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STACKED

books

  • STACKED
  • About Us
  • Categories
    • Audiobooks
    • Book Lists
      • Debut YA Novels
      • Get Genrefied
      • On The Radar
    • Cover Designs
      • Cover Doubles
      • Cover Redesigns
      • Cover Trends
    • Feminism
      • Feminism For The Real World Anthology
      • Size Acceptance
    • In The Library
      • Challenges & Censorship
      • Collection Development
      • Discussion and Resource Guides
      • Readers Advisory
    • Professional Development
      • Book Awards
      • Conferences
    • The Publishing World
      • Data & Stats
    • Reading Life and Habits
    • Romance
    • Young Adult
  • Reviews + Features
    • About The Girls Series
    • Author Interviews
    • Contemporary YA Series
      • Contemporary Week 2012
      • Contemporary Week 2013
      • Contemporary Week 2014
    • Guest Posts
    • Link Round-Ups
      • Book Riot
    • Readers Advisory Week
    • Reviews
      • Adult
      • Audiobooks
      • Graphic Novels
      • Non-Fiction
      • Picture Books
      • YA Fiction
    • So You Want to Read YA Series
  • Review Policy

What To Do With Books By Authors Accused of Assault, Racism, or Other Inappropriate or Illegal Behaviors

February 13, 2018 |

This weekend saw victims of assault in the kid lit world coming forth to name the individuals who’ve harmed them. While no public forum like the comments on an SLJ article — one which fails to mention my work on this topic and fails to link to the work Anne Ursu was undertaking at the same time — will solve the issue, it’s a start. And like all starts, it’s rife with problems. It’s not victims alone coming forth to put voice to their experiences. It’s many on the sidelines sharing hearsay, which does more harm than good. In early instances in the SLJ comments, those individuals were told they were taking away from the voices of actual victims.

Over the last few days, a question has popped up in my inboxes, as well as across social media. What can teachers and librarians do now, knowing that they have seen names of authors and knowing they can’t ignore them?

This is tricky, but here are some options, and I hope this short, quick guide at least provides an opportunity to engage critically with your collection development, reader advisory, or teaching habits, as well as a pathway to navigating this unfamiliar terrain. Although timely in the wake of sexual assault victims speaking up, know this also applies to authors who’ve been engaging in racist and other behaviors which are inappropriate.

  • So you own books by those named…keep them on your shelves if they’re circulating or readers are picking them up. Do not toss them. That is censorship. But perhaps this is an opportunity to do some weeding. Pull up your circulation records of all books and following the CREW or other preferred methods of ridding materials from your collection, weed. If books by authors named haven’t moved in the same time frame that others being removed haven’t, then they can go. But to pull otherwise would be silent censorship.

 

  • So you own the books by those named and you’re keeping them on shelf…you’re under no obligation to promote them. Keep them on the shelf, but don’t put them on displays, on end caps, or in your book talks. Instead, use this as an opportunity to talk and share the books that are by other authors, especially those who are from marginalized groups. This is an opportunity to expand your own reading and your own skills, rather than relying on old habits which can be hard to kick.

 

  • So the books are in your classroom library…see above. No need to pull them unless they don’t move. Don’t judge your readers who choose to pick them up. But, perhaps, if your reader approaches you about the book’s content or about wanting to know more about the book, this is your chance to make a choice: do you have an honest conversation with them? Do you use it as an opportunity to have a wider conversation with your classroom? Or do you provide the basic information and encourage your students to engage in their own research odyssey? Only you can decide that based on your students and/or your patrons.

 

  • So the author has a new book coming out….do you buy it or pretend you don’t see it? This one is about going back to basics. Use the trade reviews. It’s so easy to auto-buy books by well-known authors or those who’ve had acclaim before. But why? It’s taking the easy route. Read the trade reviews, and if the reviews are positive, then you buy the book. If they’re middling to poor, consider your community. If it’s a community that would want the book, buy it. If not, then don’t. And if you do buy the book, either on good reviews or because your community would want it, buy another book or two, too, that has excellent reviews that you may have otherwise overlooked. Put in the work. For those without access to the trade review journals, know that many review excerpts show up on major retail sites, and that some sites, like Kirkus, offer their reviews for free online.

