Fiction_L Archives Unintentional Racism in RA Services Dates: 5/29/02,10:53 AM  through  6/7/02,12:42 PM  (22 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2009-current     2007-2008     1996-2006    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to May 2002 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: Mary K Chelton <mchelton@optonline.net>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 10:53 AM

Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: "M. Wms." <mmwm@adelphia.net>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 11:15 AM

I'm interested in hearing what people have to say about this, too,
since Maine is 96% white, I believe, and probably more Native
American than African-American after that. We have NO regular black
patrons at our library (possibly some mixed race), although we have
plenty of books by black authors, but most of the adult books by
black authors don't go out a lot. Patrons seem to be much more
colorblind about picture and juvenile books. Which in itself is
interesting, I think. We also have a lot of books about black people
but almost none about so-called African-American issues, i.e.,
racism, civil rights (except in the children's section), class
issues among blacks, interracial relationships/adoptions, etc.

[I say so-called because I think these issues affect us all and are
not "black" issues but I'm thinking about categories of interest
listed in non-fiction and fiction booklists from large urban libraries.]

~ Molly Wms.
--
Molly Williams, Volunteer, Waterboro Public Library (Maine)
Library Weblog: http://www.waterboro.lib.me.us/blog.htm

Mary K Chelton wrote:

> Hi again!
>
> Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
> unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
> Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
> about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
> interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
> interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
> 12 months long was useless, although I tried.
>
> Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
> librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
> students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
> librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
> wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
> appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
> tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
> now curious about things like the following:
>
> Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?
>
> Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
> particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?
>
> Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
> than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
> population?
>
> Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mary K.
>
> PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
> literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
> book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
> won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
> Notable Books list from ALA.
> ****************************************************************************
> Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
> Associate Professor, Graduate School of
> Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
> Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
> Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
> 3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).
>
> Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
> Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
> E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
> ****************************************************************************
>
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>
>

FROM: "Warner, Deb" <dwarner@co.durham.nc.us>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 12:07 PM

I do some RA and selection, as well as designing displays in our public
library, a fairly large one in North Carolina. In fact, I have no doubt
that Bracey and Shearer, local professors for whom I have immense respect,
have done some of their studies at our library. Sometimes, I think something
is tagged as racism because that is a much "sexier" explanation than
ignorance or indifference. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of personnel,
individuals are sometimes placed temporarily in an RA service point who
have little interest in any reading outside their narrow personal range or
in taking the time to determine what a reader is actually seeking.
This is true no matter what the race or gender of either of the individuals
in the transaction may be and no matter what the topic is. The same person
may be equally as clueless regarding feminist writers or techno-thrillers.
I would be interested in the cite for the article, to see how wide the range
of inquiry was....
We have purchased books by both Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim.
Unfortunately,like many popular titles, they tend to disappear, making it
difficult for borrowers to continue to find them.
We just recently participated in a larger program (Bimbe Books) featuring
African American Authors reading from their works around the area.
Our Mystery Discussion Group has featured African American Authors and we
recently hosted an on-going "dialog" on race relations
I am very aware of trying to spread out the representation in any displays
to cover as wide and ethnic and gender range as possible(gay/straight,
Hispanic, Asian, African-American, Native American)

FROM: Andrew Smith <asmith@mail.wrl.org>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 12:37 PM

Wow, tough questions...

Our library does carry both Goines and Iceberg Slim, in an area that was
(gulp) 81% white in the last census. Is it institutional? I don't think
so, so I have to give credit to the librarians who decided to purchase the
works. That being said, I'd also be inclined to look for individual
correctives to the questions of minority inclusion in collections,
displays and events. Well worth asking yourself if you as an individual
do enough, or if the people you work with/supervise are attentive to these
issues.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Andrew Smith asmith@mail.wrl.org
Readers Services Librarian
Williamsburg Regional Library (757) 259-4050
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Wed, 29 May 2002, Mary K Chelton wrote:

