Texas Library Journal

WHEN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

PROGRAM IS GONE,

THE LOSS TO

THE SCHOOL

COMMUNITY IS

BEYOND WORDS

APPLY TODAY

FOR A BEYOND

WORDS GRANT:

WWW.ALA.ORG/AASL/

DISASTERRELIEF

SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE MUCH MORE THAN LITERACY CENTERS.

They serve as a safe environment to explore and learn, access new information

technologies, and collaborate with peers. When a school library program is destroyed

by a natural disaster, the students and the community feel the immediate loss of a

valuable resource that reaches far beyond books.

Since 2006, the American Association of School Librarians, with funding from the

Dollar General Literacy Foundation, has given more than one million in grants to

over 125 school libraries across the country affected by natural disasters.

PHOTOGRAPHIES ARE COURTESY OF BEYOND WORDS GRANT RECIPIENTS

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS

50 E Huron, Chicago, IL 60611

1-800-545-2433, ext 4382

www.ala.org/aasl

WHEN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

PROGRAM IS GONE,

AASL_BeyondWords Ad-Prog Loss Disaster 8.375 x 10.875.indd 1 3/7/12 12:04 PM

Texas Library Journal (ISSN 0040-4446) is published

quarterly in spring, summer, fall, and winter by the

Texas Library Association, 3355 Bee Cave Road,

Suite 401, Austin, Texas 78746-6763. Periodicals

Postage Paid at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send

address changes to Texas Library Journal, 3355 Bee

Cave Road, Suite 401, Austin, Texas 78746-6763.

Subscription price: to members of TLA, 94 cents,

included in annual dues; to nonmembers, $25 per year

for domestic, $30 out-of-country. Single issues: $7.

President’s Perspective:

Responding to the Tough Questions

...........................93

Sherilyn Bird

Editorial:

Why Texas government has a stake in supporting libraries

.................95

Gloria Meraz

Teaming Up to Teach @ Your School Library ..............................................96

Nicole Cruz

Long-Range Planning Leads to New Technology .........................................98

Nicki Stohr

Disaster Preparedness for Colleges and Universities ..................................100

Diane Bruxvoort

Approaching the 83rd Legislative Session .................................................. 105

Gloria Meraz

Free People Read Freely:

16th Annual Report in Celebration of

National Banned Books Week, A Project of the American

Civil Liberties Union of Texas

................................................................ 108

Newsnotes ...................................................................................................116

Annual Index ..............................................................................................118

Mitzie Stewart

contents

TEXAS LIBRARY JOURNAL

Volume 88, N

3 Fall 2012

Editor Gloria Meraz

Layout/Graphics Mary Ann Emerson

Advertising Mgr. Kasey Hyde

Printer Capital Printing

Published by the

TEXAS LIBRARY

ASSOCIATION

Membership in TLA is open to any

individual or institution interested

in Texas libraries.

To nd out more about TLA, order TLA

publications, or place advertising in

Texas Library Journal, write to

Texas Library Association

3355 Bee Cave Road, Suite 401

Austin, Texas 78746-6763;

call 1-800-580-2TLA (2852); or visit

our website at www.txla.org.

A directory of TLA membership is

available in the “Members Only”

section of the website.

Opinions expressed in Texas Library

Journal are those of the authors and

are not necessarily endorsed by TLA.

Journal Staff

April 24-27, 2013 • Fort Worth TX

WHEN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

PROGRAM IS GONE,

THE LOSS TO

THE SCHOOL

COMMUNITY IS

BEYOND WORDS

APPLY TODAY

FOR A BEYOND

WORDS GRANT:

WWW.ALA.ORG/AASL/

DISASTERRELIEF

SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE MUCH MORE THAN LITERACY CENTERS.

They serve as a safe environment to explore and learn, access new information

technologies, and collaborate with peers. When a school library program is destroyed

by a natural disaster, the students and the community feel the immediate loss of a

valuable resource that reaches far beyond books.

Since 2006, the American Association of School Librarians, with funding from the

Dollar General Literacy Foundation, has given more than one million in grants to

over 125 school libraries across the country affected by natural disasters.

PHOTOGRAPHIES ARE COURTESY OF BEYOND WORDS GRANT RECIPIENTS

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS

50 E Huron, Chicago, IL 60611

1-800-545-2433, ext 4382

www.ala.org/aasl

WHEN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

PROGRAM IS GONE,

AASL_BeyondWords Ad-Prog Loss Disaster 8.375 x 10.875.indd 1 3/7/12 12:04 PM

Texas Woman’s University

www.twu.edu/slis

Choices in Library Education

Master of Library Science

The MLS degree prepares professionals to work in academic, public,

school, corporate and other special libraries. Earn your MLS degree

entirely online with optional class meetings held on the Denton campus.