 

  • So you use the book in your classroom as a discussion title…why can’t you change it? If it’s your choice, use your choice. Pick another title. If it’s a title which is mandated by a department, bring the situation up to your department. It might not change the requirement, but staying silent when you know there’s a possible issue is worse. It’s tricky, of course, but speaking your truth will often make your voice shake. And that’s okay. You can use this experience when, if you are still required to teach the book, you teach the book.

 

  • So you don’t have the book in your library but someone asks for it…if it’s an older book, see if you can acquire it elsewhere, either via interlibrary loans, system holds, or track down a borrowed or used copy from another person. This ensures legality but also ensures money isn’t exchanged. If it’s a new book, you might need to buy the book. Use the same standards you’d use in any other collection development situation — if you buy all books people ask for, you need to buy it. But, like noted above, you are in no way required to promote it. Serve your patrons. Get them what it is they are asking for. Feel no other requirement but that when it comes to that book.

 

  • So what are some other things I can do…if you’re part of a planning committee for author visits or events, speak up if someone who is being talked about as a possibility is someone you’d feel uncomfortable with. Use your voice. If you see an all-male or all-white panel at an event, speak up. Get it changed. The same goes for purchasing. For writing book lists. For book talking. Work on inclusion at every turn, and keep your ears to the ground. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, trust that instinct. And, as has been said over and over, if you hear a first-hand story, if someone tells you something about being a victim (a student, a patron, a colleague, a professional), believe them.

 

If librarians or educators have any more questions not addressed here about what to do in light of what we’re learning, please reach out. Drop them in the comments here, and Kimberly, me, or our fantastically thoughtful readers can hop in and offer some thoughts. Remember that you have all the tools you need at your disposal. It’s a matter of remembering to turn back to those and rely on them as means to help you through.

Filed Under: librarianship, libraries, Professional Development

Integrity, Climate Change, Social Justice, and Other Necessary Facts: A Reading List

January 30, 2017 |

Something I’ve been wanting to do more of is round-up links of interest for older posts we’ve written here at Stacked, as well as older posts you might be interested that Kimberly and I have written elsewhere. Being that we’re on year eight at STACKED, there are so many things we’ve touched upon and dug into, and much of it is perennially interesting.

In the spirit of a US administration bent on the idea of “alternative facts,” denial of climate change, the closing of the investigation into the Flint Water Crisis, and bills meant to restrict access to affordable health care, reproductive choice, and more, it’s hard to want to keep on fighting. It feels like every day is a set of new laws, new proposals, and new stories.

The one place that has been a light — teenagers.

 

A Resource Guide To

 

We’re all aware that Teen Vogue is one of the best journalism sources out there right now, and that’s because they know their audience is smart, savvy, social justice minded teenagers. Teens have been at the forefront of leading marches and protests, and it’s teens who we keep seeing show up again and again to do the work.

I keep trying to find a way to build a booklist that adequately captures what it is teens are thinking and doing, and I realized that we’ve covered so many of these topics here on STACKED That it made a lot more sense to do a big round-up. So here, find yourself big book lists of YA reads covering topics of reproductive rights, social justice, climate change, doing what’s right, truth telling, journalism, and more.

Because the kids? They’re all right. Even in fiction.

And it might be that fiction is where we find the answers that allow us to fight on another day.

Please note: when we changed blog hosting services last summer, some of our older posts got a little weird in their formatting. We’re working on updating those where possible. They’re entirely readable and usable; just sometimes, the images look funny or uneven. Also note that this isn’t comprehensive.

 

 

On Science and Climate Change 

 

  • Genre guide and book list to YA climate fiction (Cli-Fi).

 

  • Monthly giving ideas and a book list for young eco lovers and conservationists.

 

  • Book reviews of recent non-fiction for middle grade and young adult readers with a focus on the environment, climate change, and science history.

 

  • Genre guide and book list to YA dystopia fiction (from 2013, when it was really big).