> Hi again!
>
> Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
> unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
> Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
> about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
> interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
> interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
> 12 months long was useless, although I tried.
>
> Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
> librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
> students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
> librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
> wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
> appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
> tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
> now curious about things like the following:
>
> Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?
>
> Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
> particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?
>
> Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
> than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
> population?
>
> Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mary K.
>
> PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
> literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
> book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
> won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
> Notable Books list from ALA.
> ****************************************************************************
> Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
> Associate Professor, Graduate School of
> Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
> Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
> Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
> 3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).
>
> Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
> Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
> E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
> ****************************************************************************
>
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>

FROM: Kathleen Stipek <kstipek@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 12:58 PM

Deb's observation that racism is a much 'sexier' explanation than ignorance
and indifference is right on the money. She has charitably not suggested
what I will uncharitably suggest: that a presumption of racism on the part
of library staff allows one to infer that academics have their prejudices as
well. More than one academic study of public library services has suggested
to me that academics don't think public librarians are any too bright and
need much guidance from academia to get anything right. I confess to my own
prejudice that many academics have been away from working with live patrons
for so long that they have come to believe that what they read in journal
articles is the truth.

I don't pay much attention to a writer's origins in putting together
displays except as it might be relevant to the theme. I'd be as likely to
put Timmothy McCann in a romance display as anybody else. If we had an
Iceberg Slim or Donald Goines on the shelf (a rare occurrence, but it does
happen), and I was doing something on hard guys, I'd put them on the
display. That might be an interesting display, now that I think of it.

........................................................................
.....................
Kathleen Stipek, Adult Services/Interlibrary Loans, Alachua County
Library District (FMG), 401 E. University AV, Gainesville FL 32601
(kstipek@exchange.acld.lib.fl.us)
352-334-3938 (v) 352-334-3948 (f)

"Non, merci."--Cyrano de Bergerac

-----Original Message-----
From: Warner, Deb [mailto:dwarner@co.durham.nc.us]
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 12:59 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Unconcious Racism in RA...

I do some RA and selection, as well as designing displays in our public
library, a fairly large one in North Carolina. In fact, I have no doubt
that Bracey and Shearer, local professors for whom I have immense respect,
have done some of their studies at our library. Sometimes, I think something
is tagged as racism because that is a much "sexier" explanation than
ignorance or indifference. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of personnel,
individuals are sometimes placed temporarily in an RA service point who
have little interest in any reading outside their narrow personal range or
in taking the time to determine what a reader is actually seeking.
This is true no matter what the race or gender of either of the individuals
in the transaction may be and no matter what the topic is. The same person
may be equally as clueless regarding feminist writers or techno-thrillers.
I would be interested in the cite for the article, to see how wide the range
of inquiry was....
We have purchased books by both Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim.
Unfortunately,like many popular titles, they tend to disappear, making it
difficult for borrowers to continue to find them.
We just recently participated in a larger program (Bimbe Books) featuring
African American Authors reading from their works around the area.
Our Mystery Discussion Group has featured African American Authors and we
recently hosted an on-going "dialog" on race relations
I am very aware of trying to spread out the representation in any displays
to cover as wide and ethnic and gender range as possible(gay/straight,
Hispanic, Asian, African-American, Native American)

FROM: Mona Stevenson <stevensonm@wtcpl.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 2:13 PM

>Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

>Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

>Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries
otherthan those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population? Mary K Chelton" <mchelton@optonline.net

We make a conscious effort to include a variety of ethnic authors in
displays of all kinds - health, biography, fiction, parenting, etc. The
current travel display has a title on sites of black historic interest. Our
county population is less than 20% black, though the city percentage is
higher.

We don't do many author talks, given our location away city tour stops. Our
Children's Department does include storytellers and other presenters from a
variety of backgrounds.