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. degree prepares librarians for scholarly careers in research and

teaching or for advanced professional careers as librarians and managers.

Graduate Certificate in Evidence-Based

Health Science Librarianship

This certificate offers focused post-master’s study on evidence-based

librarianship in collaboration with health science institutes in the Dallas,

Fort Worth and Houston areas.

For information contact

slis

twu.edu

940-898-2602

1-866-809-6130

School of Library & Information Studies

AD INFORMATION

Job No. : A12-08-13-144

Subject: Library Science

Publication: Texas Library Journal

Size: 7.5 x 10 in 4c

CR: 8/15/12 Publish: Fall/Winter 2012, Spring 2013

City of publication: Statewide

Client: M&C

Dr. Stuart OK req’d: Y/N Circle one

Dr. Stuart OK rec’d: Y/TK/na Circle one

Include DOA LOGO? Y/N

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 93

President’s Perspective by Sherilyn Bird

tla president

Responding to the Tough Questions

What are the tough questions that

you and your library organization

are grappling with? In a time when

library budgets continue to be

impacted by the 2008 economic

downturn and librarians remain

eager to deliver analog and digital

information sources for recreational,

scholarly, and job related activities;

respond to users’ expectations for

technology based services; and deliver

quality customer services in treasured

library spaces that address community

specific needs, it is important to find

answers that overcome handicaps,

focus our energies, and enable us take

ownership of our own fates.

In my library, we are asking ourselves

what services will matter most over the

next three to ve years and how can

we transform our libraries to provide

what is most valuable to our public. We

are raising our prole by inviting our

community to answer the question with

us. Interestingly, participation in our

professional association has suggested

ways in which to nd the answers to

these questions.

Over time, TLA has demonstrated its

value by:

• Helping us understand the Texas

environment for libraries and library

workers;

• Involving the membership in a

planning process that sought answers

for the Association;

• Providing cost-effective continuing

education that addresses relevancy,

value, and transformation;

• Delivering opportunities for

members to advocate for libraries;

and

• Modeling exemplary customer

service and encouraging community

engagement.

If you are struggling with how to

shape a brighter future for your

library, stay the course. The best

solutions come from a holistic

approach.

• Give yourself time to think about

community needs as each library in

Texas makes a unique contribution.

• Talk to community members and

learn what they value most about

library services.

• Listen for opportunities to

demonstrate value by solving

community problems.

• Learn what is working for other

Texas libraries from your peers across

the state by participating in TLA.

Remember the precious history of

libraries and become reenergized to

answer those tough questions.

I want to share with you some recent examples of how libraries

are integral to shaping strong communities and schools.

e Houston Chronicle reported that the Houston Housing Authority

(HHA) was opening the waiting list for housing vouchers for the rst time

in six years. Anticipating huge demand and wanting to make the process

ecient, sign-up was only to occur online. e HHA understood that many

of the applicants would likely need Internet access and help navigating the

forms, so it partnered with local libraries to assist in this process.

e Star Local News reported a celebration at Little Elm Public Library. Both

students and volunteers of the Little Elm Adult Literacy Program gathered

to celebrate a terric program, and the mayors of Little Elm and Oak Point

remarked on the impact of the library’s program. Little Elm Mayor David

Hillock said, “is brings so much value to the town.” While Oak Point

Mayor Jim Wohletz extolled, “It’s a tremendous accomplishment and I’m

very, very proud.” One student summed up the experience: “Learning

English was my dream,” said Mercedes Martinez. “ank you to all you

teachers. English is hard, but my English is much better.”

e Molly Pruitt Library at Roosevelt High School hosted a Youth Code

Jam, a one-day technology camp that aims to teach kids about digital game

development, computer programming, and Web design. e San Antonio

Express News reported the event lled up with more than 60 kids ages 7

to 17. Trevor Winters, a parent who has worked in the IT industry, was

quoted as saying, “I know what kind of doors you can open by being good

with computers.” He planned on taking his daughter to the event.

See you in Austin!

