One of the things I enjoy most about being a teacher librarian is reading widely and being recommended great reads. I particularly enjoy being involved in the selection of the books for the Red Dot Award which is organised by The International Schools Library Network Singapore. Singapore is often referred to as the little red dot because we are a tiny dot on the world map, yet here in this island country, there is remarkable cultural diversity.
There are four categories for the award:
- Early Years (ages 3–7)
- Younger Readers (ages 7–10)
- Older Readers (ages 10-14)
- Mature Readers (ages 14-adult)
Shortlisted titles from recent children’s literature are chosen by a committee of teacher-librarians with the goal of offering a range of books from around the world. We look for diversity in:
- genres selected
- formats – we try to include one graphic novel and one non-fiction book in each category
- cultures/countries represented by the characters and of the authors, illustrators AND publishers
- the genders of the protagonist
Why is this important?
Hwang & Hindman (2014, p. 46) propose that “Multicultural literature teaches children about their heritage and the pride of their past. The illustrations, gender roles, and the language of the group should be accurate to represent the culture appropriately.” For their self esteem and sense of identity, all children need to see themselves, their family and their friends reflected in some of the books they read. My previous blog post on Why reading is important I wrote about Rudine Sims Bishop’s brilliant windows and mirrors metaphor. I also shared an amazing TED Talk where Chimamanda Adichie talks about the danger of a single story where she warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. One of my favourite organisations is Room to Read who support school libraries and girls education in the developing world. They also understand the importance of readers looking in mirrors and identifying themselves in the books they read. They produce books that are written and illustrated by local talent in the countries where they work.
Diversity of gender is also so important and I wrote about this further in Children’s Literature, past, present and future. With regards to our process for longlisting and shortlisting the Red Dot books we actually create a table that indicates all of these elements of diversity and we often end up in very heated discussions over which very high quality books we have to omit. Sometimes it is because we have too many female protagonists, sometimes it is because we have too many books from the UK or US and sometimes it is because we have more than one book from that particular genre. I am involved in choosing the older and younger readers category and often realistic fiction seems to have too many good offerings. The process is quite long and lengthy, but it is one that ensures the library staff are looking out for and reading lots of different content that does not always come from mainstream publishers.
I thought I would finish this blog post by sharing some of my absolute favourite Red Dot Books from the four years I have been involved. Just last week we almost finished finalising our shortlists for the 2020-2021 selection. Go to the red dot site above to read more about what we do in our schools to promote these books and also for the new lists which should be coming soon. You may also be interested in these three other book awards created by teacher librarians in International Schools from within Asia, Panda Book Awards, Bangkok Book Awards and the Hong Kong Golden Dragon.
Favourite Red Dot Books so far:
Early Years: Room on Our Rock, The Invisible Boy, Molly and Mae and 7 ate 9
Younger Readers: The Elephant, Stories for Kids Who Dare to Be Different, The Happiness Box, Ida Always, A Boy Called Bat, The House on Silat Road and Mango and Bambang
Older Readers: Illegal, Finding Wonders, The Goldfish Boy, Secrets of Singapore, The 1000 year old boy, Posted, Front Desk, Save Me a Seat, The Thing About Jellyfish, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Sachiko
It was hard to just limit to these titles and I am afraid I could not suggest for the mature readers because I am not yet mature enough to read these texts…
Hwang, S. & Hindman, J. T. (2014). Strategies for adoption children’s refugee literature in the multicultural classroom. Journal of Arts and Humanities, 3(12), 42-53. Retrieved from https://www.theartsjournal.org/index.php/site
The first few weeks of ETL504 have provided me with more food for thought on how the libraries are viewed in our school and in other schools I have worked in or observed. One aspect that I really want to reflect on is the importance of a library being an information service and not just an information source. Many schools have barriers to ensuring that this happens. These barriers include budgets and lack of trained staff, including not having a teacher librarian (TL) working in the library.
An information source includes a collection of data including books, ebooks and weblinks, all of which should be, and usually are, housed in a library. This can certainly be useful to some patrons, however, if service is added to these resources, then there are huge benefits to patrons. 21st century libraries should provide information services that add value by creating access, packaging and interpreting information sources and provide twenty-four hour access to all of their services (“Organisation Theory,” 2019).