 

 

On Women’s Rights and Feminism

 

  • Monthly giving ideas and a book list to YA featuring characters choosing abortion.

 

  • Abortion in YA lit from Book Riot.

 

  • Abortion, Choice, and Agency: A guest post and reading list for our “About The Girls” series from Tess Sharpe.

 

  • In a guest post, Brandy Colbert talks about the importance of intersectional female friendships in YA lit.

 

  • The challenges of being female with an opinion. You don’t have to be “nice.”

 

  • Excellent nonfiction about girls and women for tween and teen readers.

 

 

On Journalism, Censorship, and Integrity

 

  • Book list and discussion: Young journalists in YA fiction.

 

  • Book list and discussion: Censorship, challenges, and protest in YA fiction.

 

  • A guide to talking about tough books with teens. While this focuses on books relating to sexuality, violence, drugs, and more, the same principles are applicable to talking about the current media and political climate (and women’s/queer rights). This might be a post we revisit, with a focus specifically on those arenas.

 

  • Defining “censorship” and differentiating it from criticism.

 

 

On Inclusivity/Race & Diversity 

 

  • A round-up of kid lit featuring black girls, from the money raised to help Marley Dias create a library of #1000BlackGirlBooks.

 

  • Making a commitment to diversity when you’re white.

 

  • Book list and discussion: Refugees in YA lit. At Book Riot, 3 non-fiction titles that explore the refugee experience.

 

 

 

On Inclusivity/Queer & LGBTQ Rights and Issues

 

  • Monthly giving ideas and a book list of middle grade and YA lit featuring trans and non-gender conforming teens.

 

  • The minds behind The Gay YA website talk about their inspirations and why having a space to talk about queer issues in life and in books for teens matters.

 

  • LGBTQIA+ books for middle grade readers: Discussion and book list.

 

  • YA queer stories that aren’t tragic.

 

  • LGBTQIA+ library and school book displays from around the world in honor of Pride month.

 

  • On micraggressions and queer phobia in the public library.

 

 

Disability

 

  • Solid disability stories in YA lit, along with a note of how important Disability in Kid Lit is.

 

 

Socioeconomic Class 

 

  • Librarian Faythe Arrendondo wonders where are the poor kids in YA lit?

 

  • How “free e-books” don’t help poor kids.

Filed Under: big issues, feminism, lgbtq, librarianship, libraries, Links, lists, reading lists, research, web resources

#1000BlackGirlBooks Donation Fund Drive Book List

February 1, 2016 |

Black Girls

 

In Mid-January, a story about 11-year-old Marley Dias and her quest to collection 1000 books about black girls hit the internet. Or maybe the correct phrasing of that is that it hit the internet in a way where it picked up attention and got spread far and wide in the book community. Almost immediately, I knew I wanted to do what I could to help this fabulous girl collect the books she wanted to meet her goal.

Like last year, I thought putting it out there that I’d take up donations would work. But unlike the Some Girls Are drive, rather than collect books and send them to Marley, I opened up my Paypal account to accept donations, which I’d then funnel into sending her book after book after book.

Nearly $3000 came in from the drive, which is fabulous and powerful. I still have a couple hundred dollars left to spend, and it’s my idea to get in touch with the people behind this project and help fill in any additional holes.

One of the fun, frustrating, and challenging elements of this drive was selecting the books to send. I let anyone who donated choose a title or two (or ten, it didn’t matter!) to send, but I limited to one copy of each title. I did this knowing that some titles, like brown girl dreaming and Pointe would be requested again and again and be sent again and again. There’s nothing wrong with that in the least, especially for a library like the one Dias is working toward, but I wanted to offer a further range of titles, too. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated people like Zetta Elliott and Edi Campbell, I was able to really dig deep into the world of kid lit featuring black girls at the center of the story. In addition to utilizing their incredible resources, I tapped into the brains of Sarah Hannah Gomez, Justina Ireland, and Anne Ursu, who all provided a wealth of title ideas for sending.

