During the course of LIS 517: Literature and Related Media for Children the focus was on learning about materials appropriate for children. By developing skills related to material selection for collection development the class was actively learning how to discern information that would be beneficial for parents and caregivers of young children. Similar to the pathfinder for LIS 501, this resource list designed for parents could be any topic of our choice as long as the list related to children and informational needs of parents/caregivers.

Reading the variety of materials required in the coursework created a foundational framework to understand and disseminate children’s literature. These best practices and key points allow future children’s librarians to make better choices and overcome bias as they curate book collections.

The resource list assignment allowed creativity in design and helped to foster technology skills. Parameters of specific items were required for inclusion in the resource list. Awareness and representation of neurodivergence is more common today than in the past yet there is always more to be done.  This list includes an annotated booklist of titles that feature representation of autistic characters for young readers, web sources for parents/caregivers, multimedia as both movies/shows featuring representation and web-based game links, and finally a listing of articles for additional information. 

LIS 518: Young Adult Literature and Related Media served as a continuation of LIS 517: Literature and Related Media for Children with the focus being on literature that is age appropriate for a young adult audience. In addition to reading selected titles from a variety of YALSA book lists, students were able to self-select titles of interest from different lists to complete a sampling of current YA titles. The course-work focused on the content of the material and how books relate to the current issues and concerns that teens today face. 

After sampling a variety of books, movies, games, and websites geared towards teens the final project was to create a resource list with any theme of our choosing. The resource list was to contain a specified number of items with books as a must and movies, games, and websites to be included as possible. The goal of the resource list is to create a well-balanced list to provide information to teens on a particular topic. 

Accurate representation of LGBTQ+ information is especially important for teens as they make decisions about their health and bodies. Everyone deserves access to reliable information to make the best decisions possible. This resource list provides book recommendations for teens to see their representation in literature and movies but also links to navigate difficult topics and  conversations to make transitions easier.

In LIS 517: Literature and Related Media for Children the focus was reading books for children. In this class I read a variety of books from board books, picture books, graphic novels, and upper elementary to middle grade fiction. Reading each of the selected titles allowed me to see what kinds of books children are interested in and provided more understanding of the discernment skills when selecting titles for collection development. 

Additionally, to help facilitate becoming a children’s librarian or to hone skills already in place a few assignments required reading aloud and recording it, as if I was hosting a story time in my living room. I did take this class during the height of covid so recording myself provided more practice in filming myself, reading aloud to a camera, and skills in uploading and/or editing as needed. During this time period, spring of 2021, I was still providing programming in a virtual format. Classes, such as this one, that required video recordings of readings allowed me to have more practice in a format that had previously been unfamiliar. 

LIS 670: Graphic novels, manga, comics, and anime was my favorite elective course and possibly my favorite class altogether. This class was a jam-packed 8-week class requiring several graphic novels to be read each week. In addition to reading the required titles for each week there was the flexibility to choose an additional title or two per week. Between all the books, which are now my favorite format to read, assignments and projects included watching movies and writing critiques and recording a few book talks. 

Prior to this degree, I was unfamiliar with the concept of a book talk, which is not unlike an elevator pitch for a book. As a librarian, often there is not enough time to elaborately sell a patron, particularly youth, on a book. When providing a recommendation one has a limited amount of time to "sell” the information to the potential reader. Book talks are a great way to practice this skill and also practice video recording, uploading, and editing skills. Recorded book talks also make for great advertising on a library website or YouTube channel, not only for reader’s advisory but also to show how the library and librarians are knowledgeable and helpful staff for the community’s needs. 

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