Popular culture artefacts are those things we regularly consume - texts, films, video games, YouTube clips, popular music, perhaps even Internet usage or ‘web surfing’ itself, and board games, these are the most common that come to mind. In the sense of a school library the most prevalent popular culture artefacts are texts, however the rest are still important and their consideration for inclusion in a library should be carefully considered.
The selection of popular culture artefacts must be based around two decisions – does the artefact have educational merit? Is the artefact appropriate for my library users? A collection development policy is paramount in addressing these questions. A collection development policy is ‘a formal written statement of the principles guiding a library’s selection of books and other materials, including the criteria used in selection, de-selection, and acceptance of gifts. It may also address intellectual freedom, future goals, and special areas of attention (Johnson, 2004, p. 311). Ideally a collection development policy will be created with input from the library community and thus the guidelines and decisions will be indicative of the communities wants and needs. However, it is crucial that decisions are based on careful consideration of the likely users and the educational merit of the artefacts.
With special regard to texts, The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), in collaboration with the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) assert that an excellent teacher-librarian (TL) should…
- Foster an environment where learners are encouraged and empowered to read, view, listen and respond for understanding and enjoyment
The OECD’s report on Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report of the Adult Literacy Survey (2000) correctly asserts that individuals with low levels of literacy are often faced with an increased likelihood of being unemployed, have greater risk of developing health problems and have shorter life expectancies. Thus, it is imperative that teacher librarians demonstrate an upmost commitment to incorporating popular culture texts in their library, with the hope that these texts result in students being interested and engaged in reading. Reading is a fundamental pillar of lifelong learning and popular culture texts provide a powerful means through which to get young people into the library and borrowing books.
The ALIA and ASLA professional standards have specific implications for the selection and development of popular culture texts in a school library. A TL needs to know what texts young people are interested in and actually engaging with, so that they might make informed selection decisions that ultimately result in students borrowing and hopefully reading popular culture texts. However, I wouldn’t be so naive as to believe that popular culture text selection is as simple as that, and there are distinct challenges associated selecting texts that will hopefully lead to students reading for pleasure and enjoyment. How does a librarian actually determine what is popular? What is going to be borrowed? Does the considered piece of literature provide recreational interest to my library community? What is the didactic value of the text to the collection? Is the cost of the text appropriate to its quality? Is the language and subject matter appropriate for staff and/or students? What happens if my selection decisions are challenged? Further, popular culture texts in a library should be representative of the different cultural and religious groups of the library community. The most important thing here is that answers to these questions are made with the book’s intended and prospective readers in mind. These questions underpin the importance of professional judgement in all popular culture selection decisions and the importance of a collection development policy.
References
Australian Library and Information Association & Australian School Library Association. (2004). Standards of professional excellence for teacher-librarians. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm
Johnson, P. (2004). Fundamentals of collection development and management. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2000). Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report of the Adult Literacy Survey. Retrieved from the OECD website, October 27, 2012 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/21/39437980.pdf
