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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Collection Development in the Middle

School Library Journal has started a new newsletter called Be Tween. In the latest issue, Kiera Parrott wondered about the tricky nature of navigating collection development in middle school. She asked:

"Collection development and readers’ advisory for middle schoolers have got to be among the trickiest responsibilities. I’m curious about how librarians handle requests from younger readers for titles with mature YA content—what kinds of books do you (and don’t you) purchase for middle school readers? How are they shelved and organized? Have you had to deal with challenges from parents or administrators?"

It's interesting that she should be thinking about this because it is definitely something I ponder every day. I have students who ask me for YA and adult crossover books that I know our high schools and the public library teen section are sure to have, but that I have not purchased because they are solidly YA in terms of their reviews: both the interest level and the recommended age/grade level fall into the above eighth grade category.



It's tricky to decide which books to buy, particularly when a series outgrows the middle school shelves in terms of its characters. Diehard fans of a series are going to want the next volume, but the themes may become more mature than we would normally choose for sixth through eighth grade. For example, when I started out as a school librarian, one of the most circulated series in my library was the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It was a rite of passage for the girls to read these books. In Starting with Alice, Alice is young--third grade. This is a prequel to the main books in the series, but I purchased it for the middle school without question because the series was so popular. However, in 2013, the final book in the series, Now I'll Tell You Everything, was published. This book, along with several of the other later titles, is definitely YA. Alice is in college and the themes are mature--much beyond middle school. The same thing happened when Ann Brashares published Sisterhood Everlasting. Although the other books in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series have enjoyed a place on our middle school shelves, I knew when I read this book that it was not going to work for the middle school. It is actually classified as an adult book, and although our high schools have copies of this and other adult crossover titles, it is not a book that I would select for the middle school.



On the other hand, there are YA titles that I know I will purchase for our middle schools. Examples of this have included the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and  is The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey. Both of these series have been exceptionally popular at the middle school level, likely because of huge publicity campaigns and movie tie-ins. My students demand these titles and they will get them in any manner they can. Though they are mature in theme, they are written in such a way that appeals to middle school aged students. Another recent book that I had to consider is All American Boys by Jason Reynolds. The themes of this book are mature, but so current and relevant to my students that I am willing to push the envelope in terms of including a YA title because I know that reading this book will impact my students profoundly and get them thinking and talking about important topics. It's a book that will be passed student to student and drive lots of conversation about their own lives.

So what factors make the difference in my process? Why might I include one YA title, while advising the students that other titles are at our high schools or the public library waiting for them? My process considers the following:


  • How does the book fit our written selection policy? We have a selection policy that guides our purchases for the district libraries, so I work to be sure any book I purchase falls within those guidelines when I read reviews. This is standard for most libraries and makes it somewhat easier (or at least you would think so!)
  • Can I afford it? I have to narrow down my selection because my funds are not unlimited. If a book more naturally fits at the HS level, why not let them make the purchase and narrow my focus more closely to sixth through eighth graders?
  • Do our high schools have the book? Although the HS and MS libraries sometimes crossover, I work to make my collection unique and independent of theirs so that my students find a whole new world of books when they move to the next level.
  • Where does the public library shelve the book? This helps me look toward our community standards and provides confirmation that I am on the right track.
  • Do I have time to read the book myself? I read. A lot. I try to read a variety of middle grade books so I can do effective reader's advisory. However, I also read most of the YA that I choose to include in the middle school (often by borrowing copies from our HS or public library) so that I can be sure I can defend my choices should that become necessary.
  • Do I feel comfortable shelving the book where a child who is 10 or 11 and a child who is 13 or 14 can both have access? I do not separate my collection by age. All of the fiction is interfiled and all students are able to access all books. When I had a sixth through twelfth grade facility, I often considered the implications of separating the fiction books. Ultimately, I decided not to because of space considerations--I did not have the shelving or physical layout to house two collections. I also had to consider budget issues--I could not afford to purchase multiple copies and shelve them separately when books met the criteria for both collections. 
  • Is this a "must-have?" This is crucial, in my opinion. I need to engage all of my students. I can't have a collection that trends so young that my eighth graders get bored and stop bothering to come and explore, nor a collection that trends so old that my youngest students can't make connections. Kids want to know that I have what they are looking for--and they judge my competency on whether I have the new, relevant titles they seek.
  • What are the issues that might be of concern? Often, I can anticipate why a book might be controversial. If I feel that I can perfectly explain why a book belongs in the middle school, I purchase it. If not, I pass.
  • Does it fit our curriculum? This is more of a concern for nonfiction than fiction, but it does help with purchase justification in many cases. Books that fit a curricular standard may not be written at all levels, so I occasionally purchase a YA book that fills a need that cannot otherwise be met.
That is a lot to think about. Do I make errors? YES. I find myself occasionally moving books from the middle schools to the high schools. It happens. I purchased nearly 1,800 books this year, mostly through reading reviews. Books will slip through that end up not meeting the standards I mentioned above--it's going to happen. I also want my students and their parents to think deeply about books and consider why people might be afraid of words and ideas. Sometimes a person has not read a whole book and is upset by one passage. Anything taken out of context (books, movies, music) can offend. An open dialogue on these issues exists among librarians, but our wider community (students, parents, and even teachers) may not always be included in these conversations. I do the best I can and suspect I am not unique in my process. My goal it to be on top of the trends and have students get excited about the resources in the library. I am competing with popular culture and all the distractions that implies, so it's worth the time to consider every angle and try to get it right. I'm curious to know how others handle this same conundrum--please share your thoughts and ideas. How do you decide if a YA title hits the middle school shelves? 