Justina further pointed something out to me that I’ve been unable to stop thinking about. It only took $2500 to collect nearly every black girl book in children’s/middle grade/YA/crossover adult. These books have limited shelf lives, as numerous titles were tough to track down or required me going through third parties to collection. Do you know how sad it is to think that that amount of money is all it takes to buy nearly everything?

I’m thrilled we could do this, but it didn’t hit me how difficult finding black girl books truly was until I’d exhausted the obvious, exhausted the less obvious, and still have some money left over to find further titles.  I am eager to see how Marley completes this dream of hers, as well as what her library will look like, but I’m also saddened to see so clearly the very thing she was talking about (and that so many others have and continue talking about): these books are not out there, not obvious, and that needs to change. I also ran into seeing just how few graphic novels offer black girls at the center of the story.

As promised, here’s a round-up of nearly everything I purchased for #1000BlackGirlBooks. This list is so long and took a long time to compile, so forgive any errors or mistakes. I’m doing what I can to designate titles by category — picture books and early readers, middle grade, YA, adult, and graphic novel. I’ve starred titles within each of those categories that are non-fiction, and all links will take you to Amazon. I’m choosing to do it that way because I’m using Amazon as my way of gauging ages for some of the titles, and it’s where I made my purchases for Marley because of the ability to track purchases and ensure quick delivery.

I used my librarian brain when buying these, knowing these will be used in libraries. That means there are award winners here, as well as popular books, as well as pop culture leaning title. This is a mix of a little of everything, just as it should be.

Ready? Here we go.

 

Picture Books/Early Reader Titles

  • Abby by Jeannette Caines
  • Anna, Banana, and The Big-Mouth Bet by Anica Mrose Rissi
  • Anna, Banana, and The Friendship Split by Anica Mrose Rissi
  • Anna, Banana, and The Monkey In The Middle by Anica Mrose Rissi
  • Anna, Banana, and The Puppy Parade by Anica Mrose Rissi
  • Anna Hibiscus (collection) by Atinuke
  • Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince*
  • Black Mother Goose Book by Elizabeth Murphy Oliver
  • Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse by Walter Dean Myers*
  • Cassie’s Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B Williams
  • Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen
  • Don’t Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Nelson
  • Ellington Was Not A Street by Ntozake Shange
  • Firebird by Misty Copeland*
  • The Granddaughter Necklace by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
  • Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
  • I Got The Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison
  • I’m A Pretty Little Black Girl by Betty K Bynum
  • Jazz Age Josephine: Dancer, Singer, Who’s That, Who? Why That’s Miss Josephine Baker To You! by Jonah Winter*
  • Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell*
  • Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mixup by Melissa Thompson
  • Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney*
  • Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown*
  • The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by Ann Ingalls*
  • Mae Jemison: Biography by Jodie Shepherd*
  • Molly by Golly: The Legend of Molly Williams, America’s First Female Firefighter by Dianne Ochiltree*
  • Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe
  • My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best
  • Hair Dance by Dinah Johnson*
  • One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul*
  • One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck
  • Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Ruby and the Booker Boys #1: Brand New School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes
  • Ruby and the Booker Boys #2: Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade Supreme by Derrick Barnes
  • The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy
  • She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick*
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
  • Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Plum Fantastic by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Toeshoe Trouble by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans*
  • Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
  • Voice of Freedom: Fanny Lou Hammer by Carole Boston Weatherford*
  • Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prévot
  • Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter*

 

 

Middle Grade (some are higher level and some lower)