Texas Book

Festival

October 27-28

Texas State Capitol

Austin

David Abrams

Hipolito Acosta

Bruce Aidells

Ayad Akhtar

Katherine

Applegate

Gustavo Arellano

Jami Attenberg

Avi

Paolo Bacigalupi

Bob Balaban

Rosecrans

Baldwin

Mac Barnett

Annie Barrows

Steven

Barthelme

Lou Berney

Andrew

Blackwell

Matt Bondurant

Brain Quest

H.W. Brands

Michael Brick

Douglas Brinkley

George Bristol

Peter Brown

Shana Burg

Rachel Kramer

Bussel

Ken Caillat

Ina Caro

Robert Caro

Dale Carpenter

Kristin Cashore

William Chafe

Cinda Chima

R. Gregory

Christie

Marcia Clark

William Cobb

Cherie Colburn

Winifred

Conkling

Andy Coolquitt

Sarah Cortez

Elizabeth Crane

Andrea Cremer

Kambri Crews

Margie Crisp

Justin Cronin

Karen Cushman

Mark Z.

Danielewski

Tony Danza

Nora de Hoyos

Comstock

Bree Despain

David Dettmer

Junot Diaz

William Dobson

James Donovan

Robert Draper

Naomi Duguid

Dayton Duncan

Jessica Dupuy

Damien Echols

Kurt Eichenwald

John Eisenberg

Paul Elie

Chris Elliott

Michael Ennis

Michael Erard

Will Erwin

Jonathan Evison

Jasper Fforde

Sarah Fioroni

Candace Fleming

Ben Fountain

Thomas Frank

Ian Frazier

James Galbraith

Marjorie Galen

Chris Gall

Gilbert Garcia

Kami Garcia

Anthony Giardina

Michael Gillette

Adam Goodheart

Alice Gordon

Hilary Graham

Reyna Grande

Amelia Gray

Tim Green

Jesse Grifﬁths

Liz Gutman

Janice Hamrick

Jenny Han

C.A. Heifner

Tad Hills

Michelle Hodkin

Henry Horenstein

Sam Hurt

Mary Irish

Jewel

Maureen

Johnson

Stephen Graham

Jones

Jodi Kantor

Anna Keesey

Jacqueline Kelly

Jen King

Jon Klassen

Austin Kleon

Helen Knode

Yael Kohen

Michael Koryta

Thomas Kreneck

Jarrett Krosoczka

Lynda Lanker

Joe Lansdale

Hope Larson

Peter LaSalle

Jeanne Marie

Laskas

Jenny Lawson

Guy Lawson

Robert Leleux

David W. Lesch

Meira Levinson

Sanford Levinson

Cynthia Levinson

David Levithan

Margot Livesy

Attica Locke

Nikki Loftin

Loren Long

Diana Lopez

Katherine Losse

Marie Lu

James Luna

Michael

MacCambridge

Kristen-Paige

Madonia

David Maraniss

Leonard S.

Marcus

Domingo

Martinez

Kati Marton

D. T. Max

Guadalupe

Garcia McCall

Lily Raff

McCaulou

Jenna McEachern

Lisa McMann

Bryan Mealer

Chris Meister

David Menconi

Bill Milliken

Simon Sebag

Monteﬁore

Tomás Q. Morín

Diane Morgan

Vance Muse

Gary Nabhan

Charlie Newton

Garth Nix

Tim O’Brien

Hugo Ortega

Carolyn Osborn

Julie Otsuka

Adriana Pacheco

Melinda Palacio

Keija Parsinnen

Joe Nick Patoski

Kate Payne

Jeffrey M. Pilcher

Dav Pilkey

Turk Pipkin

Andrew Porter

Dan Rather

Amy Reading

Ben Rehder

Jan Reid

Adam Rex

Steven Rinella

Adam Roberts

Scott Roberts

Eric Rohmann

Carlin Romano

Marco Roth

Edith Royal

Ron Rozelle

Lynda Rutledge

Benjamin Alire

Sáenz

René Saldaña Jr.

