School Librarians and Book Selection: What Do Letters to the Editor Tell Us?

Abstract

School librarians are often the only information professional in a school building. While collaboration with other teachers and administrators is valued, communication with other school librarians is also essential for support and professional growth. One area that separates teachers and teacher-librarians is the responsibility of materials selection for the school library. School librarians consider many issues when selecting materials. Increasing formats and types of infor- mation products compete for the attention of young people complicating the selection process for librarians. Decreasing budgets in school and public libraries force tougher decision making about expenditures. The education of librarians and an abundance of selection resources empower the library profession with proficiency in the selection process, however, in day to day practice, librarians often rely on communication with peers to inform the decision making process. Little research exists that gives voice to the peer communication among librarians who select materials for children and young adults. One example of peer communication, letters to the editor, is a form of communication known for eliciting strong opinions on issues of concern and a form of communication still evident in the Library & Information Science literature. Thus, I under- took a content analysis of the letters to the editor published in the well known, professional selection tool: School Library Journal in search of the issues and trends related to the selection of materials for children and young adults. The results indicate the existence of many issues and concerns related to the selection of library materials for children and young adults. A demographic portrait of the professional community that participates in this form of communication was also revealed.