  • Almost Zero by Nikki Grimes
  • At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England by Walter Dean Myers*
  • Bayou Magic by Jewel Parker Rhodes
  • Bird by Crystal Chan
  • brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson*
  • Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon
  • The Case of the Missing Museum Archives by Steve Brezenoff
  • Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance by Eleanora E Tate
  • Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • The Cheetah Girls by Deborah Gregory
  • Ernestine and Amanda by Sandra Belton
  • Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
  • The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman
  • Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
  • A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
  • Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia
  • Half-Way to Perfect by Nikki Grimes
  • Hold Fast by Blue Balliett
  • The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
  • The Laura Line by Crystal Allen
  • Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham
  • Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
  • Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration by Shelley Tougas*
  • Ludell by Brenda Wilkinson
  • The Magnificent Mya Tubbs: Spirit Week Showdown by Crystal Allen
  • Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes
  • Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl by Tonya Bolden
  • The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • Mo-Ne Davis: Remember My Name by Mo’ne Davis*
  • Nikki and Deja by Karen English
  • Nikki and Deja: Birthday Blues by Karen English
  • Nikki and Deja: The Newsy News Newsletter by Karen English
  • Nikki and Deja: Substitute Trouble by Karen English
  • Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
  • One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
  • President of the Whole Fifth Grade by Sherri Winston
  • President of the Whole Sixth Grade by Sherri Winston
  • PS: Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia
  • The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • The Road to Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor
  • The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor
  • Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden*
  • Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon
  • Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci L. Jones
  • Skit Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill*
  • Standing Against The Wind by Traci L Jones
  • Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes
  • Twintuition: Double Vision by Tia and Tamara Mowry
  • The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
  • Unstoppable Octabia May by Sharon Flake
  • Who Was Harriet Tubman? by Yona Zeldis McDonough*
  • Who Was Maya Angelou? by Ellen Labrecque*
  • Who Was Michelle Obama? by Megan Stein*
  • Who Was Rosa Parks? by Yona Zeldis McDonough*
  • Who Was Sojourner Truth? by Yona Zeldis McDonough*
  • Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes
  • Zahrah The Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
  • Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

 

 

Young Adult

  • 16 1/2 on the Block by Babygirl Daniels
  • Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Black Beauty by Constance Burris
  • Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong by Joan Steinau Lester
  • Blessings in Disguise by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Boy Trouble by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Burning Emerald by Jaime Reed
  • Caught Up by Amir Abrams
  • A Certain October by Angela Johnson
  • The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson
  • Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
  • Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire by Sundee T Frazier
  • Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
  • Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
  • Court of Fives by Kate Elliott
  • Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche
  • The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm by Nancy Farmer
  • Endangered by Lamar Giles
  • Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
  • Eye Candy by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Fading Amber by Jaime Reed
  • Finding My Place by Traci L. Jones
  • Fire From The Rock by Sharon Draper
  • Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon
  • Flipping the Script by Paula Chase
  • Flygirl by Sherri L Smith
  • Friends ’til The End by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Get Ready for War by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Getting Even by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Glitter by Babygirl Daniels
  • The Good Braider by Terry Farish
  • Heaven by Angela Johnson
  • Hidden by Helen Frost
  • High School High by Shannon Freeman
  • Hollywood High by Ni-Ni Simone
  • The House You Pass On The Way by Jacqueline Woodson
  • How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson
  • I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Jumped by Rita Garcia Williams
  • Kendra by Coe Booth
  • Liar by Justine Larbalestier
  • Lights, Love, and Lip Gloss by Ni-Ni Simone
  • Living Violet by Jaime Reed
  • Lost Girl Found by Leah Bassoff
  • Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
  • Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
  • Magic Under Stone by Jaclyn Dolamore
  • Mare’s War by Tanita S Davis
  • Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz
  • Nothing But Drama by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Orleans by Sherri L Smith
  • Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis
  • Pinned by Sharon Flake
  • Pointe by Brandy Colbert
  • Put Your Diamonds Up by Ni-Ni Simone
  • Real As It Gets by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • The Return by Sonia Levitin
  • Rumor Central by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • See No Color by Shannon Gibney
  • Servants of the Storm by Delilah S Dawson
  • Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
  • Sister Sister by Babygirl Daniels
  • Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves
  • Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman
  • Sound by Alexandra Duncan
  • The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
  • The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
  • Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince and Elaine DePrince*
  • Tankborn by Karen Sandler
  • That’s What’s Up by Paula Chase
  • This Side of Home by Renée Watson
  • Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
  • Toning The Sweep by Angela Johnson
  • Truth or Dare by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
  • Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
  • Who You Wit’ by Paula Chase
  • A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott
  • You Don’t Know Me Like That by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

 

 

Adult (with crossover appeal)