We do have Goines' paperbacks. He was brought to our attention via ILL
requests, so we purchased a selection. I purchase as many audiobooks by
black authors as we can find. Several listeners complained that we didn't
have enough and left a black book club leaflet. When I checked the titles,
we owned all but two of those available in audio (the two were literary
compilations - that format hasn't circulated well for us.) Only about a
quarter of the titles were even available in audio an those usually
unabridged. I've had the discussion several times with readers about the
dearth of black audio titles, though some companies are slowly catching on.

There's always room for improvement, which is why this discussion list is so
helpful.

Mona Stevenson
Assistant Director
Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library
Warren, OH 44483

FROM: Viccy Kemp <Viccy.Kemp@cityofcarrollton.com>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 2:24 PM

I order Donald Goines, Chester Himes and other AA writers because I want a
balanced collection that is representative of our population. This books are
not segregated into a "black" area, off by itself. I also buy books by East
Indian writers and Native American writers for the same reason. I try very
hard to not "censure" my collection. In many cases, I buy a book without
even knowing the ethnicity of the writer.
HTH
Viccy Kemp
The opinions are my own; the library wouldn't want 'em!

-----Original Message-----
From: Mary K Chelton [mailto:mchelton@optonline.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 1:48 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Unintentional Racism in RA Services

Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: Lesa Holstine <lholstine@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 2:55 PM

I'm a librarian in Ft. Myers, FL which was labeled one
of the most segregated cities in the country a few
years ago, and I don't see that racism in our library
system here. I didn't see it even before we hired a
black director for the library system a couple years
ago.

We have Goines and other African American authors in
the collection, just as we have Hispanic, Native
American, Indian, etc., mixed in alphabetically in
fiction, or classified properly in nonfiction, not
segregated.

We include all authors regardless of ethnicity in
displays. And, as part of our Lee County Reading
Festival, we have invited numerous authors to
participate in our festival in March. Timmothy
McCann, Nora DeLoach, Kayla Perrin, S.V. Date, and
Caroline Garcia-Aguilera are just some of the authors
who have participated along with Carl Hiaasen, Sue
Grafton, Peter Matthiessen, Elizabeth Berg and
numerous other authors. So I don't think we only pull
authors out to celebrate their background once a year.

And, despite the fact we may be appear segregated, our
African American bookstore, Heritage and More, was
named African American Bookstore of the year last
year. The library system works closely with the owner
to see what she's selling, to purchase books from her,
and to bring authors to town.

Lesa Holstine
lholstine@yahoo.com
Ft. Myers, FL

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

FROM: "Kathy Loucks" <KLOUCKS@cml.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 5/29/02, 3:48 PM

Yes, yes, and yes. In fact, we are constantly replacing Goines and
Iceberg Slim because we regularly lose our copies. We pay a lot of
attention to multicultural fiction in our collection and in our
programming, but African-American fiction is by far the most in demand,
to the point where we now have a permanent display of African-American
fiction and separate booklists for African-American authors, new
African-American fiction, African-American mysteries, and
African-American romances. We don't do as much as that for any other
other group, and our African-American patrons often seem to be
displeased when they ask for the "African-American books" and we tell
them that, other than the books on display, they are intershelved with
the rest of the collection. So are we "segregating" our collection, or
are we practicing "reverse discrimination" because we don't have
permanent Jewish or Asian-American or Native-American or Gay/Lesbian
book displays? Or are we just responding to customer demand?

Kathleen Loucks
Columbus Metropolitan Library
Columbus, OH

>>> mchelton@optonline.net 05/29/02 02:47PM >>>
Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew
about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer
and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've
thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and
lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History
Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask
real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African
American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries
re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have
somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I
am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when
their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries
other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about
it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I
probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest
RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: Chris Raap EVS 708-422-8522 <raapc@SLS.LIB.IL.US>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 11:23 AM

I seem to be parroting some of the other replies but I don't feel we
practice racism in our RA. I don't purchase fiction but I do most of the
displays and all the bibliographies and authors are included if they fit
the subject not according to their race. Since we are in a rapidly
changing suburb--not just African -Americans but non-English speaking
Europeans, Hispanics, etc. it's very exciting trying to keep up with
the needs of our changing community.

