"Never judge someone by the way he looks
Or a book by way the it's covered.
For inside those tattered pages,
There's a lot to be discovered."
~ Stephen Cosgrove, author
ReflectionSupporting diversity within a school community extends beyond acceptance of different races, cultures, religions, languages, and other typical categories. For the media specialist, diversity includes making sure all patrons have equal access to information. This may include providing different methods for accessing information and arranging the media center so all individuals can navigate to all areas. Diversity is also supported in the policies and procedures developed by the media specialist and advisory team. Librarians must maintain policies that are inclusive and not exclusive, especially when building a media collection, according to the American Library Association. This was one of the most powerful concepts I considered when creating a quality, balanced collection order in SLM 506 Selection and Use of Materials. As media specialists, we welcome opportunities to include materials that represent a wide range of people, needs, ideas, interests and subjects. We also must consider different contexts and formats, along with ensuring we use professional standards.
My high school materials collection order represents the diverse needs of our school community. Before beginning, I reviewed our school’s demographic data points, including gender, race, SES and special education needs. I used several professional resources to support my choices, such as School Library Journal, Booklist and H.W. Wilson. Locating more than 70 high-quality diverse items that had two or more positive professional reviews required a lot of planning and persistence! Waiting until the last minute to complete such a task would have been a disaster. I included a wide of range of formats, including digital, print and multimedia. Students who may have difficulty accessing information in print format can consult alternative forms. When I thought about the titles, I tried to select materials that connected to certain groups, meet curricular objectives and also provide insight for others. For example, the book The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the '68 Racial Divide by Steve Marantz may be used in a social studies or English class or be picked up by students interested in basketball or racial issues. Some titles may help others learn more about ideas and peoples who are often overlooked. We may not have a large number of Native Americans in our school, but this book Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City by David Weitzman may prompt readers to have a new appreciation. The materials project forced me to consider multiple variables and resources. The media specialist has a responsibility to create a collection that meets and reflects the needs of its school community. Identifying and tracking those needs while completing the order can be complicated. This experience, however, prepared me for a recent project involving digital book materials. The county school library supervisor asked me to create an order of ebooks, fiction and nonfiction. In this order, I was able to expand my choices to include books written in other language to support our English Langauge Learners. For my own library, I would like to develop a database template in which I can sort titles based on intended audiences. I could easily see how our collection can be used by different student and staff groups. Another critical resource I would create and then consult would be a student advisory group. Students (and staff) should play an important role when making purchases for the media center, especially if my goal is to represent the school community’s interests and needs. |
2.3 Respect for diversityCandidates demonstrate the ability to develop a collection of reading and information materials in print and digital formats that support the diverse developmental, cultural, social and linguistic needs of students and their community.
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