[CASL-L] Cataloging and Race

[Elaine Shapiro]

Thank you to everyone who responded.  According to that article, my
instinct to use "Blacks" was a good one. The particular book I was looking
at that inspired my post, Seeing into Tomorrow, is actually about African
American boys, so I used that subject.
I appreciate the other terms, like diversity, and People of Color, etc, but
I think it is important (as one of you said) to be specific.
I want to be able to provide students with "mirrors" to see themselves in
books, and cataloging books with specific terms enables that.
I am beginning to see problems with "race" or "diversity", as those terms
assume "white" as normal or the standard.  Much like the article said about
Astronauts.
Lots to consider, and we librarians have some power to make these small
changes.

Elaine

On Fri, Jul 31, 2020 at 1:47 PM Lynch, Joyce <lynchj at plainvilleschools.org>
wrote:

> Personally, I think that term may be easily misinterpreted and some may be
> offended. How about: “People of Color?” I just use an inclusive term:
> diverse.
>
> On Fri, Jul 31, 2020 at 11:18 AM Cheryl Robertson <
> robertsonc at guilfordschools.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Elaine,
>> That's a great point.  Might we also add the term "Brown"?  I am eager to
>> read our colleagues' suggestions.
>> Respectfully,
>> Cheryl
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 30, 2020 at 10:01 AM Elaine Shapiro <
>> elaine.shapiro7 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>>> I often add subjects to my catalog records in my elementary school
>>> library.
>>> For example,  "multicultural" "African American"  "civil rights".  But,
>>> as I learn more about race, I realize that African American is not an
>>> accurate term for books about or featuring black people, because not all
>>> black people in the US are from the US originally. Thoughts on better
>>> subject terms?  "Blacks" "Black People"?
>>>
>>> Thank you
>>> Elaine
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> CASL-L mailing list
>>> CASL-L at mylist.net
>>> https://mylist.net/listinfo/casl-l
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *Cheryl A. Robertson*
>> *Teacher Librarian*
>> *Click here for homepage
>> <http://ams.guilfordschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=232991&type=d>*
>>
>> *"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty.  It
>> should be offered as a gift." ~Kate DiCamillo*
>>
>> *CURRENTLY READING*
>> *The Girls in the Garden *by Lisa Jewell
>> *The Night Circus *by Erin Morgenstern
>> *Caster *by Elsie Chapman
>> *How To Be an Anti-Racist *by Ibram X. Kendi
>>
>> *CURRENTLY LISTENING*
>> *Frankly in Love* by David Yoon
>>
>> *RECENTLY FINISHED*
>> *28 Summers *by Elin Hilderbrand
>> *The Best of Us* by Robyn Carr
>> *Will & Whit *by Laura Lee Gulledge
>> *After the Shot Drops *by Randy Ribay
>> *The Little Big Things* by Henry Fraser
>> *A Heart in a Body in a World* by Deb Caletti
>> *The House We Grew up In *by Lisa Jewell
>> *Symptoms of Being Human *by Jeff Garvin
>> *The Family Upstairs *by Lisa Jewell
>> *Started too Early, Took My Dog *by Kate Atkinson
>>
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> --
> Joyce Lynch
> Library Information Teacher
> Middle School of Plainville
> 150 Northwest Drive
> Plainville, CT 06062
> 860-793-3250
>
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