******************************************************************************
Christine Raap * "The universe is crazy,
Evergreen Park Pub. Lib. * anything else would be
9400 S. Troy * redundant."
Evergreen Park, Il. 60805 * Londo, Baylon 5
raapc@sls.lib.il.us *
chraap@ibm.net *
******************************************************************************

FROM: Chris Raap EVS 708-422-8522 <raapc@SLS.LIB.IL.US>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 11:23 AM

I seem to be parroting some of the other replies but I don't feel we
practice racism in our RA. I don't purchase fiction but I do most of the
displays and all the bibliographies and authors are included if they fit
the subject not according to their race. Since we are in a rapidly
changing suburb--not just African -Americans but non-English speaking
Europeans, Hispanics, etc. it's very exciting trying to keep up with
the needs of our changing community.

******************************************************************************
Christine Raap * "The universe is crazy,
Evergreen Park Pub. Lib. * anything else would be
9400 S. Troy * redundant."
Evergreen Park, Il. 60805 * Londo, Baylon 5
raapc@sls.lib.il.us *
chraap@ibm.net *
******************************************************************************

FROM: "Mitchell, Melissa" <mdmitchell@mail.ppld.org>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 11:44 AM

I usually just lurk on the list, but I thought I might add my 2 cents worth
on the topic. There has been lots of talk about ordering books and doing
displays. But I don't think anyone has mentioned actually doing RA and
unintentional racism. Just recently, an African-American woman came into my
library and came to the Reference Desk and asked if she could get some
recommendations of some African-American authors (we don't have any official
RA Services. It is lumped in with Information and Reference). My co-worker
immeditately said "I can't help you, but ask Melissa". It just so happens,
I am African-American. So since that day, I have been wondering if the
patron was turned over to me because of my race or the fact that I am a
librarian and my co-worker is not. I tend to think it is the fist scenario.
My co-worker didn't even try to help her by asking any follow-up questions.
Or use any of the RA tools we have - Novelist, What Do I Read Next, etc.,
or even Amazon. So I wonder if I had not been working on the desk at the
particular moment if the patron would have left the library empty handed. I
also wonder what my co-worker would have done if the patron if had asked for
Hispanic authors or Asian authors, etc. I am sure if the patron had asked
for Science Fiction or Mysteries, my co-worker would have at least tried to
help her.

Melissa Mitchell
Reference Librarian
East Library & Information Center
5550 N. Union Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
(719) 531-6333, ext. 1314

FROM: "Laurie Librarian" <lauriethelibrarian@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 11:45 AM

I know from first hand experence that Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim are
popular in the prison (and jail) populations. I have been working with a
group of Library school students that provide the only library services for
three jails and know that they are high on our patrons request lists. Since
we only gain materials through donation, we seldom got copies of these
books. Some of us browse the local used bookstores and library sales looking
for copies........

Many of the titles by these two authors are held by multiple libraries in
the state as well as the correctional institutions. Our Reference and Loan
library has several titles as well as the state mental institution.

_________________________________________________________________
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com

FROM: celmore <celmore@westga.edu>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 3:19 PM

In reply to why a co-worker went to an African-American staff member for
help with recommendations...maybe, she thought she was going to the
most helpful source. Our head of Circulation is African-American, she
reads everything, but has really enjoyed the recent larger selection of novels
by African-American authors. I never hesitate a minute asking her for
suggestions because I know she is the most logical person to ask.
There is a white staff member who loves western romances - I go to her
when someone is looking for that type of book. Our Reference Librarian
is a very religious man - I go to him when there is a question in
the religious field that I need help in answering. I go to the staff member
I think can best help me help the patron - I don't care if they are green,
have six eyes and are from outer space - I only think think of them in terms
of the knowledge they have that can be of help.
Carole Elmore
Newnan-Coweta Public Library