Monday, April 18, 2016

The Amazing Jason Reynolds

Just before spring break I received an email from the public library teen department. They had scheduled Jason Reynolds to visit and, due to state testing requirements, he was not going to be able to go to the high schools. I was asked if he could come talk to my students right after break. I wanted to say yes, but had to check with my principal and also find out if I could get staff members on board. Thank goodness, on both accounts, that the answer was YES. On that very day, 80 copies of All American Boys were delivered to the school and the eighth grade general English classes began reading it soon after.

I'm never certain as to how author visits will take shape--or how things will go on the actual day. My biggest worry this time was the week-long spring break looming ahead with our state M-STEP testing to follow. Would the students get engaged enough with the book to be ready for our guest? Would testing run over and make it hard for kids to come and meet the author? So many unknowns that any control freak would worry about were all coming together at once! However, after hosting many author visits over the past several years, I should know enough to trust my staff and our students--they always come through and this time was no different.

KPL and KPS librarians with Jason Reynolds. We are fortunate to have a partnership between the public and school libraries.
Mr. Reynolds arrived in the afternoon with the teen librarians from the public library. He was immediately comfortable--open and friendly in ways that make him magnetic. The kids were finishing lunch, so we had time to chat about his projects, as well as forthcoming books by other authors that he is excited about. I could have spent a whole day talking books with him. He also made a joke about my red hair (it's a superpower!) which made me instantly like him. I knew right away that the students were going to be on the edge of their seats--and I was not mistaken.

When the students arrived, they settled in and he began telling his side of where the idea for All American Boys came from. He also told Brendan Kiely's story. I won't spoil it because I genuinely hope everyone gets to see Jason speak, but I will say that the students were immediately engaged by his honesty and his storytelling ability. After talking about the book, he also spoke in general about the choices one makes and how they might impact future options. One of our staff members asked him about the moment when the "light went on," and he decided he needed to get his business in order as he had been a teen with little direction. He gave three heartbreaking instances that were pivotal for him . . . and you could hear a pin drop. It's hard for anyone to see into the future, particularly as a teen. I'm hoping that my students were able to take something from Mr. Reynolds' advice and that they will apply it to themselves. I see students every day who have limitless potential, but yet are backing themselves into corners where they will not have as many options as they might otherwise.

How impactful was this visit? We had to have Mr. Reynolds speak at the end of the day due to our testing schedule. Though the final bell had rung, I had students who stuck around to keep asking questions and chatting. As if that was not enough, even more students arrived at the evening presentation to hear him speak again. The boys were especially taken with everything he shared--and wanted to ask even more questions. I know that there is a lot of talk out there about transforming boys into readers. I have always thought that good collection development and reader's advisory both make a difference. However, this visit convinced me that making connections can also be powerful. I like the idea of authors becoming heroes and role models . . . but also for my students to discover their own strengths chart a path for themselves. I am grateful for every opportunity to expose students to new books, new ideas, new people . . . we are fortunate to have a relationship between the schools and the public library that offers our students so much more than I can do on my own.

These boys had follow-up questions for Mr. Reynolds. Two of them also attended the evening presentation to learn more.
Our staff members also took time out to join the presentation and ask questions after Mr. Reynolds was done.