There is a danger in all libraries that the library staff are so focused on doing the day to day work of cataloguing new books and managing the circulation of resources but they are not adding service. As soon as a patron has a request that should be the number one priority, regardless of how many other tasks need to be done. Excellent libraries also have staff that manage and maintain information, not just the information on the shelves but also the electronic information they are providing with Ebooks and links to websites and databases. This includes preserving and ensuring the accuracy and currency of all resources and educating patrons on how to find information and use it effectively. It would usually include creating and maintaining libguides, blogs and/or pathfinders so that patrons can access information 24/7. Library services also need to be innovative and responsive to new developments in IT and curriculum. TLs need to model, lead and support 21st century teaching and learning (“Organisation Theory,” 2019). After discussing this article with my colleague she shared with me a great blog, Library Grits, by Dianne McKenzie, who I know after attending a workshop she ran a few years ago. In her post, Airlines V’s 5 Star hotels (in Asia) she uses an analogy of comparing service in a library to the service provided in a hotel or by an airline.
In my library, I have also discovered the importance of advocacy. If there is not a TL leading training for staff on how to use the resources then they will not be effectively used in a school. In my school, many of our subscriptions, like our online Encyclopaedias or subscription to Press Reader, as a news source, are forgotten by teachers and students unless I highlight them and plan lessons involving them. A TL should also be very involved in teaching and planning lessons that involve 21st century and information literacy skills. In schools parent sessions by the library staff are hugely beneficial and in my experience a great tool for sharing knowledge with parents. Communication with all patrons is also a service that needs to occur regularly, including newsletters to highlight library services are important.
This subject is looking at the teacher librarian (TL) as a leader and it also made me reflect, if a TL is not working as a leader in a school then there is the danger that the library will be treated as just a resource and that service is not being provided. It also made me consider schools that do not have libraries, like some I worked at in London, and also those schools who have libraries but no TLs. In Australia, when budgets are tight libraries are often the first to lose staff or money for resources (“Organisation Theory,” 2019). With regards to my local context here in Singapore, the government has excellent public libraries and all schools have libraries on premises. However, different use of funding allocated by the Ministry of Education in Singapore means that libraries are designed and managed differently in each school. School libraries are not staffed by teacher librarians and only some school libraries are well designed, well-resourced and well used (Loh, 2019). In most cases, they are just operating as a resource, merely because there is not enough money put towards staffing. A teacher who usually has a very full workload is put in charge of overseeing the library but they are too time stretched to be able to do this effectively. Alternatively, a library assistant is the only person who works in the library and they just manage circulations, without having the time or expertise to provide added services. Colvin (2000) argues that many employees in organisations are treated like robots by management and they are unmotivated or lack opportunities to become knowledge workers who can use infotech effectively and have the capability to organise and deliver projects. When schools don’t employ library staff with the time to dedicate to the library and the required knowledge and skills then the library is unable to become an information source.
In comparison, many of the international schools in Singapore have multiple libraries that are well resourced and are almost always staffed by a qualified TL. However, Singapore seems to be at a tipping point when looking at its education system and there has been a recent study (Loh, 2019) and conversations are starting about the importance of school libraries with TLs. In a culture and education system that is very academically focused, people are interested to hear that students who read for pleasure get better grades in school. There is starting to be an understanding that there is a correlation between high academic results and schools that have a well-staffed and well-resourced library. Part of Loh’s study created the following framework for a 21st century library.
(Loh, 2019, p. 4)
This figure resonates well with me and I think it is a good summary of some of the multitude of roles a library has if it is to be an information source and not just a service.
References
Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). Retrieved from http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1.
Loh, C. E. (2019). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21st century framework. National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.32524.36489
McKenzie, D. (2019, February 13). Airlines vs 5 star hotels (in Asia) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://librarygrits.blogspot.com/2019/02/airlines-vs-5-star-hotels-in-asia.html
Organisation theory. (2019). In Teacher librarian as leader [ETL504 module]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_42384_1&content_id=_2733066_1
