Evangelizing to Black Boys: School Library Edition

There is much written about the decline of readership among young people, especially  boys and most specifically, black boys. I won’t go into all the studies that pit this percentage against that percentage. It’s been done and frankly, it’s boring. We all know the issue, so what are we gonna do about it?
First, we have to change our approach. No matter how enticing you make your library or your programs, some kids just aren’t going to come. It requires effort on their end and expending that effort may come at a cost higher than they would like to pay. Books are free, but having to explain why you’re carrying around a book may cost you respect. In some neighborhoods, displaying interest in anything makes you stand out and standing out in any way can be very dangerous, socially and even physically. We have to make it easy and discreet, but above all we have to make it relevant.

Relevancy

One of the main complaints that reluctant readers spout is “Y’all don’t have anything I want to read”. We have to admit that a lot of times they are right. If you have gangs in your school you may not be catching too many fish with Harry Potter as bait. That isn’t to say that you should stop purchasing fantasy titles, but you may need to begin looking at the In the Margins booklist. They highlight titles that best appeal to incarcerated youth. This does not mean these titles have any less literary merit than other titles, just that they have a perspective that is often overlooked. Case in point, Buck by MK Asante. I did a booktalk to an all-male advisory class this week and they loved it. They wanted me to read more and at the end of the period it was checked out. Who says black and latino boys don’t read?

Guns, gangs, sex. I have books on them all, sometimes all three. Does it make you squeamish? Go live in the burbs then. I don't mean to be harsh, but you have to serve the students you have not the students you wish you had.

Make it easy

I’ve become convinced that the trek up to my third floor library is too much for some and that’s okay because I have rolling carts. Just like Shawshank Redemption I go to where the people are. I collect titles that will appeal to a group and then I visit them and check-out on the spot. I set up in the cafeteria and do check-outs there. I waive fees and ignore overdue accounts (until Senior year). I make it easy to browse and I do it often enough that it doesn’t feel odd.

Make it discreet

Now this is something I haven’t perfected. Maybe a front office pick up/drop off in a brown paper bag. I’m not sure. Hey, I don’t have all that answers.
Thoughts?

Conservative Like Me: Religious Teens and those who serve them

There is an article on the SLJ blog that speaks to the service needs of conservative teens, Serving Conservative Teens. When I saw the title it made me think about the zeitgeist that's pushing toward ever more inclusivity as evidenced by the #weneeddiversebooks campaign. The movement brings to mind books for kids of color, books for those who are not white, straight, middle class and able-bodied. In my mind and at a glance it's about getting away from Anne of Green Gables as much as possible. But that's not really inclusive is it? We've just swung the pendulum from right to left instead of snatching the beam down entirely and putting everyone on the same playing field.


Here's a bit from the article:

In the end, “conservative” seems accurate to describe my subject here: teens who prefers not to read about certain kinds of things—sex, drug use, and teens who are perceived as being bad influences—in their recreational reading. Other types of conservative voices might get themselves into trouble with libraries by demanding that books be removed from these public spaces due to religiously motivated concerns. My patrons, however, may not be asking you to remove anything. Rather, they might simply request that you include more titles from different perspectives.

I had to take a look at the books I like to read and the books that I choose for my library and my book talks. I've steered away from purchasing Christian fiction, which to some may seem odd because I am a Christian, but I felt that the library was a place to explore the world without limits on appropriate behavior. This may be wrong. What I should be doing is making sure that I include fiction from that perspective and from that of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other faiths. I'd erroneously taken the position that a democratic space is a completely secular space, but that's wrong. An equal space is that in which everyone is served and are free to make their own choices.

So as a librarian I have an obligation to my teens to provide access to books that push their buttons and make them look at the world with uncovered eyes like Push by Sapphire. But I must also make sure that once they've made a choice to fill their minds with stories that reflect a more traditional view of life like Stephanie Perry Moore's  A Love Like No Other, I have that also. The commitment is to the student, to trust that they can choose for themselves what life they would like to read. They CAN make that choice and we have to let them make it without fear that the choice that they make is the wrong one.

Thoughts?