Sophia A.

Demetri
11/9/2015
LIS 662-01

Reflection Paper
It has been a very interesting semester here in LIS 662-01. I have heard many great
opinions and facts from all involved including Dr. Hersberger. In the weeks we have spent
together, I have had the time to think about a lot of things in regards to how we see not only our
library patrons, but also our staff, ourselves, and sometimes even humanity as a whole. These
are lessons that I firmly believe will benefit me both in the world of libraries, as well as our everchanging society. Heres a synopsis of what I have learned.
The first topic that I will bring up is the constantly mentioned diversity. Diversity is
something that is frequently mentioned when it comes to current events. Some claiming that it is
not stressed enough and others claim that we should focus more on mashing ourselves together
instead of dwelling on what makes us different. Personally, Id prefer to see it the same way that
Herbert S. White does in his Unity Through Diversity article. In that article, he sees America as
more of a tossed salad than a melting pot. Frankly, hes right on account of the fact that
everyone in this great nation of ours is very different, and we can be able to co-exist with those
differences, even if theyre a little more old world (i.e. wearing a hijab or a turban). Also much
like the ingredients in a salad, we are all human in the same way that a salad is usually all
vegetables. A melting pot however, usually looks like one big mess, like cheese fondue. And
while cheese fondue is delicious, you cant see it as anything more than a mess of cheese, and
only enjoy it if you like hot cheese. Whereas with a salad, you can usually see all that went into
it, and can only see it as a mess if it is scattered.
There are many features that contribute to our tossed salad known as diversity; these are
things like gender, ability, class, race, ethnicity, and even age. And while we are once again only
human, there are some differences that set us apart. And quite a few of these differences need
special attention. Those differences are of course known as disabilities. The peoples disabilities
are a big deal in the world of libraries, to the point that even the American Library Association
Council has gotten involved. According to Burke, the ALA is responsible for a few beneficial
additions to our libraries like Braille books and large type books for those who are hard of
seeing as I myself like to phrase it. Unfortunately, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990, being designed to eradicate these issues, some libraries dont always have the necessary
means of catering to those with special needs. According to Bonnici, this can be harder to
accomplish as more and more people with conditions like visual and hearing impairments
especially as the Baby Boomer generation gets older. Things like this can be quite hard on a

librarys budget. And while things like this are obviously to be required, I recall from our lecture
on Ability that it wasnt always that way. As a matter of fact, some libraries didnt even have
wheelchair access at one point. It is for this very reason that the ALA has established a policy for
all the libraries of this nation in order to make sure that the often downplayed (at least at one
point in time) disabled community. That policy is of course, The Library Services for People
With Disabilities Policy. Said policies enforces not only appropriate facilities for our disabled
patrons, but also to enforce things like not discriminating against those who are disabled, making
sure that those who are disabled are given proper services like; extended book fines, an
Interpreter of American Sign Language or ALS, and even captioning.
But the one of the policy that got my attention was probably the part about Employment.
This took me back to the same lecture where we talked about the old man who got fired from his
library job because he had just had hip replacement surgery. While he was obviously past the
typical age of retiring (he was 80 and most retire at 65, or so Im told), it didnt seem fair to fire
the man just because he had gone through a vital surgery. Personally, I dont think that a surgery
like that should be that much of an inconvenience for the library. I looked up hip replacement
surgery on WebMd, and the most that man wouldve needed wouldve been adequate recovery
time, and if the library followed the ALAs policy properly, there would not have been too many
hassles. According to the site, the only things required for proper healing after the surgery would
be a few walking aids like a cane, a walker, or a crutch. And if the mans job didnt require a lot
of pivoting or twisting of the affected leg, and something tells me that unless the library staff
engages in dance battles on a regular basis, the man shouldve been fine. And if the
aforementioned job was more office based, thered be more reason to keep the man. Yet despite
this, I also recall that most companies do try to let go of employees that have seniority, though if
that was the case, why didnt they let him go prior to his surgery. But, Im not part of that library
systems Board of Directors, so I can only say so much.
Speaking of Age, in the library, we appear to separate all media according to whos old
enough to experience it. While thats not the only way we catalog things, that seems to be how
all material things are categorized from toys, to media, to exercise equipment, and of course
drugs. But it seems that everyone gets very up in arms when it comes to what media the people
are exposed to, especially school age children. According to the article by, Shenton and Dixon,
children are just as obligated to factual information as their adult counterparts. Unfortunately,
this can be difficult when some sources limit themselves to certain topics. For example, one girl
in the article was trying to look up witchcraft, but all she got were articles on things like
witch hunts. Judging by what the article was talking about, children appear to have the exact
same informational needs as a mature individual, especially if they are doing projects for school.
More specifically, these problems deal with things like format, currency, accuracy, and even
level.
In regards to Format, this category deals with things like what form is the information
presented. For example, text, picture, video, etc. and everyone needs something different, in an