  • African American Women from the National Museum of African American History and Culture*
  • The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
  • Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood
  • Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  • Composition in Black and White: The Life of Philippa Schuyler by Kathryn Talalay
  • I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  • Kindred by Octavia Butler
  • Life in Motion by Misty Copeland*
  • The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae*
  • Misty Copeland: Power and Grace by Richard Corman*
  • Tears for Water by Alicia Keyes*
  • The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin
  • The Shadowed Sun by NK Jemisin
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  • We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*

 

 

Graphic Novels

  • Abina and the Important Men by Trevor R Getz
  • Akissi: Feline Invasion by Marguerite Abouet
  • Astonishing X-Men: Ororo — Before The Storm by Mark Sumerak
  • Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Aboulet
  • Aya: Love in Yop City by Marguerite Aboulet
  • Fight Like A Girl: Learning Curve by David Pinckney
  • Infinity Gauntlet: Warzones by Gerry Duggan
  • Little Robot by Ben Hatke
  • Malice in Ovenland by Micheline Hess
  • The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury: Time Runs Out by Brandon Thomas
  • Ororo: Before The Storm 1 by Marc Sumerak
  • Princeless: Be Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
  • Princeless: The Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley
  • Princeless: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
  • Princeless: Get Over Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
  • Vixen: Return of the Lion by G. Willow Wilson

 

 

Filed Under: #tothegirls, about the girls, book lists, books, Children, collection development, Discussion and Resource Guides, female characters, feminism, Fiction, girls, girls reading, librarianship, libraries

Authenticity, Paying for Play & The Core of Libraries

August 28, 2012 |

Liz raises a number of vital questions in her post from this weekend, Buying Your Way Into Libraries. Go read it if you haven’t.

I’ve been thinking about these two pieces she cites since both popped up. The second article caught my attention a couple of weeks ago with it first emerged: three library systems have recently purchased an agreement with Smashwords, one of the leading ebook/self-publishing services, wherein for about $100,000, each of the systems will acquire roughly 10,000 of the best-selling titles. Note that there are over 45,000 authors who use Smashwords and they do not know whether or not they are part of the Library Direct program until it shows up on their sales/payment report.

For anyone out of the loop, a number of the big publishers do not sell or license ebooks to libraries. Or, in the rare case one of these publishers does allow library ebook acquisition, there are either restrictions (such as no more than 26 total borrows) or the prices are inflated to the point that purchasing an agreement for them makes a huge financial strain on the library budget. That means the stock of ebooks available for libraries is limited, and with the demand going up, libraries are looking for ways to meet it. It’s not that they do not want to offer ebooks; it’s that their hands are tied and they can’t.

The Smashwords agreement looks like a fantastic option for libraries. It’s access to ten thousand ebooks for readers to choose from, fulfilling patron demand while also fleshing out a collection of books that are best-sellers. It also has the added benefit of not restricting usage and the cost spread out among each of the titles is low. The downside to this agreement, though, is that libraries don’t have control over what titles they’re purchasing. They’re relying instead on whatever best-selling titles are according to Smashwords (and as I mentioned above, even the authors who have books through Smashwords don’t know they’re part of that program either).

Buying into an agreement without control over titles isn’t necessarily earth shattering, but it does raise questions in my mind about collection development and what libraries are willing to give up in the name of providing a resource. In other words, to meet the demands and interest in pursuing ebooks, libraries are giving up the ability to build and sustain a collection built to suit the interests of their communities in the best way possible. More than that, libraries buying into agreements like this undermine the core skills and knowledge set the librarians have. It bypasses human knowledge — both of the classroom-gained kind and the touchy-feely kind acquired by being on the front lines of public service in a library — in favor of giving it over to a company who is interested more in making a deal than in connecting a person to a resource. They’re a business, not a public service.

