Attack of the Homeschoolers

see how it is.....yer friends swear they're gonna b there 4 ya, but.........

One of the results of public communcation is public scrutiny. What will you learn from this exchange about your attitude as a librarian?

Julie,

What will I learn about my attitude as a librarian?

For one, I will learn that I should never be surprised at some people's misconception as to:

1. what librarians actually do
2. what is the mission of the public library

For even though the book "Nobody Plays With a Cabbage" had not checked out from the library in over a third of my lifetime, once branded with the DISCARD stamp, its champions suddenly come out of the woodwork. So that when I took a picture of its disgraced facade and posted it on the internet, the DeJong diaspora were able to coalesce and with laser beam focus express their outrage.

Where were all DeJong fans BEFORE its fall from grace? All they had to do was check out the book ONCE in a decade to save it from it the discard bin (where someone no doubt bought it for 10 cents). I tell you where they were. They were scattered across the country, and not in my small downtown library. And to think of all the children's books that are checking out from my library, armloads and armloads of books, week after week. Why not "Nobody Plays With a Cabbage"?

Here's why not:

It looked terrible. The cover was stained (it looked like somebody used it for a drink coaster). The binding was wearing out (and that was some heavy duty binding). It just looked old. And don't think about my perception of the book, but the perception of a patron looking at the book on the shelf, one who is looking for something to check out FOR FREE.

Beyond that there must have been something about the book that didn't connect with my patrons. I mean, people check out crappy looking books all the time. The subject matter, the language, the length? Who knows? The judgment that came upon "Nobody Plays With a Cabbage" is not solely a judgment that I make as a librarian, but that the community makes by not checking it out.

pwned!!

julie, my dear, as a librarian who has had the onerous task (yes, it is worrisome at some visceral level) of discarding thousands of books in the lifetime of my career, i can assure you it is a great mystery, as mike has pointed out, why some books circulate like mad and others are consigned to the dustbin of history by a disinterested public. great care goes into the weeding process, and a book must fail to meet several criteria before it's chucked into the book sale and kissed good-bye. the bottom line is: does the reading public have an interest in this book? if, based on a book's circulation record, that answer is no, librarians have to look deep into their souls to find a reason or an excuse to retain what is essentially a relic of popular culture. sometimes, if a book is a classic or some sort of literary or scientific treasure, it will be retained in spite of being unpopular and neglected for a decade or two. frankly, i do not think the cabbage book is either of these.

none of this process is done with hasty disregard but often with a twinge of sentimental regret, and mike is not a ham-fisted brute weeding his collection with a pitchfork. he is, in a word, a professional.

About half of my books come from library discards for a dollar or two each. So I say, throw the little bastards out.

As for people who want to drag Mike Waugh out in the streets for judging a book by its cover, I say don't judge a librarian by his blog post. Mike Waugh is a human being, and a damned good one.

Here's an interesting fact. Meindert DeJong's first book was inspired by a friend's urging that he write about farm life--his friend was a children's librarian. Yeah, one of those people. To think he would associate with a book-hating librarian! Shameful.

I find it interesting that the homeschooler who was complaining about your discards brags about her 3000+ title home library which was apparently created with DISCARDS from public libraries!! So she wants to diss the very librarians she has profited from?? Talk about hidden shame...

But perhaps if you hadn't made fun of the names of the authors and showed a stunning ignorance of classic children's literature, you might have avoided getting flamed. You were, after all, discussing a crucial and important activity of libraries, deselection, with a pretty cavalier attitude -- whether you were responsible for removing the books or not.

But bad press is better than no press (in blogs as in life), so it's all good.

Being intelligent isn't the same as being wise. Your superior attitude towards library patrons is disappointing. As one who visits my local library on a regular basis, I appreciate my librarian and utilize his knowledge to help me find books which contribute to my children's education. As a home schooling parent I think the library is one of the more important tools I have to educate my children. I take issue with your attitude towards those who have a differing opinion. I was under the impression that librarians love to learn. Perhaps the more wise librarian would have appreciated the information and done some research to then make more educated decisions in the future. I don't discount your responsiblity for keeping your library current and valuable to it's patrons at all. I think home schoolers as a general rule respect your job, your knowledge and expertise. But we would appreciate a little respect in return, for knowing a little something about literature and for being loyal patrons.

I'm just curious, what recently published book on your library shelf would you compare with "Nobody Plays with a Cabbage", that could be placed on your list for de-selection? Disney cartoon movie-based books perhaps?

miss julie, have you heard a single thing said thusfar? are you living within the insulation of a cultural bell jar? tommy can you hear me?
it has been apparent for a while that home skoolerz often = right-wing cultists --until now the feeling for me was just a vague prescience. but let us look into this cabbage book for premonitions of filial capitulation to crude patriarchy. will the answers to life's big questions become clear? will babies be found beneath the cabbages? will cabbages ultimately lead to dna paternity testing? o lordy, it's so hard to know nowadays!

Did you skip over the part I wrote that said I respected librarians, their knowledge and expertise?

Perhaps my opinion of liberal minded, intolerant librarians was just a "vague presence" in my own mind until right now.

My asking for respect for a differing opinion is considered "right-wing cultist"? I don't think so.

I know when to quit; you obviously don't care to have a civilized discussion here.

Our city just built a beautiful new library with empty shelves. Why? They didn't want any books published before 1972 on them and didn't have money for the worthwhile new ones. Fortunately, we homeschoolers grabbed our minivans and picked up all of the discards from the trash bins and shared them with each other. I have come to realize that in this world of immediate information there is not complete information and the contents of these old books are not available from Google. So we shall treasure them and praise the small publishers that reissue them with colorful covers, so that maybe some of them will earn their way back into the libraries.