Barney Saltzberg

Esmeralda

Santiago

Steven Saylor

Liz Garton

Scanlon

Krista Schlyer

Gary D. Schmidt

John Schwartz

Jon Scieszka

Elaine Scott

Rob Scotton

Kirk Scroggs

Maria Semple

David Shapard

Bob Shea

Anita Silvey

Sylvie Simmons

Greg Leitich

Smith

Tyler Stoddard

Smith

Roland Smith

Suzy Spencer

Jonathon Spong

Rebecca Stead

Erin Stead

Philip Stead

Maggie

Stiefvater

Deanne Stillman

Margaret Stohl

Abby Stokes

Michel Stone

W.K. Stratton

Emma Straub

Cheryl Strayed

Mathew

Sturtevant

Robert Sullivan

Rachel L. Swarns

Don Tate

Kayte Terry

Chuck Thompson

Stephen

Tobolowsky

Duncan Tonatiuh

Jeffrey Toobin

Paul Tough

Pat Tucker

Mark Updegrove

Catherynne

Valente

Juan Pablo

Villalobos

Ray Villareal

Siobhan Vivian

Jason Walker

Robb Walsh

David Westin

Andrea White

Ted Widmer

Henry Wiencek

Sean Williams

Naomi Wolf

Paul Woodruff

Reavis Wortham

Tom Wright

Claire Wurtzel

Bill Wurtzel

Philip Yates

Charles Yu

Ralph Yznaga

Zane

Gwendolyn

Zepeda

Be among the more than 40,000 guests expected at

this year’s event featuring 250+ authors, including

headliners Cheryl Strayed, Tony Danza, Robert

Caro, Junot Díaz, Jewel, Jeffrey Toobin, Zane, Tim

O’Brien, Justin Cronin, and David Maraniss. Visit

the festival site at www.texasbookfestival.org for

the most up-to-date lineup.

DID YOU KNOW?

In its 17-year history, the Festival has connected

readers with the nation’s most accomplished

writers, contributed more than $2.5 million to Texas

public libraries, and reached more than 40,000

children in economically disadvantaged Central and

South Texas schools, providing many with the first

book of their own.

VOLUNTEER!

Help with book signings, escort authors, sell

merchandise, direct attendees: for detailed

information about the many opportunities available

and how to sign up, visit www.texasbookfestival.org

author presentations

panel discussions

children’s events

cooking demos

book signings

live music

& MORE!

The illustration on the

2012 Texas Book

Festival poster is

Cliff Swallows

by Elgin artist

Margie Crisp.

AUTHOR

LIST

as of

SEP 10

2012

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 95

Editorial

Why Texas government has a stake in supporting libraries

ne of the requests I get most

often is for responses to some

of the tough questions library

advocates sometimes face. In particular,

library supporters ask for some ideas on

responding the question: Why should

Texas support libraries?

Here are some of my ideas. Please share

your own on TLA’s Facebook page.

How much does the state actually spend

on statewide library services?

In the 2012-13 biennium, lawmakers

allocated only about $6.2 million in

state general revenue for library resource

sharing, library development, and

library services for the disabled. at’s

a cut of about $28 million in state

funding, including the loss of funds

for K-12 e-resources. e majority

of funds for state library services this

biennium are from federal matching

funds (an estimated $15.5 million),

one-time federal broadband funding

($1.7 million), and fees collected from

libraries (about $2 million).

But how much is that $6.2 million of

the state’s total general revenue funds of

$81,290,400,00?

It’s only about .0076 % of total state

dollars!

Should the state spend money on

libraries?

Yes! At only 0.0076%, state support

for library services is a relatively minor

investment but an important one.

For that 0.0076%, the STATE GETS:

• TremendousSavingsonDigital

LearningResources

In 2010, for every $1 spent on

library e-resources, the state saved

almost $13. rough the combined

and centralized purchasing

power of the state, Texans have

access to a multitude of materials

(e.g., journals, ebooks, business

reports, curriculum materials, and

subscription research among others)

 G M

that help them complete school work,

start a business, prepare for a job,

increase literacy levels, and succeed

educationally and economically.

• MatchingFederalDollars

Texas may lose almost $9 million in

matching federal funds in 2015 if

the state does not restore a portion of

state funds for library services. e

Texas State Library and Archives

Commission (TSLAC) budget

requests $13 million in exceptional

items for statewide library programs.

• TopTierHigherEducation

Institutions

Over 150 colleges and universities

benet from high quality research and

digital resources available through

libraries. Several institutions rely on

these resources to meet accreditation

standards for certain programs.

• ValuableCommunityPublic

Libraries

e network of Texas community

public libraries provides free access

to the Internet. What happens when

people can’t aord home Internet

access or need help navigating online

services and forms, especially those

required by the state? ey go to the

public library. e majority of public

libraries in Texas (64%) report they

are the only free source of Internet

access in their communities. In

fact 97% of Texas public libraries

report they act as the bridge between

government and its services, oering

free access and assistance to help

people complete online government

forms.

• StrengthenedPublicSchool

Libraries

School districts need to meet college

and career readiness standards and

provide 21st Century workforce skills

to students. Research and accessing

digital content via the Internet is

provided by school librarians, arming

students with critical research and

digital literacy skills.

