Weeding Dilemma

If you follow me on twitter, then you know this summer and fall I've been weeding a library that has not been weeded in effectively 20 years. I'm finding some amazing/awful/atrocious stuff. Normally I'm a fairly efficient and decisive weeder. I like to think I do well at walking the fine line between far too ruthless and sentimental to the point of being a librarian-hoarder.

 

However, I've got a book that has me flummoxed.

 

 

Famous Negro Heroes of America by Langston Hughes. (blurry iPhone photo, apologies)
Copyright 1958 and that is the edition we have.

Pros: LANGSTON HUGHES

Cons: Not great condition, but not the worst. Passable-ish. Also potentially offensive title, slightly mitigated by the fact that it was written by Langston Hughes. Hasn't circulated since 2007.

Apparently this was part of an entire series of Famous Biographies for Young People, all listed on the back. And you can see below Hughes' name that he also wrote Famous Negro Music Makers which we do not own though the local University library does (shared catalog and reciprocal borrowing privileges).

So is this a classic because it is LANGSTON HUGHES or was this his quick contribution to a publisher series because dude had to eat you know. Or somewhere in the middle?

Thoughts? Weed? Keep? Try to fob off onto our local university? It hurts me to weed Langston Hughes, it really does, but condition and age and disuse speak against this one.

Related: My favorite TwitPics of books I'm weeding, but by no means a complete list. If I had photographed and tweeted everything that was ridiculously awful, I'd have doubled my time weeding. (all links should open in a new window, sorry I'm too lazy to re post them all here):

• When you change the title because it is offensive, try totally changing it.
• By "patriot" do you mean betrayed their people to the white man?
• Maybe the 70s were different, but this picture does not seem to be advertising a children's story.
• To be fair, I don't know that this book was every funny.
• I don't think all clowns are inherently creepy, but really.
• This status got published on page 17 of the September 2012 issue of School Library Journal!

Five Other Books

Friday Five (a very semi regular feature that is a list of five things). Today it is five books I would be reading if I were not reading for the Newbery award. I'm not complaining, it is an honor to be on the committee and I'm loving my work there, but this is what I'm missing.

1. Railsea by China Mieville
   I didn't completely understand The City and The City but I loved it. A youth adventure from this brilliant author? It's rumored to be brilliant. (However he is British and thus this book is ineligible for the award.)
2. Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
   I should have read this in January when it came out before the Newbery thing really exploded. (I only had a handful of books available to me then either through my library or through the publishers.) I've been a fan of the Ender Saga since my middle school days, and I keep coming back to them. They're old friends having new adventures. Dying to know how Bean and his children are coping in space. (Aimed at adults, Newbery is a children's award.)
3. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
   If you've not heard of it, it was a hit overseas (where it was first published) and is a take on a Russian fairytale set in 1920s Alaska by an Alaskan author. I've actually got a copy of this (lent to me with the understanding that I won't be able to read it for months). It may be on the top of my list to read in January. (Aimed at adults, Newbery is a children's award.)
4. Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
   I can say without reserve that Zafon is my favorite living author. Other than Jane Austen works, my favorite book is Like Water For Chocolate. Spanish Magical Realism is one of my favorite genres. A coworker suggested the works of Zafon 4 years ago and I've devoured them ever since. Then I've turned my sister onto them. Usually I pre-order these books electronically so I can wake up and find them downloaded onto my device. I'll probably get the ebook to read to and from the conference. I'm actually surprised I haven't cracked and read this. Shows you how dedicated I am to reading Newbery eligible books this year. (Zafon is Spanish and his books are first published in Spanish both of which make him ineligible for the Newbery.)
5. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
   I got an ARC of this and then a final printed copy. Clearly the publisher is trying to tempt us. And I am so tempted. Fantasy? Strong female Character? Elaborately drawn world and the beginning of a series? Check, Check, and Check. Any other year and I would have read this months ago. (It is aimed at teens and pushes too far at the "up to age 14" requirement for Newbery.)