>===== Original Message From "Fiction_L" <Fiction_L@maillist.webrary.org>
=====
>I usually just lurk on the list, but I thought I might add my 2 cents worth
>on the topic. There has been lots of talk about ordering books and doing
>displays. But I don't think anyone has mentioned actually doing RA and
>unintentional racism. Just recently, an African-American woman came into my
>library and came to the Reference Desk and asked if she could get some
>recommendations of some African-American authors (we don't have any official
>RA Services. It is lumped in with Information and Reference). My co-worker
>immeditately said "I can't help you, but ask Melissa". It just so happens,
>I am African-American. So since that day, I have been wondering if the
>patron was turned over to me because of my race or the fact that I am a
>librarian and my co-worker is not. I tend to think it is the fist scenario.
>My co-worker didn't even try to help her by asking any follow-up questions.
>Or use any of the RA tools we have - Novelist, What Do I Read Next, etc.,
>or even Amazon. So I wonder if I had not been working on the desk at the
>particular moment if the patron would have left the library empty handed. I
>also wonder what my co-worker would have done if the patron if had asked for
>Hispanic authors or Asian authors, etc. I am sure if the patron had asked
>for Science Fiction or Mysteries, my co-worker would have at least tried to
>help her.
>
>Melissa Mitchell
>Reference Librarian
>East Library & Information Center
>5550 N. Union Blvd.
>Colorado Springs, CO 80918
>(719) 531-6333, ext. 1314
>
>
>
>.....................................................................
>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
>Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html

FROM: "Bill Crowley" <Crowbill@email.dom.edu>
REC'D: 5/30/02, 4:44 PM

Greetings:

Since a fellow academic started this string, I feel a bit easier about
contributing my own views as a former administrator turned LIS
faculty member.

First, the list members who concentrated on behaviors instead of
accusing staff of racism probably have the better approach. As an
administrator in state, regional, and public libraries, I really did not
have the right to investigate what my staff believed. It was their
behaviors that counted. Did they follow library policies and treat
patrons/customers/users -- and fellow staff -- in a positive, respectful
manner? More specific to this discussion, have the librarians "under
indictment" for racism been provided with adequate, ongoing
education/training on how to deliver RA service? Or are they simply
reference librarians feeling out of their depth when asked to assist a
patron with a good read?

In the Chicago area law and professionalism are strong incentives to
treat all patrons alike. When racial or ethnic bias affects staff
behaviors, local RA and other library administrators seem to readily
address the problem. It is simply unprofessional and unacceptable.

In this part of the Midwest, I suspect that discrimination generated by
both secular and religious values is a more observable phenomenon.
A number of "liberal" librarians can and do discriminate against
patrons asking for "inspirational literature" or (God forbid!) "Christian
reading." For their part, "conservative" librarians can be more than a
little nervous about developing collections and providing services
related to the gay and lesbian genres. That's why local librarians
requested that I address these areas and insure that my students read
and book talk in them -- followed by class discussions -- when they
take LIS 763 Readers Advisory Services. We also book talk and
discuss African-American and Latino literature. However, in these
genres, the prevalent class and local professional consensus seems to
be "of course we develop and promote such collections."

Regards,

Bill

Bill Crowley, Associate Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Dominican University
7900 West Division Street
River Forest, Illinois 60305
crowbill@email.dom.edu
708.524.6513
FAX: 708.524.6657

FROM: "Joy Tofteland" <tofteland@ankeny.k12.ia.us>
REC'D: 5/31/02, 11:07 AM

-----Original Message-----
From: Fiction_L@maillist.webrary.org
[mailto:Fiction_L@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of M. Wms.
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 11:09 AM
A similar statement could be made about the racial make up of Iowa, but I
was aghast to hear another librarian comment at a bookfair that children's
books with black faces did not go out at her library so she did not waste
money buying them. She was talking about Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. I
feel it is our role to share the diversity of literature through book
displays and reviews.(bow and descend from soapbox)

