A Student Librarian's Journey - SLIS 761: June 2022

Intellectual Freedom Leads to Experiencing Diversity

Reading through the articles and resources provided over the last two weeks took time to read and watch, but also time to see how they connected. Then, it hit me...WITHOUT DIVERSITY there cannot be TRUE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. This is illustrated so well in Jole Seroff's article, when speaking with a returning student. The student praised the school for its access to information and commitment to intellectual freedom, but noted that the lack of diversity within the school stifled the ability to hear other points of view and experiences. This really made something click for me. We can provide the access to encourage intellectual freedom, but we must also provide programs and opportunities to explore and experience diversity. It is up to librarians to create safe spaces where students have freedom to access, experience, and understand the information gathered.

Intellectual freedom provides students with access to information from so many sources and points of view, which makes it the librarian's obligation to provide programs to support this flood of ideas. As Serott shared in her article, there are books that address intellectual freedom that can be read and shared in class like The Book Thief which can then lead to sharing the ALA's Freedom to Read Statement. This is really a great way to teach intellectual freedom instead of preaching it. Now that students understand intellectual freedom, it is time to add the diversity. One area to start may be with societal gender roles. Beth Brendler shows us that literature is moving away from the "boy" and "girl" books of the past, which gives students option to explore all literature in a safe and neutral location. But how does one librarian find the funding, program ideas, and resources to provide experiences in diversity?

This is truly a daunting task for the lone school librarian. Here is where collaboration comes into play. School libraries and public libraries are "natural partners", as Tonya Potter explains. It just makes sense to join forces, especially with schools not having the funding that the public library may have. It is a fiscally sound union, which has a greater impact on our shared patrons. One example that Marta Murvosh gave was how a school library and public library paired up to make an author visit possible. This natural partnership could help provide programs/speakers with other life experiences including different cultures, political beliefs, and gender identities. Individual school librarians may not have the funding (or support), but collaborating with the public library can have advantages. This could be an event spearheaded with a specific set of students in mind that could benefit a larger set of students/patrons, which the public library might host. This collaboration leads to programming events that is a win-win for the partners, but also a greater number of students. This partnership can lead to summer programming ideas, holiday events, teen/tween advisor boards, and so many other dual benefit activities.

This week's take away is two fold. One, intellectual freedom is everyone's right and librarians are the guiding force to support this right. Two, intellectual freedom exposes patrons to diversity and librarians are the guiding force to provide programs to explore the information and diversity in a safe space. Intellectual freedom and diversity are natural partners, there cannot be one without the other. Liz Hartnett was so right when she said that "libraries should promote and model intellectual freedom at every opportunity and programming is the ideal vehicle" (Hartnett, n.d.). School libraries and public libraries must ban together to support their shared patrons in their journey to become educated global citizens.

Other Resources:

Intellectual Freedom: A Pathway to More Diversity!

Kids! Know Your Rights - ALA

References

Brendler, B.M. (2014, Spring). Blurring gender lines. Reference & user services quarterly. 53(3), 221-224.

Hartnett, L. (n.d.). Library programming and intellectual freedom. [Lecture Recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k5dl4U_RP8.

Murvosh, M. (2013, January 1). Partners in success: When school and public librarians join forces, kids win. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/partners-in-success-when-school-and-public-librarians-join-forces-kids-win.

Potter, T. & Johnson, K. (2017, May/June). Two libraries working toward common goals. Knowledge Quest. 45(5), 22-29.

Seroff, J. (2015, September/October). Developing a curriculum in intellectual freedom: What our students need to know. Knowledge Quest. 44(1), 20-24.

Creating space for these positionsto be heard respectfully can be a challenge when the dominant culture of the institution is liberal and secular, but intellectual freedom is undermined if the school-wide discourse becomes hegemonic.

Creating space for these positions to be heard respectfully can be a challenge when the dominant culture of the institution is liberal and secular, but intellectual freedom is undermined if the school-wide discourse becomes hegemonic.

Adolescents and Juveniles and Tweens, Oh My!!!

This week's reading about tweens really hit home for me, as this will be part of my target demographic in my new library this fall. I am VERY aware of the tween in the middle school setting, but now I'll be in elementary school. How is an elementary tween different than the middle school tween? Answer: Not very much! They are all trying to navigate friendships, social groups, worrying about what others think about them, trying to act older than they are, but then don't wear deodorant. The hormones are flowing, just at different rates. The focus on tweens and giving them their own space really made an impact. This is true in the public library, but also in the elementary and middle school libraries. Tweens need their space!

The idea of having a TAG (Tween Advisory Board) team is something that also stood out to me in Gregory's article. So much of the focus has been placed on children and teens, but this "in-between" group cannot be overlooked. It is so important to realize that many times they feel out of place; too old for the children's area, but not quite ready to delve into the teen arena. I have always agreed with surveying students about what they like, but what a fabulous idea to give them their own space, their own collections, and their own activities within a safe space. This has made me think about creating my own "tag team" at the school level for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to be reading leaders in the library.

Another thing that really hit me was the fact that even though the teen novel content may be too much for some tweens; teen programming ideas seem easily abatable for tweens. The big picture teen ideas can be downscaled to tween issues and concerns. I really found the Teens Leading Change to be a great take away for tweens to use in their school community. Tweens can work to make changes to the playground or new library books, etc, This early start can lead to teens having the skills they need for the next step to create change in their community and beyond. This is just another take away from this week's readings. Ways to get students of all ages with a focus on keeping our tweens reading and engaged.