Was on the list, but I broke down and read it anyway: Giants Beware by Jorge Aguiree. Fantastic children's graphic novel. The character is a strong female character (desperately needed in graphic novels, but popping up more often in children's graphic novel to my delight) in an action-adventure that would delight everyone and should appeal to girls and boys.

There are more. I've got a bunch. I'm still listening to some adult fiction and non-fiction on audio book, especially with my expanded commute. I've listened to Edith Wharton both The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth. (Someday I'm going to host a tea party and all we will do is eat dainty foods and discuss the parallels between Jane Austen and Edith Wharton. It will be pretentious and amazing. Because Lily Bart is Lydia Bennet.) There were many other audiobooks, lots of non-fiction, and right now I'm listening to It by Stephen King. I've never attempted one of his long books before; just read Carrie when I was 17. It's interesting and perfecting commuting on gray days fare.

Two moments of library cuteness

Work has been hard and stressful lately. (Did I tell you all that I am managing two locations one of which also doesn't have a children's librarian? It's special.) There continues to be a massive in pouring of books to read for the Newbery. (Thus far I've received in the mail 386 books so far, but I continue to also pull in from other sources.) And I've been focusing on the negative too much. I'm trying tricks to keep myself from going into a funk. When I can tell I've been complaining about work too much, I tell my fiance we're having an "us" night and even if all we do is sit on the couch together, I'm not allowed to mention work. And I'm re-living some of my favorite library moments. So for you, here are two of my favorite library stories.

A few years ago, when I was a Kansas library, it was a sunny summer day and in to my vision ran a young boy about 5 years-old.  As fast as his little legs could carry him he was at the reference desk and placing in front of me a plastic shoebox sized storage box. "HI!" he practically yelled, and before I could respond opened up the box, pulled out a caterpillar and placed it gently (as gently as a five year-old can) on the desk in front of me. "Grandma and I found this caterpillar in the garden and she said you would know what kind it was." About that time, Grandma, a little out of breath, caught up with him.

She and I convinced him to put the caterpillar back in the box where he had thoughtfully been supplied with twigs and leaves. The little boy was sure to inform me they took the leaves from the plant on which they had found the caterpillar. I reassured him that was very sensible.

After finding them several caterpillar/moth/butterfly field guides, they sat down at a table and began their investigation. On every likely looking picture, the little boy would plunk the caterpillar for a side by side comparison. Grandma would read aloud the descriptions. When the most likely looking candidate was identified, he took further investigative steps. The description included that the fully grown caterpillar would be about as big as a big toe. So he put the caterpillar by his toe (sandals). Then deciding it probably meant grown-up feet, he tried his grandma's toe.

Eventually the caterpillar was determined to be a tomato moth (it was found on one of Grandma's tomato plants) and he happily trundled off with his new pet/science project. Fantastic day, fantastic use of library resources, fantastic coaching by grandma in discovery and learning, and fantastic of all library staff (including the branch manager who wondered by) in not pushing the "not pets or insects in the library" policy.

About two weeks later two brothers of about the same age came running into tell me they had found a SNAKE! in their backyard. (Boys between age 4 and 10 are often only capable of pronouncing snake as SNAKE!)  But they said their mom wouldn't let them bring it to show me, but that I would be able to help them find out what type it was. After consulting the books, one of which they took home for further study, we agreed that it was a garter snake. (No surprise to their mother or me as those things are rampant in Kansas. I think I caught a couple as a kid.)

That's one of the things I love as a librarian. I love watching patrons, especially children, who are genuinely curious and want to know more. I love helping people learn to research at all levels. And there is something magical about a child who for the first time is trying to find the answer all by themselves. Blessings on all parents who encourage that process and not give the answer in the interest of time.

Lest ye think all my work is gloom and doom right now, a patron I helped with the computer today just came in and thanked me profusely and complimented the helpfulness of the staff right and left. (They are a fantastic bunch.) Good stuff happens every day at the library, and it is different every day. That is one of the best parts of being a librarian.

Graphic Novels and the Newbery

Here's a question that came up in informal talks at the ALA annual conference: Could a graphic novel (previously known as a comic book) win the Newbery Medal? According to the official criteria, there is no reason it couldn't. However I will quote one passage: "The committee is to make its decision primarily on the text. Other components of a book, such as illustrations, overall design of the book, etc., may be considered when they make the book less effective."