• SupportforWorkforce

DevelopmentandEconomicVitality

Texas libraries are uniquely equipped

to target the state’s priorities of

promoting educational opportunities

and success, establishing favorable

environments for business, and raising

literacy at all levels.

Why don’t local communities, school

districts, and colleges and universities

just pay for all library services?

• e Texas Legislature cut over

$6 billion in Article III (funding

for education) last session. With

rising enrollments at public schools

and colleges and universities, the

education community does not have

the resources to meet their respective

missions.

• Local communities already pay

the vast majority of funding for

community libraries. e state

provides less than 1% of funding for

public libraries – a gure well below

the national average.

Can the state support libraries and still

make government smaller and better?

YES!

• Funding TSLAC’s exceptional items

IS smart and lean government

considering all Texans, including 5

million public school students, over

1 million higher education students,

and millions of others, benet.

• Without additional state support for

library services, Texas may also lose

up to $9 million in matching federal

funds in 2015.

• Last session, about $28 million was

cut from library services. Today,

Texans need the state to recommit to

our community, research, and school

libraries.

96 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

 N C

ootball is king in Texas. Friday

Night Lights is a reality across

the Lone Star State. Sports in

general teach many life skills. Coaching

sta are essential to a high school

campus. In one 5A South Texas high

school, two librarians decided to

collaborate with their athletic coaches

in order to teach cyber safety lessons,

research skills, and email etiquette.

ese librarians also taught lessons

ranging on topics as diverse as domestic

violence to preventing students from

texting and driving. is collaboration

started during the 2009-2010 school

year and has continued due to the

active participation of athletic teams

and coaches. During the 2010-2011

school year, Sharyland High School

placed ninth in a national Channel

One competition titled “X the TXT.”

e campaign educated students on

the dangers of distracted driving and

encouraged students to sign an online

pledge not to text while driving.

e Sharyland Independent School

District implements block scheduling

at the high school. Four of the ve

classes oered to students daily are

90 minutes long including athletic

and ne arts classes. e school year

is divided into nine week semesters.

Students change class mid-year as

opposed to having the same class for

an entire year. Students have core

content classes for a semester which are

in two nine week periods. According

to University Interscholastic League

rules, only a portion of the 90 minutes

per day may be used for practice on

the eld, court, pool, weight room, or

track. e other portion must be spent

in the classroom for instruction, study,

or academic tutorials.

Sharyland High School librarians

Nicole Cruz and Janie Flores viewed

the extended 90 minute athletic block

as a door into the locker room. Athletic

teams are limited to 300 minutes

of instruction per week during the

instructional day. us, in a normal

ve day week, athletes have a total of

450 minutes of class time. A total of

300 minutes may be spent physically

training, while the other 150 minutes

should be spent as classroom instruction

or academic tutorials.

“My rst year at Sharyland High School

in 2009, I knew I had a wonderful

opportunity to reach a massive student

population via the athletic study

halls. Approximately 1,200 students

participated in sports this year which

is almost half of the entire student

population,” Nicole Cruz, Sharyland

High School head librarian and

Sharyland Independent School District

lead librarian stated. Along with her

coworker librarian Janie Flores, she

pitched the idea to then High School

Principal Diamantina Chapa and

current Athletic Director Richard

ompson. Both of these administrators

supported the idea whole-heartedly.

SHS librarian Janie Flores said, “Our

athletic director even invited us to

his coaching meetings. We used this

opportunity to have them sign up for a

library lesson date.”

Head girls soccer coach J. J. Lopez notes:

We are very fortunate to have

librarians that care so much about

our students. ese lessons have

benetted our student athletes as

well as our coaching sta. Education

is the key to dealing and overcoming

a lot of challenging situations that

teens today must face. Whether

it is to understand how to report

bullying or why it is important not

to text while driving or how to face

domestic violence, the topics covered

are very educational and helpful.

ese are topics that students don’t

necessarily want to talk about

or don’t think much about, but

once they hear about it, it changes

their mind and opens new lines of

communication.

Coach Lopez was named the Texas

Association of Soccer Coaches “Coach

of the Year.” His varsity team won the

title of semi-nal champions. School

senior Bradley Klein said, “e X

the TXT campaign was my favorite

lesson. Nowadays with every student

having a smart phone, kids need to

understand that texting and driving can

lead to a serious or even fatal accident.

My friends and I still talk about the

gruesome video the librarians showed

about a reenacted texting accident.”

Bradley Klein, 2012 football player,

added that he visited the library more

independently because he had attended

library lessons with athletic classes since

his freshmen year. “I feel comfortable

there; I know the librarians personally

and that helps, too.”

