As you can see from the picture, Bennett Elementary School Library is a welcoming place. This school is in Manassas, Virginia, and is in a struggling economic area. When looking at the website, the first thing that you notice is the vision statement which states the desire to create a safe, welcoming place for all students and to provide a variety of literary choices. It is clear from the library’s website and calendar events that they go the extra mile to make this library a wonderful experience for the children.
In the physical space, all the books are at the children’s eye level and neatly organized in solid shelving units. The seating area was made up of wood tables and chairs which is traditional & practical. In other school libraries, you might see bean bags and comfort, but this library makes up for that in their extra services.
One extra nice service that the librarians offer is Bennett Birthday Books. The effort was designed with the idea that the students can always open a book over and over like a present keeping it forever. This activity asks for the community and parents to donate money to be able to purchase books. One year they raised over $1000! What an accomplishment!
Most other activities try to encourage these young readers to grow into books and gain a love of reading. The library also offers encore services, Battle of the books, and participates in Virginia’s Reader’s Choice Awards. But another most amazing effort spearheaded by the librarians was the dedication of a free library at the bus loop. It is understood that the children can check out a book during the school year but to have a free library with books available for summer reading is incredible. The first and third graders are the stewards of the free library, and the hope is that they will grow with it.
One thing that I did find surprising was that in their collection, they had implemented a system called Red Dot books. You will find a red dot next to the barcode on some of the books. This indicates a book is unsuitable for younger readers who may read above their grade level. They state that the content might not be appropriate or interesting for young, advanced readers. There is an option for a parent to write a note granting permission for the student to check out Red Dot books. Most of us familiar with the ALA’s Bill of Rights automatically think of an infringement and the interpretation titled “Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors” (ALA 2019b). Rubin & Rubin further elaborate ” that the needs of library users vary and that access to information, library materials, services, and facilities are not to be restricted based on a user’s age (2020, p. 636). Unique to Virginia is the law which gives parents access to library records of their children, which I am sure has played a part in implementing the red dot books (Virginia Freedom of Information Act, 2022, par. 3).
Clearly, there must be a bigger story about what has transpired at this elementary school library. To be professional, I hold judgment since I do not know the whole story. Since it is summer and the school library was not staffed, I hopefully will schedule a visit during the school year to see the struggle this librarian is facing.
References:
American Library Association. (2019, November 27). Access to library resources and services for minors: An interpretation of the library bill of rights. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/minors
Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act. § 2.2-3705.7. Exclusions to application of chapter; records of specific public bodies and certain other limited exclusions. (2022). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title2.2/chapter37/section2.2-3705.7/
That picture looks so cozy! It reminds me of my elementary school library. The red dot books is very interesting to me and I too wonder what made them decide to do that.
Yes, it is puzzling what has transpired. I bet it has made for some not-so-fun days for this librarian and staff.
Oh, wow. Yes, your quote from the Library Bill of Rights immediately jumped to mind. I know labeling books for different levels, Accelerated Reader, etc. is very controversial in many schools, but not allowing access to books because of your reading score on a test, etc., is something that I just can’t get behind. I agree with you, there is more to the story and this is something that could have been dictated by the principal. I know I asked this somewhere else in another blog, but I wonder about the inevitable clash between admin (who know nothing about library ethics) and librarians who hold these very true, but also have community standards/stakeholders, and jobs to worry about sometimes. I love the birthday book idea. Do those students select the book for their birthday, or just a surprise? I also love the little libraries that we see springing up everywhere…gives people a chance to start experiencing some of the ideas behind collection management, right? 🙂
Todd, yes I’m with you. I am so curious about how these red dots transpired and exactly who’s idea was it to implement them. The worst-case scenario was it was the principal’s idea and the librarian who reports to him/her/they had no say. It’s a shame because you can tell the librarian has a big heart for their job and goes the extra mile to get children into books. I feel like if we knew the whole story it would be a great learning lesson for us all regardless of what type of library you are choosing to work in.
I don’t really understand the dots – are they indicating that the content is inappropriate for young readers? It almost feels like censorship. I also had no idea that parents had the right to see their child’s checkout history. I would think that as a library, that information would be private. Do you know if they have classes in the library?
Sorry if I wasn’t clear. You had it right; the dots are red flags that the book is inappropriate for young readers.
Interesting…you’re right, there’s probably a story behind the red dots. But I sure wish they would just deal with individual parents instead of marking them for every kid. Who’s to determine what is appropriate for one reader versus another? Also, knowing kids–those red dots just mean it’s an exciting book! Loll I love the free library program and the fact that kids are the stewards of it.
Good perspecitve Michele! I had to, lol, but you are right. The red dots probably encourage young readers to be curious. Not dealing with the parents individually might have created a ripple of problems and outcomes.
I’m agreeing with you and other commenters – I am very curious about the story behind implementing the Red Dot Policy.
On another note, the access to summer reading materials at this library seems amazing! I found out quickly when trying to identify school libraries to visit for this project that many of these school libraries close, or have very limited access during the summer, so it’s great that this school has access to materials in the summer.
Yes, the librarian has put her heart into this library and the students’ love for books.
I’d like to see a list of these red dot books…
While it definitely calls into question the students’ free access to information, I wonder if perhaps this was a compromise to keep some of those “Inappropriate” books in the library and still accessible to the kids with permission at least. It stinks but I’ve found library work is a lot of compromise of these ideals.
You helped me see another side of this! I know one of the red dot books is the Harry Potter series. I’m still surprised this is in an elementary school rather than middle or high school.