That is fairly damning. You can't consider illustrations unless they detract from the text. I imagine that is why The Invention of Hugo Cabret didn't win its year.

I'm receiving boxes and boxes of free books from publishers. (245 unique books at last count, 293 total - I get ARCs and then final copies and a few duplicate copies.) Initially I believed all members of the committee were receiving exactly the same shipments, but not so. Chatting during our meeting in June revealed that I might be the only one receiving some extra Graphic Novels.

Clearly some publisher has noted "Graphic Novel Buyer" beside "Newbery Committee Member" in their database and that is lovely. Though I can't guarantee it, it is most likely I'm the most prolific/experience graphic novel reader on the committee. Hence our discussion.

And so I began to ponder, could a graphic novel be the winner. I have some graphic novels from this year that are eligible in every other way (author is US resident, publisher is US based, etc) and so I pulled them. 20 pages into Giants Beware by Aguirre and Rosado and I was hooked. This is clearly an outstanding children's graphic novel.

But can it win the Newbery? For the next five pages, I covered up the illustrations with post-it notes except for little gaps around the text bubbles and the people's heads (so I could see who said what) and then I started reading.

Note: for this to be a truly effective experiment, I should have had someone else cover up the illustrations so I never even saw them. People already think I'm crazy, this request wouldn't even have them raising their eyebrows.

And then I read. And it didn't work. Without the illustrations the text was fun, but mostly flat. The setting was non-existent. And far too much was lost. I mourned a little bit as I replaced it on my shelf.

Then I pondered for a week or so more. Do I want a graphic novel that could win the Newbery Medal? The beauty of a graphic novel is in the interplay between text and illustration. In the best ones, the two work together, build off each other, complement each other. What one lacks, the other supplies, but you need both to fully appreciate the experience. A graphic novel that could win based on text alone would feel redundant. Constantly the text would be repeating what was clear in the illustrations: the emotions, the setting, and all those subtle effects.

Once as an experiment I checked out a "described" VHS tape (a million years ago) for the blind from the library. In breaks of dialog, the action and setting were verbally described for the benefit of the visually impaired. I found it boring, irritating, and jarring to have what was in front of me constantly described. (A lot of DVDs offer this feature, try it someday.)

So in theory a graphic novel could win the Newbery Medal, and it might be an astounding book, but I imagine it would be an awful graphic novel. Much like watching an audio described movie feels to a non-visually impaired person would be the graphic novel that wins on text alone.

And I don't want to read that graphic novel.

Reimaginings galore

This week for Newbery Wednesday I want to talk about reimaginings, inspirations, and their ilk. Now I've never paid this close attention to every single book published for kids, but this feels like an unusual amount of books that are clearly retellings. Here briefly are the ones I've seen. It is by no means a complete list, just what has come across my desk so far.

Standard disclaimer: As always my opinions are my opinions and don't reflect on anyone else on the committee. Nor does the brief notes I'm about to give mean that a book is or isn't a serious contender for the

Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards ~~ 1001 Nights (Arabian Nights)
This is not precisely a retelling. It's a new tale in the old world, incorporating many of the characters and elements of that beloved world. The main character is a girl named Zardi (short for Scheherazade) and her father is the Grand Vizier for the evil Sultan who kills one girl a season (four girls a year). Their are also djinnis who grant wishes, Sinbad the Sailor (and his crew) and a missing prince named Aladdin. It's a good middle grade fantasy with an obvious set up for a sequel at the end.

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter ~~ The Secret Garden
This one is intentionally a modern retelling. It isn't bad, just a bit forced. Orphaned child goes to live with rich
uncle who has a secret. They live on an island in an old TB sanitorium. She befriends a local boy who knows all about the local plants and animals. You know this story. It's a quick read and will appeal to many girls (including the girl I used to be) ages 8 to 11 (basically the same girls who liked the original).