Each year, every varsity head coach is

required to schedule a training period

for not only his/her varsity athletes

but their entire program including

junior varsity and freshmen teams. e

lessons are usually held in the library

lecture hall which can seat 200. e

facility is equipped with technology.

Athletic Director Richard ompson

said, “My coaches know that I expect

them to schedule lessons at the library.

e librarians keep me informed about

which teams have had library lessons.

ey also send a report on the student

participation and respect skills after

each session. In fact Mrs. Cruz has

been invited to present to our parents

at evening Sharyland Rattler Booster

Club meetings.”

When the library programming was

rst implemented, some of the coaches

were hesitant. e resistance ended

as soon as they attended the rst

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 97

library lesson. Coaches are expected

to attend the lessons along with their

athletes. “To be honest, we did not

get 100% participation the rst year

we implemented the lessons. One of

the teams absent from the library roll

call was the football program. I was

positive and persistent and nally we

were invited to present at the gym,”

Nicole Cruz said. “Without a moment’s

hesitation we wheeled our tech cart and

carried a portable screen to the old gym

and were surrounded by no less than

200 football players and 10 coaches.”

Sharyland librarian Janie Flores said,

“It was a little intimidating because

one of the topics we planned to cover

that day was sexting.” Sexting is the

inappropriate sharing of sexually explicit

photos or text between individuals. e

librarians explained to the young men

that they could ruin their college future

and be labeled as a sexual oender/

sexual predator if they shared cell phone

messages or photos of underage minors.

After the session, then head coach Fred

Sanchez and his entire football coaching

sta congratulated and thanked the two

librarians. is year, the football team

signed up twice for lessons. After the

retirement of Coach Sanchez, veteran

teacher and Rattler Coach Ron Adame

was approved by the SISD School Board

as the new head football coach. Coach

Adame has assured us that his players

will attend the library lessons.

One of the best resources is the Texas

Young Lawyers Association website.

is organization has created truly

engaging and thought-provoking

media clips on a variety of social issues,

particularly Internet safety and digital

citizenship. Library sta is always

searching for reliable resources that may

or may not be typical library sites. By

explaining how information is used in

real world scenarios, students see a true

credibility to library sta presentations.

In the case of the Texas Young Lawyers

Association, librarians describe how this

organization is involved with proactive

campaigns to educate youth to prevent

them from ending up in court rooms

due to ignorance of the law regarding

Internet activity.

Sharyland Rattler Football Spring Team 2012 – Front Row: R. Gonzalez, R. Saenz, M. De la Fuente, T. Lee, J.

Flores (librarian), R. Adame (head football coach), N. Cruz (librarian), A. Leal, T. Flores, J. Gray, and J. Penbrook

photo provided by baltazar Castillo, former sisd webmaster and used with permission.

Our Sharyland High School athletes

are expected to be role models. ey

know that their coaches care about

their performance on the eld, track,

pool, weight room, or court, but also

expect them to be model students in

the classrooms and in the community.

“We have actually invited the teams

to participate in community service

opportunities like our local Cystic

Fibrosis Walk-a-on. e athletes are

better citizens and do their part to raise

awareness in the community about

topics we teach them @ the library,”

Janie Flores commented. Current

Sharyland High School Principal

Cynthia Wilson supports the library,

librarians, and library programming.

Working with coaches comes naturally

to both of these librarians because they

are both married to coaches. “We know

the concepts of teamwork, discipline,

and respect are critical to sports and to

life,” Nicole Cruz stated.

Nicole Cruz is head librarian at

Sharyland High School and lead

librarian for Sharyland ISD.

98 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

he sta of the Sam Fore, Jr.

Wilson County Public Library

in Floresville, Texas, would like

to introduce you to a new solution to

a branch library – a vending machine

(book kiosk) for library materials!

Lovingly called “Lavern” because she

rides in La Vernia, Texas, at the Life-

Chek Pharmacy, the book kiosk went

“live” online February 6, 2012, after a

year in the planning. Wilson County

is approximately 806 square miles and

has a population of just over 42,500

people. So the need to bring library

services to all corners of the county is a

tall task indeed. In 2010, it became part

of our main library’s long-range plan

to see just how far we could stretch our

existing services and to investigate the

possibilities of new services.

