What I have enjoyed about this subject is that it made me critically think about programs and services for children and young adults in a public library setting. From my experience working within both a school library and now a public library it is important that as librarians we are constantly working on both the collections and the programming to suit the needs of the community we serve. By working through this subject, it has shown me that one of the most important roles that we will have as a librarian is to understand that it is our job to never stop learning and responding to the world around us. The library profession is dynamic, diverse, and broad and it is essential that librarians have these skills and knowledge to confidently respond to the needs that present themselves for future practice. Librarians are in a position to positively impact the patrons that come into the space, and this can happen with ongoing professional development (Stephens, Partridge, Davis & Snyder, 2022, p.258).
The area of this assignment that I enjoyed specifically was going through and reading the other students’ thoughts on the topic areas that we were asked to focus on. Not only do we need to think about our own learning and how we can do that in a formal way, but we can also grow from our colleagues around us. Something that stuck out when I was looking through the blogs was that everyone chose different activities from the next person. Everyone has their own way of viewing certain ides and it allowed me to widen my ideas and think about how I can change certain areas of practice in my own library.
Professional development is about constantly learning and not becoming stagnant in our profession. The information industry is always evolving with new developments in technology, to changing perspectives on current events and responding to the needs of the community you serve. Being a librarian can feel like an overwhelming job with many mountains to climb, finishing one project and moving onto the next, however by being proactive and undertaking professional development activities as simple as listening to a podcast on diversity then it can help you in the long run. The ability to access e-learning courses, tutorials and webinars has enabled learning opportunities to happen whenever and wherever possible. Professional development has grown beyond formal sit-down learning to looking beyond the workplace, from social networks, reading clubs and participation in specialised groups (IFLA, 2016, p.27).
This subject has allowed me to expand my knowledge through both assignments but also to learn through my fellow students. It has allowed me to further think about certain areas of the services I would like to provide to my community, and I can plan them better to ensure I am making the program the best I can. I am very happy that this is my final subject as I have really reflected on how I can become the best librarian I can be.
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References
IFLA. (2016). IFLA Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development: Principles and Best Practices. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/cpdwl/guidelines/ifla-guidelines-for-continuing-professional-development.pdf
Stephens, M., Partridge, H., Davis, K. & Snyder, M. (2022). The strategic, curious & skeptical learner: Australian public librarians and professional learning experiences. Public Library Quarterly, 41(3), 257-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2021.1893114
Topic: Diversity
In 2019 Better Reading were given a grant by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund to produce a 6-part podcast series which explored diversity within children’s books, which was released in 2020. Host Cheryl Akle spoke with Dr Randa Abdel Fattah, Will Kostakis, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Laura Bloom, Deborah Abela & Rachel Bin Salleh from Magabala Books on how diversity is a hot topic within Australian publishing, and they spoke about their views on how diverse children’s books are (Better Reading, 2020). Each episode explored different themes, cultural diversity and the lack of representation in the school curriculum, LGBTQIA+ representation, the importance of disabled characters in books and the benefits of exposing children to diverse literature from all ages.
Image: Better Reading, 2020
From listening to this series, it reiterated to me that the world is changing and evolving around us and this needs to be reflected in the literature that is being published for children and young adults. There seems to be a fear around not exposing children to these issues too early or they will feel overwhelmed, or they won’t understand, but the most powerful thing that can happen is children seeing reflections of their experiences in literature. One of the topics that arose while listening to Maxine Beneba Clarke was that in today’s society families can be made up by all different parts. This might seem like a small issue when speaking about diversity within books however its importance is immense. Family-diverse books can show children even if they come from different lifestyles, they still make up a family (Mokrzycki, 2021).
When I finished the series, I reflected back on the books that I have read in 2022 and took stock of the diverse characters that were present in the different texts. There were stories that addressed mental health issues, neurodiverse and LGBTQIA+ characters in every second or third book and there were a number of authors who come from diverse backgrounds and wrote about their culture and experiences. When I think back to when I was in my teenage years and recalling the novels I was reading, they didn’t offer these types of themes on this scale and that was only 10 years ago!
This series is a wonderful tool for those who are in a position that shape collections and programs for children and young adults. Diverse collections and using these books within programming shows children there are others in the world like them and this empowers them in their reading journey. Reading diversly also allows children to develop those vital skills that they learn through reading like empathy and establishes good lifelong reading habits (Cahill, Ingram & Joo, 2021, p.270). I really enjoyed listening to this podcast and reflecting back on each episode. It made me think about how moving forward when I am in the position of developing a program or shaping a collection that I make a conscious effort to select books that are wonderfully diverse and reflect the world around us.
Word Count: 499
References
Better Reading. (2020). New 6-part podcast series: A conversation about diversity in children’s books. https://www.betterreading.com.au/podcast/new-6-part-podcast-series-a-conversation-about-diversity-in-childrens-books/
Cahill, M., Ingram, E. & Joo, S. (2021). Storytime programs as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors? Addressing children’s needs through diverse book selection. The Library Quarterly, 91(3), 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1086/714317
Mokrzycki, S. (2021). The need for family-diverse picture books. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-119/the-need-for-family-diverse-picture-books/
Summary
Content – Best Books of 2020 & how to promote them
Type – Webinar
Length – 1 hour
Level – Teachers, Teachers Librarians, Librarians, Library staff
Organisers – School Library Association
Presenters – Lizzy Martin & Gabby Cundy
Format – 1 hour presentation through Zoom
Reflection
What are your students’ favourite books of 2020? The goal of this Online Meet-up is to provide members with a selection of the best books of the year, ranging from picture books right through to young adult fiction. Special mention will be given to graphic novels and comics. Presenters will also take you through a range of ways in which they promote books within a primary school library context.
Presenting this webinar enabled me to think about all that I have achieved over the past 3 years completing my degree. It was an honour to be able to present to teacher librarians from all over the state on how I promote books to middle grade and high school students. I have worked closely with the senior school library running their book club and when putting the presentation together it made me think about all the skills I have developed through the years.
All the professional development courses I have completed over the last few years had a hand in how I promote books to kids and how I connect with them to ensure they are engaging with books they will enjoy and foster a love of reading. My focus for the presentation was YA novels and graphic novels for middle grade students. Thinking about my next stage in my career, this is where I would like to tailor my focus for my studies and children’s literature is where I see I have a future in. This was a wonderful opportunity to be given in my role as a library technician.
Evidence
https://slansw.net.au/event-4033341
