Building a Culturally Diverse Library Collection

Allison MackleyApril 2010

Finding a Framework

The following presentation will aid school librarians in answering the following questions:

• What policies support diversity in school?

• What does it mean to be culturally or globally literate?

• What responsibility does the school librarian have to develop a culturally diverse collection?

Board Policy

Many schools have policies that relate to cultural diversity:

– Nondiscrimination in School and Classroom Practices

– Nondiscrimination in Employment/Contract Practices– Recognition of Religious Beliefs

Regardless of policy, the lack of cultural literacy, however, may lead to gross misunderstandings of culture and a lack of confidence in a truly diversified educational environment.

A Classroom as Wide as the World

Because our students must compete, connect and collaborate with people from all around the world, providing opportunities for experiences that promote global awareness is essential.

Identity

Where students are in relation to their own identity and culture and the identity and cultures of students around them will affect to some degree how they relate potentially to every other individual in the room—including us, the teachers.

Dilg (2003)

Global Learning

Global literacy includes the following elements:

• Knowledge of other world regions, cultures, economies, and global issues

• Skills to communicate in languages other than English, to work in cross-cultural teams, and to assess information from different sources around the world

• Values of respect for other cultures and the disposition to engage responsibility as an actor in the global context

Reading Within and Across Cultural Lines

Building relationships between the classroom teacher and the librarian can help to encourage the following:

– Critical thinking in reading, interpreting and responding to multiple perspectives of global diversity

– “Ethical Contact” with unfamiliar worlds that might help to change the school community’s notion of diversity

Evaluating Multicultural Resources

Besides the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Library Bill of Rights, there are few guidelines available to school librarians to aid in the evaluation and selection of multicultural literature.

Making Race Visible

Multicultural literature should allow readers to reflect upon their own lives and also encourage readers to look into the life of others.

Criteria for Collection Development

• Accuracy – cultural, diversity among characters, language, and historical accuracy

• Authenticity – ensuring the author is a member of the culture

• Expertise – consider the qualifications of the author, illustrator or other creator

• Respect – assess stereotyping, tone and power distribution

• Purpose – evaluate the significance and uniqueness of the setting

• Quality – judge the overall quality and truth of the work

Transforming Our Schools

Because school libraries are part of a larger school system, it is essential to have policies and procedures to guide decision-making.

Obligation to the Profession

…choosing to work with literature from multiple cultures reflects a commitment to supporting artistic integrity, to deepening in our students the practice of critical thinking, to broadening their understanding of the world and themselves in the world, to fostering cross-cultural dialogues and communication, and to embracing the ideals which we have sought to define ourselves as a nation.

- Dilg

Resources

• Greene, S., & Abt-Perkins, D. (2003). Making race visible: literacy research for cultural understanding. New York: Teachers College Press.

• Agosto, D. (2007). Building a multicultural school library: issues and challenges. Teacher Librarian, 34(3), 27-31. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

• American Library Association. (n.d.). Library bill of rights. ALA | home - American Library Association. Retrieved April 2, 2010, from http://staging.ala.org/ala/aboutala

• Center, C. (2005). Desperately looking for meaning: reading multiethnic texts. MELUS, 30(2), 225-241. Retrieved on March 17, 2010 from Academic Search Elite database.

• Dilg, M. (2003). Thriving in the multicultural classroom: principles and practices for effective teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.

• Derry Township School District (a). (2004, March). Board policy 103 Nondiscrimination in school and classroom practices. Hershey, PA.

• Derry Township School District (b). (2004, March). Board policy 104 Nondiscrimination in employment-contract practices. Hershey, PA.

Resources continued

• Derry Township School District (c). (2004, March). Board policy 109 Resource materials. Hershey, PA.

• Derry Township School District (d). (2004, March). Board policy 136 Recognition of religious beliefs and customs. Hershey, PA.

• Downs, E., & Shoemaker, J. (2009). The school library media policy and procedure writer. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

• Hogan, M. (2006). Making contact: teaching, bodies, and the ethics of multiculturalism. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, 28(3/4), 355-366. doi:10.1080/10714410600873241.

• Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Curriculum 21: essential education for a changing world. Alexandria: ASCD.

• Rajput, T. (2009). Questioning your collection. Knowledge Quest, 38(1), 62-69. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

• Scales, P. R. (2009). Protecting intellectual freedom in your school library: scenarios from the front lines (Intellectual Freedom Front Lines). Washington, D.C.: American Library Association.

• York, S. (2008). Culturally speaking: booktalking authentic multicultural literature. Library Media Connection, 27(1), 16-18. Retrieved on March 17, 2010 from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.