Our library is the only state-accredited

public library in Wilson County.

ere are four independent school

districts in Wilson County (La Vernia

ISD, Stockdale ISD, Floresville ISD,

and Poth ISD), each with a school

library. Stockdale, the only other city

with a public library, is run 100% by

volunteers and is only open 15 hours

a week to the public. We are working

closely with them as they work toward

state accreditation.

We started a Book-By-Mail service.

(Unfortunately, this service is under-

utilized because of the distance to the

nearest post oce.) We pushed to be

in an early batch of libraries migrating

to WorldCat Navigator so patrons not

nding a particular book in our library

could order their own material from

home. We joined a digital consortium

to oer downloadable ebooks and

audiobooks. We also participate in

the TexShare Card Program, to give

our patrons more options. We even

kicked around the idea of restarting

the bookmobile. Our rst librarian,

Lillian Jackson, ran a bookmobile route

in 1940 for 15 years. It had stops at

57 area schools and an inventory of

600 books. Today, 72 years later, it has

become too expensive to maintain either

a physical branch library or a mobile

book service. us, we entertained the

idea of an unmanned vending machine

– a book kiosk.

Money for our book kiosk was made

possible by the generous donation of

the Friends of the La Vernia Public

Library (President, Winona Alder; Vice

President, Janie Cartwright; Secretary,

Jean Malloy; and Treasurer, Helen

Taylor). ese ladies once operated a

branch library of the Wilson County

Public Library. In 1996, this all-

volunteer library lost its lease on the

building and was forced to close its

doors. When no other location was

available, they raised money in the

hopes of some day reopening a public

library in La Vernia.

Our library’s solution for a new branch

library is an Internet-based book kiosk

operated by a Dell personal computer

and a Verizon aircard. e upside of this

venture and the biggest plus in our plan

is that we are now able to put books

and audiobooks back into the hands of

people who had no public library service

in 16 years! is county does not even

have a bookstore. Citizens can purchase

books at the local grocery store, buy

online, or drive into the big city of San

Antonio.

Extra testing was done to insure that

the secure channel would hold via the

aircard, thus protecting the exchange

of private information needed for

the library’s secure Internet checkout

system, Biblionix Apollo. is

vending machine-style kiosk holds

approximately 200 items depending

upon the conguration. At this time, we

have chosen to include only paperbacks,

audio CDs, and hardback books.

LONG-RANGE PLANNING

LEADS TO NEW TECHNOLOGY

 N S

Dr. Richard Nimz, a library advisory member, demonstrates the use of “Laverne” as he

enters his pin number, then receives and returns materials at the kiosk.

photo Courtesy of wilson County library

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 99

2345 Doctor F. E. Wright Drive • Jackson, TN 38305

Phone: 1-800-433-3903 • Fax: 1-800-797-7935 • www.davidsontitles.com

Contact Your Local Texas Sales Consultant:

Danna Davidson: 281-851-0942 • Ann Heuberger: 979-324-7442

Sharon Hollis: 303-718-7066 • Nick Roberson: 210-818-5252

Debbie Sohmer: 832-434-3916 • Charlie Townsend: 469-556-2986

Joy Townsend: 214-704-0783

for Your School or Library!

From a patron’s viewpoint, the use of

the kiosk is as easy as swiping your

valid library card, entering a 10-digit

pin number, and making a selection.

e kiosk prints a receipt so the patron

knows when to return his or her items

to the book return next to the machine.

(If more convenient, that patron may

also return items to the main library.)

We have encountered only three

downsides to this new venture:

Just like a home computer, the aircard is

subject to all kinds of interference such

as weather signal searching, etc.

e system requires the 10-digit pen

number, usually the patron’s home

phone number. Unfortunately, when

people move and change their phone

numbers, they do not think of notifying

their library of the change.

Sta time is required to stock and check

on the machine three days a week. e

machine is approximately 44 miles

round trip from the main library.

I will note that 100% of the kiosk

materials have been donated by Wilson

County.

In our rst 30 days of operation,

library customers registered almost 260

checkouts. Future plans for the kiosk

include reviewing how we load our rows

of materials, providing chapter books

for our younger readers for the summer,

and promoting the book selection

for our rst–ever One Book One

Community program.

We believe purchasing the book kiosk

from Pik Inc. was our best solution

to helping the Sam Fore, Jr. Wilson

County Public Library achieve its

goals of stretching already available

services and creating new services to

accommodate as many members of our

population as possible.

Nicki Stohr (

librarian.wcpl@gmail.

com

) is library director of

Wilson County Public Library.

Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl

This ﬁlm chronicles the worst man-made

ecological disaster in American history. Vivid

interviews with twenty-six survivors, combined

with dramatic photographs and seldom seen

movie footage, bring to life stories of incredible

human suffering and equally incredible human

perseverance.