Joy Tofteland
Reference/ Technical Resources Librarian
Kirkendall Public Library
Ankeny, IA

To: Fiction_L
Subject: Re: Unintentional Racism in RA Services

I'm interested in hearing what people have to say about this, too,
since Maine is 96% white, I believe, and probably more Native
American than African-American after that. We have NO regular black
patrons at our library (possibly some mixed race), although we have
plenty of books by black authors, but most of the adult books by
black authors don't go out a lot. Patrons seem to be much more
colorblind about picture and juvenile books. Which in itself is
interesting, I think. We also have a lot of books about black people
but almost none about so-called African-American issues, i.e.,
racism, civil rights (except in the children's section), class
issues among blacks, interracial relationships/adoptions, etc.

[I say so-called because I think these issues affect us all and are
not "black" issues but I'm thinking about categories of interest
listed in non-fiction and fiction booklists from large urban libraries.]

~ Molly Wms.
--
Molly Williams, Volunteer, Waterboro Public Library (Maine)
Library Weblog: http://www.waterboro.lib.me.us/blog.htm

Mary K Chelton wrote:

> Hi again!
>
> Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
> unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
> Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
> about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
> interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and
lost
> interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month
was
> 12 months long was useless, although I tried.
>
> Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask
real
> librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
> students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
> librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
> wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
> appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have
somebody
> tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
> now curious about things like the following:
>
> Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?
>
> Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
> particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?
>
> Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
> than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
> population?
>
> Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mary K.
>
> PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
> literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it.
The
> book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I
probably
> won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest
RUSA
> Notable Books list from ALA.
>
****************************************************************************
> Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
> Associate Professor, Graduate School of
> Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
> Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
> Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
> 3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).
>
> Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
> Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
> E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
>
****************************************************************************
>
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>
>

FROM: "Bliss Matteson" <bmatteson@CI.Cambridge.MA.US>
REC'D: 5/31/02, 2:23 PM

I thought I would add an urban East Coast reaction to
Mary K's question.

Cambridge is wildly multi-cultural, with groups
immigrating here, establishing communities, and then
moving to other towns and cities. More groups come
in and the cycle goes on. The sizeable African
American community has been here for centuries. In
addition, the "white" community here expects us to
have a collection that responds to and respects the
different groups here. And with Harvard just down the
street, it's not unusual to see people like Cornel
West, Charles Ogeltree, Randall Kennedy and other
African American academics wandering through the
building.

We don't have a separate collection of African
American writers at the Main Library, although one of
our branches has a Black Studies Collection (also a
Peace collection, a Bengali collection, a Haitian
collection...). I would always try to include writers of
color in any display or booklist we do. Our author
series includes many African American authors, and
the book groups sponsored by the library often read
books by writers of many different origins.

This thread reminded me that I do find it difficult to
find reviews or information about popular African
American writers outside of the Terry McMillan/E
Lynn Harris orbit. I'm not sure that the name Iceberg
Slim has ever appeared in Publishers Weekly (I can
easily be wrong about this!). So I'm trying to pull
together a list of sources for popular fiction that PW
and LJ miss.

That's the view here on the Charles!
Bliss Matteson

_________________________________________________________
Bliss Matteson 617-349-4034
Collection Development bmatteson@ci.cambridge.ma.us
Cambridge Public Library
Cambridge MA 02138

FROM: "Laura McCaffery" <Lmccaffery@acpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 6/1/02, 11:15 AM

Our authors are interfiled. Race has no bearing. To the best of my knowledge books are chosen by display topic not by ethnicity of author.

Laura Hibbets McCaffery
Readers Services
Allen County Public Library
900 Webster Street
Fort Wayne IN 46802
260-421-1200x2303
This is my opinion and mine alone. The
views, opinions, and judgements
expressed in this message are solely
those of the author. The message
contents have not been reviewed or
approved by the Allen County Public
Library.