One of the challenges about collection development that’s becoming a bigger issue is that of self-published works. There’s no doubt there are great self-published books out there, just as there’s little doubt there is a host of crap out there, too. Those who self-pub do so for any number of reasons. The problem, though, is that there are very few reputable review sources. Librarians who practice good collection development rely on trade reviews for purchasing decisions (as well as other factors, including awards or personal reading/knowledge, as well as blogs, consumer reviews on sites like Amazon, and other media sources).  They read Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and other big name journals, depending on their specialty, and those reviews help them determine whether an item is a good fit for their collection. It’s true — a bad review in a trade journal can keep a librarian from acquiring a book, just like a good review can convince them to purchase more than one copy.

When it comes to self-pubbed books, there are few, if any, places to turn to for reviews. At this point, the only trade publication involved with reviewing self-pubbed books is Kirkus; however, it’s vital to note that Kirkus’s self-pub review model is based on the author paying for a review and then choosing whether or not that review may be published through the traditional journal (though they will make that review available on BN.com and other sites, including Kirkus’s website). You can read the way it works here. There are blogs that also review self-pubbed books, but again, it’s not easy to determine which are best resources for librarians to use for collection development. And the truth of the matter is, there is so much being published through traditional means that even delving into the self-publishing world in libraries is more than overwhelming.

Backtracking to the first article Liz mentions that popped up this weekend. Todd Rutherford created a system wherein authors — self-pubbed, primarily — could pay to have him and his team write glowing reviews of their books. Those reviews would then flood the internet, on big sales sites and more. As the article notes and Liz pulls out, “One of Mr. Rutherford’s clients, who confidently commissioned hundreds of reviews and didn’t even require them to be favorable, subsequently became a best seller. This is proof, Mr. Rutherford said, that his notion was correct. Attention, despite being contrived, draws more attention.”

Through developing these fake reviews and flooding consumer sites with them, buyers were left with the idea that these books were worth purchasing. And they were not only purchased, but they were purchased at times in such quantities that those books became best sellers. The article goes on further to talk about how these sorts of pay-for-review situations have shed a light on consumer reviews all together, with some questioning whether they can believe any sorts of reviews they read outside of a traditional source, including blogs and sites like Amazon, BN.com, and others.

By paying for fake reviews, authors were seeing sales.

By paying for fake reviews, authors were becoming best sellers.

By starting a way for authors to do this, Rutherford made a lot of money.

What Rutherford did was remove the middle man, that human-knowledge aspect of reviewing and promoting. It became a business, rather than a service. Through this business, many saw themselves achieving their publishing dreams, and, as has been rumored, it helped at least one self-pubbed author gain a traditional publisher and make their way to the NYT Bestsellers list.

Smashwords, in the business of making money in the self-publishing industry, is taking away the control from libraries of collection development by offering them books that are best sellers. Best sellers that may or may not fit a community’s needs or interests. Best sellers that may or may not be well-written, of merit, or, hell, even edited. A self-pubbed ebook priced at pennies over the course of a few days could sell hundreds of copies and become a best seller. A self-pubbed ebook priced at what would be a standard price could also sell hundreds of copies and become a best seller — through the services of people like Rutherford.

The more we want to reach out and provide, the more we’re giving up. I think in the cases of some libraries, it’s less about providing a true service to readers and instead, it’s about “sticking it to the man,” as it were. In other words, they’re entering agreements like this in order to show big publishers they’re not needed anyway.

Except, in doing that, they’re also removing any control over quality, over content, and over authenticity.

Beyond being frustrating and beyond overlooking the library’s greatest resource, the question arises again over reviews and what a valuable review is. For self-pubbed authors interested in getting their name out there, doing it quickly and in the best possible light, there are two options: work hard and hope for the best or pay someone like Rutherford to stroke your ego and get your buck.

As a reviewer and as a librarian, both of these stories made me stop and consider the purpose of both of these activities. The first because it’s clear that there are people making this a business and doing it at the expense of those like myself and so many others who make reviewing a thing of blood, sweat, and tears; the second because it’s unfortunate that there are other people in the field who undermine what it is that individuals bring to a library: their knowledge, their critical judgment, and their interest in serving their communities to the best of their ability.

Services, not businesses.

Filed Under: big issues, collection development, ebooks, In The Library, libraries, publishing, self-publishing, Uncategorized

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