflects the attitudes and beliefs of the librarian who worked here for over a decade, and I don't want to continue that. I think my first step is that I do acknowledge that I have reading preferences and that I cannot allow my preferences to to dictate what I buy, but there has to be more that I can do. I've noticed that I don't have that problem with Manga. I'm not interested in Manga at all, but I'm happy to buy them for the students. Perhaps my advantage with Manga is the amazing store we have here in Toronto - The Beguiling. I can email the library services department at the Beguiling and they will be happy to select manga and graphic novels that are suitable for my student population. Maybe I need to have a contemporary YA novel advisor.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

What is my Role?

I have now been a teacher-librarian for almost three months. I didn't expect to be here, but I'm so happy that I am. Now that the initial panic has worn off, it's time for me to start thinking about what my role is as a librarian. Why am in in the library every day? Who am I serving? Am I actually helping anybody? These are not always easy questions to answer. I have been developing my vision of what a TL should be and I'm attempting to live up to that vision, but it's not always easy.

I look at the amazing work being done by some fellow TLs that I follow on Twitter and I'm in awe. I'm still trying to keep up with what the students are reading. I don't want to be an old fashioned librarian who is all about the books, but ensuring that the students continue to be interested in books is a vital part of who I am as a librarian. There is such joy in discussing a book with a student. The students really seem to appreciate that I value their thoughts and opinions. It makes me want to cry when I think that this was never part of their library experience before now.

I also want to become a leader in teaching students and teachers about how technology is changing how we learn and develop, but I'm terrified that I don't know enough. Can one ever know enough? I think I have to take an action/reflection model. Act first, and then reflect on the action and how it can be changed and/or improved. My first step towards this is to present to the department heads a proposal that would bring all students into the library every year to learn something about searching or digital ethics or citation.

I have so much to learn, and I may not have a lot of time to do it.