Texas To Delete Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller and Others From The Curriculum

I’ve included an excerpt from the School Library Journal article:

The recommendations were made to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) by groups who spent a year studying the standards and used a rubric to determine someone’s significance in history. Some of the rubric’s categories included the person’s lasting impact, sphere of influence, whether she made an impact for an underrepresented group, did she cause or was she part of a watershed moment or turning point in history, does she represent diverse perspectives, diverse cultures, and is she essential for the course and grade level.
Clinton and Roosevelt both received a total of 5 points (out of a possible 20) and were deemed “not necessary.” Oprah Winfrey totaled 7 points and was also deemed not necessary. Susan B. Anthony scored a 19 and will be staying. Points were not the only decided factor, however. In the secondary U.S. Government curriculum, The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) both received 20 points and were deemed “essential” to the course. The National Rifle Association (NRA) scored a 9 and was also considered “essential.”

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

A powerful and brave YA novel about what prejudice looks like in the 21st century.

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl’s struggle for justice. Movie rights have been sold to Fox, with Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) to star.

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
Coretta Scott King Honor (Author)
Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee (Mystery Writers of America)
Michael L. Printz Honor Book
National Book Award Longlist
William C. Morris Award

Read it because:

You want a book that opens up the stark reality of life in America. The Hate U Give is an incredibly powerful book. It opens up so many discussions, about why we need the Black Lives Matters movement, and why we need to start working on a better society now. Suitable for the upper secondary library. Best book for 2018.

Ta-Nehisi Coates – Black Panther And The Crew #1

Black Panther, Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight and Manifold band together to take on a dangerous wave of street-level threats in this new ongoing series by co-writers Ta-Nehisi Coates (New York Times best-selling author of Between the World and Me and Marvel’s Black Panther) and Yona Harvey (Black Panther: World of Wakanda) and legendary artist Butch Guice! The death of a Harlem activist kicks off a mystery that will reveal surprising new secrets about the Marvel Universe’s past and set the stage for a big story in the Marvel Universe’s near future. Fear, hate and violence loom, but don’t worry, The Crew’s got this: “We are the streets.”

Read it because:

You need a new comic book title, that embraces diversity and also the lessons of history. A powerful book that helps the non-American understand what is happening in America. I found it incredibly powerful and have started book clubbing with my child…..Best comic of this year – 2018.

Vibrant Libraries – Scotland leads the way

Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools – A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-2023 is the strategic document for the development of school libraries in Scotland. School libraries have a vital role to play in the learning of children and young people, facilitating Curriculum for Excellence from 3 to 18. They empower pupils, school staff and the wider community in their learning, provide a service to improve school-leaver destinations, promote all forms of literacy, and support the role of lifelong learning in children and young people.

Advocacy is not enough we need power

A great blog post from Nadine Bailey on Infoflight, 2017. We have to come out from the stacks and take a place at the table when decisions are made, and if we’re not invited to the table, we have to make enough noise to make sure that in the future we do…..

Why science teachers need both information literacy skills and content-specific knowledge

A interesting blog post on making the connections between information literacy and information behaviour.

Why science teachers need both information literacy skills and content-specific knowledge

Banned Books Week

American Library Association Banned Books Week is 23–29 September 2018. Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of the freedom to read and highlights the value of free and open access to information. Libraries and others in the book community use Banned Books Week to show support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.