example in the book, one girl needed some pictures of animals so that she could draw some of
her own later. There was even an example of a boy who wanted to make his own Pokemon cards
and wanted some real pictures of the Pokemon for guidance purposes. Personally, I hope he
wasnt intending to sell said homemade cards, but thats another topic for another day. On
another personal note, I believe that visual imagery is very important for the learning process of
any age. This is especially good if youre speaking of something that one does not see on a
regular basis like a Crane (the bird not the machine), or any subspecies of it. And just like I
pointed out in parentheses, it helps one separate the same word from an undesired context.
Currency is often very vital for any research. Whether it be a project on things from the
present day, or simply someone wanting to check on the results of a game that they missed, its
always important to have your information up to date. While it is important to never forget the
past, its also important to be aware of whats going on in our present, for a number of reasons.
One is so bad old beliefs (like discrimination or superstition) dont continue to be enforced, and
another is so we can see how much things in both our part of the world, as well as other parts of
the world have changed in their many years of recorded history.
Oh how important is Accuracy? Well, to be honest, accuracy is probably one of the most
important things in the research of any age group or level of education. In an era where we all
theoretically worship the almighty Internet, it is not always very truthful with its information.
When it comes to things like peer reviewed journals, or even Wikipedia pages, one has to make
sure that the information came from legitimate sources and wasnt just based on a theory of
someone with too much time on their hands (like those who say every T.V. show is just like St.
Elsewhere, and the whole premise of the show is just one characters warped imagination and or
coma dream). And since most younger patrons will more often than not, go for the first thing
that Google puts on the first list of sources, we as librarians need to make sure that our own
materials are up to par as best we can, lest someone assume that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter is more historically accurate than an actual biography of our former president. According
to Shenton and Dixons article though, Accuracy is unfortunately a rarely spoken of factor in
youth research, but once again, it is probably the most vital part of it. Ive heard it said that
children absorb life like a sponge, lets not have our youth absorbing lies.
To wrap up the topic of Age, I will address one more factor in childrens research, Level.
A well known fact about libraries is the fact that some of our patrons would like to make certain
media materials spronk or forbidden to our youth. (I learned the quoted term from a series of
chapter books called The Guardians of GaHoole). This is mainly due to the fact that most
people believe that our youth, cant handle the truth!_Col. Jessup, A Few Good Men, 1992.
Interestingly enough, these same people assume that those who are of more advanced learning
can read a book about a troubled protagonist who loses his best friend during their awkward
years. A better example though would be referencing the article once more. In this example, a
thirteen year old wanted to learn more about alternative medicine. In order to help him in his
quest, his mother provided Norman with a few of her college notes on the subject.

Unfortunately, said notes did not make much sense to Norman as they were over his head when
dealing with things like submolecular stuff as his mother phrased it, something that Norman
had yet to learn. While I dont believe in talking down to kids, at the same time I dont believe
that you should give someone whos still learning material that only an expert would understand.
Kind of like telling a kid who still learning to paint simple objects to make a replica of a work by
Van Gogh or Degas. It seems that level is perhaps one of the hardest topics to deal with when
comes to age, especially considering the fact that everyone learns at a different pace. But how
can you really determine what a person can handle? It sounds like the best solution to this
problem, is simply to get to know our patrons.
Before I move on to the next topic, Id like to say a little bit about older people in the
library. As we all know, the library is just as much for adults as it is for kids. Now, most people
may not think much of what an adult would need in regards to the other topics brought up with
age, but most of these needs and topics do cross generations, especially with the Baby Boomers.
When you look at the article by, Bennett-Kapusniak it seems that most of the issues when
dealing with older adult patrons involve ability (i.e. needing larger print books due to failing
vision), but other things involve the simple matter of just feeling welcome. I never really
dwelled on someone of middle-age or older feeling unwelcome in a library setup, but then again,
when the libraries try so hard to cater to the younger patrons, there is always the potential to
make the older ones feel left out. Another something I thought of on my own, in regards to an
older person feeling unwelcome in the library is what people assume that they want to find. No
one likes to be typecast or stereotyped, but often thats what happens when one caters to an
audience that some stupidly believe has already found or served their purpose in life. Judging by
what Ive learned thus far, adults need just as much nurturing as children academically speaking.
They may not learn the same way that kids do, but they can still have the same thirst for
knowledge that theyve had since life began. And personally, I realize that if a person truly
ceases to learn and do, thats when they truly begin to lose purpose. Now, this is not to
discriminate against those with impairing disabilities, but as we pointed out earlier, they have no
excuse not to learn either.
Leaving Age, I would now like to discuss Gender. This is something that went from
being simple to complex in the course of a century, mainly in defining what it really means to be
of a certain gender. The Wikipedia article we were given not too long ago, explains the mere
concept of gender in three ways. One is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and
differentiating between masculinity and femininity. Two is the biological sex or sex based
social structures (gender roles, etc.). And three is gender identity. Now the topic of gender is
something that Ive been hearing folks fight over on a regular basis, especially when it comes to
the gender roles being swapped. Some dont cause as much heat as they did in the past like the
women going to work, and the men staying home with the kids. But others cause a new kind of
controversy that leave me split in two, this usually involves transvestite and transgender
community to the point that I end up over thinking what its really all about, in particularly when

I hear it described as being one gender in another genders body. But whether its easy or hard to
understand, one thing thats important for the libraries to do is just to accept that this is who the
people are, even if it doesnt make sense. In the end though, it all seems to go back to things that
I mentioned previously about some people banning books because of reasons they think will
protect people from stuff they cant handle. Another aforementioned topic that connects is trying
to make these people feel welcome in the library as well. Once again, this wont be easy,
especially as the world constantly changes, but we must simply do our best to except them as
they are.
These same principles also apply to Race and Ethnicity. In our great tossed salad of a
nation, we need people of all kinds to keep us going. Even though the Civil Rights Act was able
to help us coexist, the discrimination against those who come from different backgrounds and
races was never fully eradicated. While we obviously cant compensate for every deed past and
present, the least we can do for everyone is to create an environment in which everyone can learn
both about each other, ourselves, and the world of which we are all apart.
When I first came to this class, I didnt know what to expect out of it. But after what Ive
been through with everyone, I have no regrets and have obtained knowledge that I know will be
useful in the years to come. I hope we will interact more in the future.