>>> mchelton@optonline.net 05/29/02 01:47PM >>>
Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: "Laura McCaffery" <Lmccaffery@acpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 6/1/02, 11:26 AM

Authos are interfiled. Race has no bearing. Displays are by topic; ethnicity of author is not a factor. And Iceberg Slim and Donald Goins

Laura Hibbets McCaffery
Readers Services
Allen County Public Library
900 Webster Street
Fort Wayne IN 46802
260-421-1200x2303
This is my opinion and mine alone. The
views, opinions, and judgements
expressed in this message are solely
those of the author. The message
contents have not been reviewed or
approved by the Allen County Public
Library.

>>> mchelton@optonline.net 05/29/02 01:47PM >>>
Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: "Laura McCaffery" <Lmccaffery@acpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 6/1/02, 11:26 AM

Displays contain topical materials and the author's ethnicity is not a factor except for special occasions. Fiction authors are interfiled. When patrons ask for "black authosr" it means a search through lists and or websites and bookmarks And Iceberg Slim and Donalad Goines are staples on the purchase list. Replacements are common because they are hot items. Along with the chester himes books and the current pop authors. In fact there are many black mystery wruiters that are extremely popular across the reading spectrum. lmc

Laura Hibbets McCaffery
Readers Services
Allen County Public Library
900 Webster Street
Fort Wayne IN 46802
260-421-1200x2303
This is my opinion and mine alone. The
views, opinions, and judgements
expressed in this message are solely
those of the author. The message
contents have not been reviewed or
approved by the Allen County Public
Library.

>>> mchelton@optonline.net 05/29/02 01:47PM >>>
Hi again!

Because of the work of 2 students this semester, I'm curious anew about
unconscious racism in RA services. [The studies reported by Shearer and
Bracy about To Kill a Mockingbird made this point earlier.] I've thought
about this a lot since my Montgomery Co. PL days when the media got
interested in Black History month on Martin Luther King's birthday and lost
interest on the last day of February. Tell them that Black History Month was
12 months long was useless, although I tried.

Anyway, I do a surrogate user assignment where the students have to ask real
librarians for suggestions for a readalike, and one of my African American
students was told that "All the Black books are over there," by one
librarian after she asked enough to discover that the book the student
wanted a readalike for was by an African American writer. [No queries re
appeal factors, etc.] I tried imagining how it would feel to have somebody
tell me that "All the white books are over there," and couldn't, but I am
now curious about things like the following:

Are books by non-white authors routinely included in topical displays?

Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other than when their
particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?

Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for libraries other
than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African American service
population?

Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.

Thanks,

Mary K.

PS: Along these lines, I think everybody should read Erasure about a
literary black author who can't get published and what he does about it. The
book made me feel I should read literary fiction more often (but I probably
won't). It is hilarious and biting in several ways. It's on the latest RUSA
Notable Books list from ALA.
****************************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of
Library and Information Studies, 254 Rosenthal Library,
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367;
Phones: (718) 997-3667 (direct/voice/voicemail),
3790 (general office), 3797 (fax).

Home: 35 Mercury Ave., East Patchogue, NY 11772.
Phone: (631)286-4255, no home fax.
E-mail: mchelton@optonline.net
****************************************************************************

FROM: "Laura McCaffery" <lmccaffery@acpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 6/1/02, 12:08 PM

Sorry for the stutter messages...the computer has a mind unattached to mine. lmc

Laura Hibbets McCaffery
Readers Services
Allen County Public Library
900 Webster Street
Fort Wayne IN 46802
260-421-1200x2303
This is my opinion and mine alone. The
views, opinions, and judgements
expressed in this message are solely
those of the author. The message
contents have not been reviewed or
approved by the Allen County Public
Library.

FROM: Kaite Mediatore <mediatok@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 6/7/02, 12:42 PM

Mary K.

I wanted to think about this topic for a bit before I
answered. At the Main Library of KCKPL the answers are yes,
yes and yes.