The Last of the Gullivers by Carter Crocker ~~ Gulliver's travels
Think of this as a kid friendly sequel. The Lilliputians have been cared for in their own town in a walled garden in England by the descendants of the original Gulliver. A local youth discovers their secret and becomes their caregiver. In doing so, he pulls himself back from the brink of delinquency. And naturally has a chance to prove himself a hero when the town is endangered. Very clever book. Best part: the recreating of the "fire-putting-out" scene from the original. (No spoilers because if you've read the original, you know what I mean, if not, well... My main complaint about this book is that the author (a Californian) felt like he was forcing the English setting. Just tell the audience that the Gullivers immigrated to California and took the Lilliputians with them. It would work better than creating this false inauthentic feeling setting.

The Invisible Tower by Nills Johnson-Shelton ~~ King Arthur (assorted legends)
Only Arthur's clone is being raised as a semi-normal video game obsessed kid. Merlin runs a video game/comic book store. And through the video game Arthur gets his first taste of his destiny before eventually travelling to the parallel world that contains all the Arthurian legendary folk. You'll find the familiar elements, including a sibling (sister this time) named Kay. Again (as with much fantasy) there is an obvious sequel set up at the end. Overall it is a fairly solid fantasy with a few modern elements thrown in for fun.
Pinch Hit by Ted Green ~~ The Prince and the Pauper Haven't read this one yet. Two kids look alike, but one is a movie star and one is a star only on the baseball field. They trade places so the movie star can play baseball and the baseball player can help his dad's screenplay get made.

Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler ~~ Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans
Haven't read this one yet either. It's about a princess whose brothers were turned into swans by their new stepmother. Of course it is a retelling, that is Diane Zahler's bread and butter. She has an entire line of chapter books turning the familiar princess tales into longer versions for tween girls.

Newbery Reading Update:
I've read 37 books for a total of 9,092 pages. I've received 128 unique books or 132 if you count the second copies I got. (Second copies were donated immediately.) Currently I'm reading Bittersweet Summer by Anne Warren Smith and Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani.

Organizing Piles of Books

Everyone who knows me knows I have a strange obsession with organizing things. It is part of what makes me a good librarian. Asked to clean up a supply cabinet during my college job and the office got much more then they requested (a very efficient if slightly weird office supply organizational system). Now I am turning those powers of mine to the books coming for the Newbery committee.

When last I blogged about being on the committee, I had received no books. Now I have received nearly 100. One warning I received from previous years' committee members was to have a good organizational system in place before the books started to arrive. Borrowing heavily from others suggestions and my pre-existing systems, I did so. Here loosely are how I am handling things.

Electronic Management
In 2004 I participated in a librarian read challenge at my library. To keep track of my pages/books I started a spreadsheet. And then I never stopped tracking. Since 2004, I have one massive spreadsheet chronicling all my reading. I love it and its existence is probably the reason I have never fully committed to Goodreads, shelfari, librarything, etc.

Spreadsheets continue to be my best friend for the Newbery. There is a spreadsheet for what I read specifically for consideration for the award. I also use the spreadsheet to track the books I receive and when (if) I read them. Every month we suggest titles that we believe are strong contenders and the committee chair sends out a spreadsheet with all the suggestions. To that I add a column so I know when I've read those. (We're required to read all books that have been suggested.)

I'm taking notes about each book in a word processing document making full use of the headers/table of content feature to make it easy to navigate. Currently my notes are fairly bare bones/initial impressions. I will probably have to go back and fill them in more as I determine which books are serious contenders.

Physical Management
There are a lot of books coming in. Many are coming by post now. It isn't unusual to get multiple packages a day. And of course I continue to pull things from the library's collection. After entering them in my spreadsheet, I sort them onto some shelves. I cleared shelves in my office for this. (This method was suggested by a committee member from a previous year.)

The shelves are "have to read" (because they were suggested), "want to read" (based on my personal interests or initial 5 second judgement of the book), "will read when I get time", and "meh". Any books I pull from the library go on the higher priority "want to read" shelf (even if they aren't my first choice) because I have to return them. I've got a separate shelf for ARCs, sorted by publication date. After reading them, if I own them, they go into a cabinet. If I receive the "real" version of a book I had as an ARC (and some publishers are sending me both), then the ARC goes into the library's box of prize books.

