Panels Sessions 2-4
Title of Panel Discussion: Developing Cultural Competence for Library and Information Science Professionals through Children and Young Adult Literature Organizer: Patricia Montiel Overall (Contact information below) Panel Members: Patricia Montiel Overall, Assistant Professor Mini Abstract: The theoretical and practical elements of cultural competence will be discussed and the use of children and young adult literature to develop cultural competence for school and public librarians will be demonstrated in this presentation. Abstract: During the past thirty years, library and information science curriculum has significantly changed to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population served by school and public libraries. Changes in the demographics of society require that library and information specialists develop competencies which reflect their ability to work with diverse multicultural, multilingual library users. The focus of the panel is to discuss the need to develop cultural competency in LIS professionals to improve library services for children and young adults. However, the presentation is relevant to all LIS professionals. The panelists will provide an overview of cultural competence and will provide a definition for LIS professionals, which draws heavily from the fields of health, education, and psychology. A discussion of cultural psychology as a theoretical lens for examining cultural competence will also be provided. A framework for cultural competence for school librarians will also be presented. The framework identifies essential components of cultural competence within the cognitive, sociocultural, and environmental domains. These include cultural self awareness, cultural and environmental knowledge, values reflection, personal interaction, caring and appreciation. The discussion will primarily focus on the development of cultural competence for school and public librarians through greater understanding of linguistic and cultural issues affecting Latino elementary and middle school students. The panelists will also explore the potential of developing cultural competence in young readers as well as their teachers and librarians through children and young adult literature. Particular attention will be given to children and young adult literature for Latinos. The potential for using children and young adult literature as a tool for developing cultural competence will be highlighted and specific modules that could be included in children’s literature courses and school library administration courses will be presented. Title of Panel Discussion:What does civic librarianship have to do with today? Mini Abstract: Is there a place in the library for the poor and disenfranchised? Join us in this provocative session to discuss and debate the role of the library and librarian in the community. Abstract: Although librarianship has a rich history of civic engagement in which librarians have been committed to helping patrons with various educational and social obstacles, it seems that today’s library educators and practitioners are more interested in technology and output measurements than community involvement. Ronald B. McCabe, author of the book Civic librarianship: Renewing the social mission of the public library will present a brief history lesson on this topic before the practice is debated. According to McCabe, many librarians no longer embrace the democratic, educational, and community-building mission of the public library, but instead, what matters today is “give them what they want.” The underlying questions to be debated are how should librarians respond to the needs of community members who have little political advantage and should this be a concern of librarianship? If a return to civic librarianship is deemed important, what is the role of library educators to ensure that students have developed the dispositions and competencies necessary for civic engagement and societal change? What would this curriculum look like? Moderator: Presenters: Plummer Alston “Al” Jones, Jr., Ph.D. Professor Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology 1107 Joyner Library East Carolina University Greenville, NC 27858 [email protected] Carrie Gardner, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology Kutztown University Kutztown, PA 19530 [email protected] |
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