Our clientele is easily 85% (and I'm probably lowballing
the figure) African-American. We have a large (larger than
mystery and romance combined) African-American collection.
It's so large we can't put all the African-American books
in it and will shelve African-American non-fiction in the
larger non-fiction collection with stickers denoting Black
History. These books are usually history or social issues
books.

We purchase multiple copies of fiction by African-American
authors and shelve all, usually save one copy in the main
collection, in the African-American collection. We have all
the biggest names, and some of the up and comers, on
Standing Order. The African-American collection is probably
our most popular book collection, second overall to our
non-print collection. Other African-American collections at
Main include African-American romance and audiobooks.

We routinely mix books from the African-American collection
with books from other collections for display and usually
the African-American collection books move first. We buy as
many copies of Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim as possible.
Like most other libraries, these two authors have a high
theft rate, but I don't mind replacing them as much as
twice a year and will continue to do so.

I consider our African-American collection one of the most
attractive features of our collection and it makes sense to
me, for our service area and patrons, to have a separate
collection. None of our patrons, black or white, have ever
been surprised to hear that there is an African-American
collection at Main. As a matter of fact, many of the
African-American patrons are pleased. Like most patrons,
they appreciate the fact that it cuts down on the amount of
material to browse.

As for RA services, I'm the only RA at the Main Library and
usually when ANY RA question comes to the desk, I'm
summoned, whether I'm scheduled on the desk or not. (I like
this.) We have one African-American woman on the reference
staff, but her focus is local history and genealogy. None
of the staff would call on her to handle an RA question for
an African-American patron simply because she's black. They
would find me or handle the question themselves.

I must admit I've only helped about 8 African-American
patrons find books to read in the past year, but the man
who asked about Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim was pleased
I knew who they were and has been coming back to talk to me
ever since. And I had a woman who was very happy when I
showed her the African-American romance section. She found
many of her favorite authors there.

I can't say for certain why I don't do more RA for our
African-American patrons. It may be the patrons don't feel
the staff is current with African-American fiction authors.
The majority of the reference staff is white. I do keep
current, but I have found that in order to reach the
African-American browsers in fiction, I have to plant
myself over in that collection. And my experiences are the
same as when I plant myself in the main fiction
collection--some people want to chat about books, some
don't. And that's okay. I just want all the patrons to know
I'm available to do that.

When scheduling speakers and programs, library staff
usually look to topics that will appeal to the
African-American community since they are the patrons
likely to attend and we do this year round. A program on
baseball will likely draw better attendance if the
particular topic is the Kansas City Monarchs instead of the
Kansas City Royals.

I know it may seem that KCKPL is "segregating" a portion of
the collection. I discussed this with our Kansas Room
librarian, who has lived in the community her entire life
and is African-American. She tells me that the collection
used to be a rotating one years ago, but has since become a
permanent collection. We discussed the appeal of a special
collection that helps patrons discover their library by
finding books about and for themselves. It's a gateway to
the rest of the library's collection, because there is
always more information and reading material than is in the
special collection. We both know that our library's patrons
WANT this collection. I can't imagine the uproar if we
decided to interfile it with the rest of the collection.

For that reason alone, the fact that the community wants
this collection, I'm glad we have it and I happily support
it.

> Are books by non-white authors routinely included in
> topical displays?
>
> Are non-white authors invited to speak at any time other
> than when their
> particular ethnicity is being nationally celebrated?
>
> Are books by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim purchased for
> libraries other
> than those in prisons or with an 80% plus African
> American service
> population?
>
> Just curious if anyone wants to discuss.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mary K.

=====
Kaite Mediatore, Reader's Services Librarian
KCKPL Main Branch
625 Minnesota Ave.
Kansas City, KS 66101
913.279.2067 fx 913.279.2032
cmedia@kckpl.lib.ks.us
Opinions are mine! All mine! Bwhahahahahaha! (but gladly shared)

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