Another resolution I want to make, this being December and all, for my blog and for my professional reading habits is to begin reading through all of the Newbery Award Winners. I feel like this will provide me a good sense of structure and a solid foundation when it comes to being confident in approaching our JF and YA collections. The nice part is that I now have a space to track the titles I will be reading. A space where I can also offer feedback and develop hook lines for when I give book talks on these titles. I have read some of the winners already (A Year Down Yonder, Hatchet and The Giver) as well as Newbery Nominees like The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.
Sometimes it feels like there isn't much structure to being a children's librarian. We have a different set of programs that tend to be belittled by other members of the library staff and are in a completely different wing of the library anyway. It is important to read the children's classics, but it doesn't seem to hold the relevancy with the patron population (the kids) as it would if it was about having knowledge of the adult fiction collection. The Newbery winners have prestige, like the classics, by being recognized for their potential of being eventual classics and have content that is more relevant to tweens today. I think reading more Newbery winners will give me the same feeling of validation that I get when I simply walk to a certain shelf of nonfiction books without looking up the subject's number. It's a more efficient use of time, and sets up a more opportune moment to match the patron up with the perfect book.
No comments:
Post a Comment