Churchill Helen Episode 10: Week Four - The CCBC

I have spent the last three days visiting the incredible Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The team of dedicated librarians here are truly world leaders in the field of diverse books for children and have been tracking and producing annual statistics on diversity in children’s books for 40 years.

I was welcomed by the amazing Director, Tessa Michaelson-Schmidt and her team of Megan Schliesman (Intellectual Freedom), Merri Lindgren (Charlotte Zalotow Award convenor) and Maddie Tyner (Diversity Statistics). The roles interweave and overlap to produce important support for educators nationally and worldwide.

I have spent time learning of their approaches and methodologies as well as their passion and commitment to provide Intellectual Freedom services to teachers and librarians throughout the state. The truth is, of course, that their work is world leading and almost every academic in this field sources and refers to these annual statistics as a key measure of diversity in children’s books. They have worked with and lent their approaches to others such as the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) who I will visit in London the week after next. It is a goal of mine to also team up with CCBC to extend this important work into Australia soon!

The Intellectual Freedom service provides support and advice to teachers and librarians who are facing book challenges by parents and community members. If you have been following my earlier blog posts, you will realise that book challenges and bans are at almost epidemic proportions in many states across the US.

?Led by a thinly disguised “parents rights” agenda that in fact affords rights to a minority of vocal, well organised groups which drive these challenges and bans based on protecting the right to decide what their children read and thus what they read about. BUT, in achieving their goals they deny the majority of parents the same right for their own children to have access to the books they need to see and read. These people do not just want to control what their own children can read but what all children can read and access – censorship at its worst.

In my time here I have heard of librarians and teachers living in fear from threats against their personal safety and that of their families – for what?? For a book?!! Books that are recognised on best sellers lists, books on award winning lists, books with multiple outstanding literary reviews, yet people threatened with harm because they hold those books in a classroom or on a school library shelf. These are the people that CCBC’s Intellectual Freedom service offers support and advice to – a challenging and confronting job for them too.

In my work with teachers and preservice teachers at home I have not come across this same level of concerns or of challenges being raised and our systemic structures are fortunately very different. However, there is often a level of uncertainty when selecting books that may be perceived as dealing with sensitive topics and whether teachers might upset parents, or simply not know how to discuss topics such as race, gender and equity with children. ?My research and that of others often shows that in cases like this, teachers will go for the books they feel safe with. This often results in repeated exposure to classic and older books with newer diverse books left on the shelves or not selected at all. ?This is why this work is so important. Empowering educators to know how to select and use diverse books in culturally relevant, authentic and equitable ways needs to be a key part of teacher training and in-service support.

We are fortunate to have groups such as the Schools Catalogues Information Service (SCIS), the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature Inc (NCACL), Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and ?the Children's Book Council Of Australia , as well as professional groups such as the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) , The Australian Literacy Educators Association and many others groups advocating for quality literature for children and ?support for classroom teachers. A big shout out to you all!

While at the CCBC, I also had the opportunity to meet with Professor Rebekah Willett in the Information School at WSU. I presented to one of Rebekah’s classes today about my research into award listed Australian picture books which will be published in Book Bird this month.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with two of Rebekah’s doctoral students who are both investigating important areas of diversity in children’s literature. Caitlin Tobin, who is looking at disability representation in children’s books and Alia Jones, who is looking at the use of books as rest, resistance and nurturing in African American families. Some truly inspiring work to come, I am sure! ??

I will end a little off topic, but I have been present in Madison during the most talked about and closely watched spring election in the US this year. That for the position of Supreme Court Judge holding the balance of power on the court for the state. The election experts believe this result will indicate something of the direction of the 2024 presidential election. The atmosphere among the wonderful WSU colleagues today was one of such relief and hope with the result yet tempered with the knowledge that the division in this country runs very deeply. ?I have so much admiration for the courage and determination of those I have met here and their commitment to standing up for equity and justice for all children and families.