I'm trying to alternate a "have to read" with a "want to read" and pulling an occasional "will read if I have time" into the mix. I'm also trying to alternate genres if only to keep them clearer in my head. Read two fantasy books in a row and they become a bit muddled.

Time Management
I know that many people receive "released" (paid) time from work to do Newbery committee work. And my supervisor was willing for me to do so. However, we're short staffed and I was having time determining how to do that and still get my regular work done. For now I'm squeezing it in as I can. I write up my book notes on the reference desk between patron questions. If I finish a project/report/book order, I'll take 15-30 minutes to read in my office. As the year goes by, I will probably look for larger chunks of time to read at work.

At home I try to read some every day. I read before bed, while my other plays video games, while the water is boiling for tea, while drinking tea, etc. I don't have a dedicated "must read NOW" time, but I am making a conscious effort to find time every day. (And yes I'm still knitting, but it is drastically cutting into knitting time.)

The Stats
Since I started reading in the last week of January (the first I could get my hands on some books), I've read (completed) 34 books for a total of 8429 pages. And please don't tell me they are short books, they average 248 pages each. I'm averaging almost 3 books a week (around 700 pages/week) and I know I need to pick that pace up. So far I have received 97 books for free. About 1/3rd of the books I've read I have culled from our library's collection as opposed to a shipment from a publisher.

Five Things I Wish I Learned in Library School

Yesterday, I wrote about why you should or shouldn't go to library school. Assuming you did decide to go to library school (or are already there), then for today's Friday five, here are five things I wish I learned.

1. Statistics
   I spend a decent amount of my time looking at numbers (door counts, circulation stats, etc) and wondering how best to interpret them. I've never had a statistics course in my life. So I do somethings that I'm not sure are totally valid. But usually I just divide and find the average. Every now and then I have a question and I'm sure I have the right raw data, but I don't know how to find the answer. My sister is a stats genius. I should ask her to do it for me for a birthday present. That's what sisters are for, right?
   
   
2. Management
   I had one management class in library school. Only one and it was only one credit (as opposed to most library school classes that were two credits). It was the most helpful class I took. But I'm a manager now of a small public library branch and I'm mostly self taught. I've read a lot of the books, but I made a lot of mistakes at first and I continue to do so. It's not just managing people. It is also managing a budget, supplies, everything. Running a small library is akin to running a small business. Since I see my future in management, I'm considering going back for a masters in public administration (MPA), but I could understand the appeal of a masters in business administration (MBA) as well.
   
   
3. Advocacy
   What training I've had in advocacy has come from conferences and other similar opportunities. I had zero in library school. Libraries are under fire and if we had more graduates coming out of library school who were politically savvy, knew how to woo donors, knew how to get politicians on our side, I would feel better about our chances. It isn't the MOST important thing, but it would be a nice one credit seminar. We need to know how to prove our worth (then again statistics help).
   
   
4. Graphic Design
   I design a lot of fliers and I'm not good at it. Now that I'm a manager, I delegate that to more talented people. Previous library systems I've worked at had in-house graphic designers and PR systems, but this is a lot smaller of a system. Even larger systems are loosing those positions as budgets are slashed. Knowing how to make a pretty flier/display/newsletter can never hurt. (Web design can be a similar experience. Our system has a person for that, but I still taught myself elements of CSS so I could alter and customize our Summer Reading online program).
   
   
5. Psychology
   I had one psychology course my freshman year of college which was quite a while ago. I'm in an urban library with a large homeless population. We see our share (more than our share some days) of mentally ill patrons. I don't want to offer treatment, but I would like to have a better handle on why the homeless man charged me last week. And perhaps better strategies to work with them. Quite often, I end up in the bartender/priest role of hearing a lot about people's lives. I offer sympathy and general comments without any specific advice. I keep hoping my good intentions and vague generalities will cover up that I don't know the first thing about counselling. (Nor do I want to be a counsellor).