‘Library and Community Analysis’

This week, in my course through Library Juice Academy, I was tasked with creating a “Library and Community Analysis.” One aspect of that analysis was to describe services and resources that the library provides to meet the needs of diverse individuals.

I work as a part-time Library Technician at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts in Santa Rosa, CA. Among my site’s student population, 62.9 percent are white (US News & World Report, 2021). The school’s minority enrollment is 37.1 percent, which encompasses Hispanic/Latino at 25.0 percent, two or more races at 7.8 percent, Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander at 2.5 percent, Black or African American at 1.5 percent, and American Indian or Alaska Native at 0.3 percent (ibid).

Economically disadvantaged students make up 38 percent of the school’s enrollment. The student population is 55 percent female students and 44 percent male students (ibid).

As a classified employee (Library Technician), I oversee operations in the library (CSLA, 2018). My personal ambition for the work I do in a library is to foster a love of reading, create library “repeat customers,” and encourage lifelong learning (Parkhill, n.d.).

I’ve been making a conscious effort to build a diverse collection. I closely follow the announcement each year of Youth Media Awards by the American Library Association.

Along with winners of the John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal, I make a point of purchasing books that reflect diverse communities (the American Indian Youth Literature Awards, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, the Pura Belpré Awards, the Coretta Scott King Awards, the Schneider Family Book Award, and the Stonewall Book Award).

I’ve also made an effort to bring diverse offerings to the attention of readers.

One way that I highlight new and interesting titles is through “First-chapter Friday.” When school is in session, I post a link each Friday to a video I’ve recorded where I read a book’s opening pages.

I recently used TeachingBooks’ collection analysis tool to evaluate 149 books that have been featured through First-chapter Friday. Of these, 81 (54 percent) could qualify as “Diverse Books” (TeachingBooks, 2022).

Cultural experiences represented through these books include African American (16 percent), American Indian (4 percent), Asian American (7 percent), Disability (10 percent), LGBTQ+ (10 percent), Latino (10 percent), and Mixed-race (5 percent).

The median publication date for the books that I highlighted was 2017.

At SRCSA, “All members cultivate creativity and empathy, while embracing challenges, to engage and develop the whole child in a safe environment” (SRCSA, 2022, p. 10). Our school utilizes the YouthTruth Student Survey to gauge student perceptions of the campus environment. According to survey findings, “the majority of students report positive feelings about Adults on campus respecting people from different backgrounds, religious beliefs, LGBTQ, gender identity and various economic backgrounds” (SRCSA, 2022, p. 14).

I’d like to think my efforts to build a diverse collection will help contribute to an environment that fosters respect.

References:
California School Libraries Association. (2018). Duties and responsibilities of school library staff [Position paper]. https://csla.net/instruction/8155-2/ Parkhill, C.M. (n.d.) [Personal biography]. Staff. Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. https://www.srcsa.org/our-staff

Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. (2022). 2022-23 Local Control and Accountability Plan for SR Charter School for the Arts. Santa Rosa City Schools board meeting, June 8, 2022.

TeachingBooks. (2022, July 19). List analysis report for First-chapter Friday.

U.S. News & World Report. (2021). Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. U.S. News & World Report K-12 directory. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/california/santa-rosa-charter-school-for-the-arts-233796