BTW, when our Children's Department Librarian is asked for a recommendation, she is hardpressed to find anything other than Harry Potter.

"vague presence"

what the hell kind of quote is that? personally, i said "vague prescience" meaning an ill-defined foreknowledge suspecting of things i hoped weren't true.

you people are just lazy.

Wow Mike you really stirred the pot! As a fellow librarian and colleague of Mikes I feel the need to add my two cents. THROW THE BOOK AWAY! No one would ever have missed it if he had not mentioned it here. Send it to the island of unloved books. We get plenty of other crappy children's books in every day, along with lots and lots of great books that check out hundreds of times. The public library as part of is its mission provides books that people want to read (notice I said part of its mission). No one wanted to read that book. On the other hand even if it had been read by hundreds of children and much beloved, it still should have been tossed because it was in horrible shape. We are a public library not an archive, make way for books that people want, even Disney cartoon books if that is indeed what is popular. It does not matter what you read, just read.

I'm a children's librarian and a sister and aunt of homeschooled children.

It's been my experience that homeschoolers aren't always "right wing cultists". I've worked with homeschoolers who are jewish, who are granola eating liberalists and homeschoolers who haven't told me why they homeschool. In Illinois anyway, parent's are in charge of their children's education and if a parent decides they want to educate their children at home that is their perogative. In my county there are some of the best school districts in the country, but a parent has the right to say I know my child best and I will decide how, what and when they learn.

What I don't understand is why there is this hostility to homeschooler's in the library. Homeschooling parents tend to keep to themselves...but they use the library a lot more than other patrons. Our circulation is changing as I'm sure yours is as well, our reference work is virtually disapppearing.

Homeschoolers use the internet and have their lists, but that shouldn't be a reason to throw the hate around. Sometimes I get frustrated when homeschooling mom's will over look this fantastic book that I've personally read and can attest to, but really want to this older book they know and feel comfortable with.

Well...maybe in 20 years the book I love and wanted to share will get on their list, who knows. but as a librarian it's not my job to discriminate against who I help and the materials I get for them.

what happened to:
Every reader his [or her] book.
Every book its reader?

It's not fair for homeschooler's to attack us for doing our job and weeding the collection. To call weeding a "hidden shame" is ridiculous, but for mercy's sake rise above the criticism and be professional.

To unokhan:

sorry.

Boy, I sure have enjoyed the 5 minutes I've spent reading this thread!! Isn't it wonderful that people can still get so worked up over books in these days of YouTube and sound bytes?

And isn't it interesting that unokhan, who probably prides himself on being outside the mainstream, can take such violent exception to homeschoolers? Right wing cultists?!? That's coming a bit too strong!

One thing I have to say for homeschool parents... In my years as a librarian, I've never seen THEM doing their kids' homework. And they DO use and appreciate the library as a tool for education rather than mere entertainment, unlike many of our regular-school parents. I'm also sure their kids' education is no worse than what they'd get in our pathetic local schools... More power to 'em!!

And as far as discarding books goes... The pendulum will always swing. What is now a discard will be a timeless classic when a publisher decides to create that shiny new set of the "25 Great Books Your Child Should Read" -- a set filled with Meindert DeJong, Walter de la Mare and Beulah Marie Dix all re-illustrated by famous manga artists. Those "panda eyes" will be just the thing!

apology graciously accepted. now read a book and grow your vocab.

"right-wing cultists" isn't far-fetched at all. the flds are the ultimate in home-schoolers ...and for nineteenth century goofballs, they certainly know how to make 21st century media their bitch.

those "panda eyes" are part of a larger japanese pop cultural phenomenon called 'kawaii' (cuteness) which was possibly engendered by the big-eyed work of walter/margaret keanes in the 60's. the old rube goldberg machine never quits

0.o

"right-wing cultists" isn't far-fetched at all. the flds are the ultimate in home-schoolers....

Now that is just plain nonsense. Those people are a religious cult. I don't think you'd see those people in a government-run library. They've got their own propaganda to spread within their compound. Please don't make such a huge leap from home schooling to polygamist sects. There are too many differences.

No need to get nasty here. Have you ever met a hom e schooler? I certainly have met librarians and have no need to be so personally critical of them.

unokhan: I know Julie, she has a very high vocabulary, is highly educated and has her LCSW. Be nice.

mike, as you see, a spambot has picked up on something in this thread --perhaps 'nasty' and 'manga'-- and spoiled our little conversation. you may want to make your blog invisible to the crawlers. --k

K: Thanks, I have removed the spam, but I will keep the comments open unless the spam gets unwieldy. This is the liveliest thread yet on Waughblog!

BTW: Fans of this thread might also like another Waughblog post where I make fun of a children's book, and believe it or not, it remains on the shelf:

Stormy the NRA Friendly Deer

Pay attention because I'm pretty much a bad ass. I was home schooled in ultimate cage fighting and the crane kick. And I challenge both unokhan and Emilie to a furious fist fight. Charlotte can ref. But I'd like Julie to play commentator. I'd like to envision her, wild-eyed and completely focused on the match giving rise to passionate blow-by-blow observations such as "There's a left, and an eye-gouge, and the contestants have moved into the grappling phase of this match. The liberal minded communist baby-eater is tearing into the godless spinnaker like a socialist heathen public librarian through a defenseless collection of edifying and neglected children's literature! Oh, the huge manatees! Won't somebody think of the children! What does fate have in store for the read aloud? Oh, the cabbage! The cabbage!"

Uggggh, just thinking about this makes me want to go stab something Laura Ingalls Wilderish