And they’re out! The winners of the Cybils Awards for 2008 have been chosen, and congratulations to all!
It was really interesting to be a judge for the Cybils instead of serving on a nominating committee — it takes a different kind of reading and booktalking to judge a book by its merits, instead of just your own personal opinion. This type of judgment is what I always assumed librarians used in choosing books to stock their library shelves.
Unfortunately, a recent School Library Journal “Talkback” article proved that idealistic theory wrong, at least about 70% of school librarians. Many of those polled quietly refuse to purchase books in order to avoid static and friction with parents, community members, school administration and students.
The example they use of that kind of insidious avoidance is Barry Lyga’s Boy Toy, which was a 2007 Cybils winner for YA fiction, and has received tons of other critical acclaim. It’s an empathetic treatment of a sensationalized media event, and tells the story of of a twelve-year-old student’s affair with his teacher. This obviously isn’t a light-hearted story, but it deals in reality. Boy Toy discusses something which makes people feel completely creeped-out uncomfortable. And many, many school librarians, instead of having it on hand — or even in the reference section — for their kids to read and know about … preferred to pretend it didn’t exist.
Apparently this is the same for many books — those that have gay, lesbian and transgendered characters, those which have sex or violence, or just what some term “darkness” and/or the death of pets (!?). Because school librarians have patrons who are mostly kids, because they have school administrations and constituents to please, because they don’t want to hear from screeching parents, they choose to be conservative and prudent. 70% of the librarians polled take on the position of being gatekeepers, and refuse to purchase what they fear will be controversial books.
Often, we frown at the idea of librarians censoring children’s reading choices — telling them, “No, that’s not a book you’re ready for,” is upsetting to a lot of people. But not even buying the book so it’s on their library shelves…?
Writers have to jump through a lot of hoops — a lot of hoops — in order to get published. Personally, my work has to meet my agent’s approval so I don’t embarrass him in front of the editors and publishers he approaches. My work has to meet my editor’s approval, so that she can take it to editorial meetings, and get the support of the house for the money and time which is going to be spent on me and my work. Then there’s all the splendid ranks of copy editors, fact-checkers, and the like. Before all of that, there’s my writing group, and my own internal editor.
It takes a lot to turn an idea into a manuscript and into a published book. It seems a shame to think after all of the struggle and angst that goes into producing an excellent work, to have someone else decide that they can just …shun it, and pretend that it doesn’t exist, and to have that shunning be like the ripples that go throughout a still pond when a stone is dropped — wow. What if this happens to someone I know?
What if this happens to me?
What can an author do?
As a writer, I’d hate to try and do my job from a position of fear of what others think — despite the fact that fear is what writers struggle with every time they write.
It would be even worse not to be able to get past that fear, and to let it run things.
Some good points — from all comers. Definitely agree: if those books aren’t on shelves, it’s time to request and follow up.
Thanks for the good points to ponder, C.O., and thanks for visiting.
And groan on this: “any book with an African-American character on the cover is quickly being labeled street lit.”
And when will this change? What are we doing to change this perception? I am very disturbed by how few white readers read black literature (I’m basing this on what I see reviewed and what white readers have actually said), how few white bloggers blog about books by black authors with the exception of the occasional historical book.
People of color are reading across gender and race/ethnicity but what are we doing to encourage the same among non-people of color readers?
I got Boy Toy and both of Coe Booth’s books from my local library – very upsetting to think about them being out of reach elsewhere.
As an author you often probably wouldn’t even know this was happening.
And groan on this: “any book with an African-American character on the cover is quickly being labeled street lit.”
Interesting post! And the blog looks great, too. 🙂
I enjoyed comparing my experience on the Cybils judging panel to working on the nominating panel–and it WAS very different. I thought judging would somehow be easier because there were fewer books, but there’s also something truly enjoyable about reading all of the enthusiastically nominated titles and narrowing them down…
Either way, I plan to be involved again.
I worked with librarians for years. I worked in reference publishing. I am surprised by the poll. Skeptical actually because I read a lot of dark-themed books and most of my books, I get from my library. In fact, if my library doesn’t have a book, I request they buy it. Every book has been bought (though all my requests were not controversial books).
I run a community library at a nonprofit. I have greater flexibility but I, too, have to worry about folks freakin’ out. Trust me, those of us who have an opportunity to provide young people with desired, relevant and needed material, find a way.
I remain optimistic that there are more folks than the poll suggests who find ways to avoid censorship.
Readers and writers have a responsibility as well. If you think good literature is missing from a collection, request it. I do: all the time at the library and bookstores. And I follow up.
Readers need to promote works that are not mainstream or popular. Blog about realistic fiction that’s not on the radar. Comment to writers’ sites and blogs. Show up at book signings or other book promotion events.
We have to do more than lament and complain. The lack of multicultural literature and diversity titles available to students is why I founded a lit group, created our own blog and took over a library.
Don’t like something, do something about it.
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