American Experience:

Death and The Civil War

Based on the best-selling book by Drew Gilpin

Faust, this ﬁlm explores how the American

Civil War created a “republic of suffering” and

charts the far-reaching social, political, and

social changes brought about by the pervasive

presence and fear of death during the War.

To purchase this and other educational resources, visit

shopPBS.org/teachershop or other authorized distributor sites.

100 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

Disaster

PREPAREDNESS

for Colleges and

Universities

 D B

urricane Katrina hit New

Orleans and the Gulf Coast,

and nothing was ever the same.

Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston

and caused $5 billion in damage. With

Hurricane Rita, dozens of people died

in the evacuation before the storm even

hit. Hurricanes and tropical storms

are a fact of life on the Gulf Coast,

yet the preparation never seems to be

quite adequate. What is adequate? Is

it possible to prepare for storms of this

magnitude? e answer, regardless of

how we dene adequate, is that colleges

and universities must prepare broadly

for natural disasters, just as they prepare

for any other crisis, with resources and

perseverance.

e literature on disaster preparedness

within higher education is not extensive,

but there has been some good work

done on the steps any university can

and should take for disaster planning

as well as on lessons learned from

disasters. Works on creating a disaster

plan, identifying basics elements of a

plan, and learning lessons from disaster

survivors will be reviewed here with the

goal of establishing basic practices for an

institution of higher education engaging

in disaster preparedness.

Literature Review

In 2006 Mitro, Diamond, and

Alpaslan surveyed the higher education

community to see how prepared

American colleges and universities were

for a crisis. eir rst major nding

was that “the surveyed colleges and

universities were generally prepared

only for those crises that they had

already experienced” (66). ey had

learned from previous experience, but

had not made an attempt to apply that

experience in a broader context. While

most institutions had a crisis plan of

some sort, few had a broad based plan

for dealing with a variety of dierent

types of crisis – a crisis portfolio. An

important nding in this review was

that crisis management had the lowest

degree of support among all activities

and programs listed on the survey

(undergraduate education was rst).

Many acknowledge today that disaster

preparedness is a key item is a crisis

portfolio, and systems put in place

within this plan may translate to

other crises.

Beyond this general survey, the

literature takes two directions: theory

of various methods for creating a

plan and practical, how-to’s for the

plan itself. In Organization-based

Incident Management, the authors

lay out the role of volunteers during

a disaster. A study was conducted at

New York University (NYU) to test

how members of a large organization

might respond within an emergency,

and concluded that “volunteers

can and will help and that disaster

preparedness drills are a logical step for

university-based volunteers” (Fulmer

et al. 2007, 74). Another grouping

of faculty at NYU studied the eects

of disaster on individuals and how

the needs of the individuals aect

the institutions’ ability to maintain a

strong workforce during and directly

following a disaster. ey concluded

that the institution needed to create

“an atmosphere of perceived safety”

through communication, pre-disaster

preparedness, strong leadership,

training, and the institution of

“comprehensive, coordinated and

exible systems” (Chachkes, et al. 2007,

414) – an organizational safety net.

Writing shortly after the 9/11 terrorist

attack, Knapp, Benton, and Calhoun

stressed the importance of “connecting

the dots” in disaster planning. ey

reviewed disparate portions of the

university community that must work

together in disaster preparedness

including nance, information

technology, facilities, human resources,

admissions, and academic and student

aairs. “Turf war and politics must

evaporate now that we realize that

no one on campus is untouched by

disasters of this magnitude” (2002, 25).

Stein, Vickio, Fogo, and Abraham also

recommended a network approach to

disaster preparedness at a university.

“By highlighting existing organizational

structures and untapped resources,

a network approach allows for the

identication of patterns of relations

among organization that can play

key roles in times of disaster” (2007,

332). Most universities are highly

decentralized organizations, yet within

this seeming chaos, the authors relate

that individuals and departments build

strong networks on campus that can be

built into disaster preparedness.

Two articles in College Planning and

Management stand as exemplars of

practical, how-to advice for disaster

preparedness. In Are you Ready? Basics of

Emergency Operations Planning, Michael

Dorn explains the basic organization of

a plan. “A ‘master’ or ‘base’ plan should

be developed for the entire institution

that includes fundamental procedures

such as evacuations and lock down

facilities. In addition, specic protocols

should be developed for each type of

situation” (24). One basic plan is not

going to cover all types of incidents

and every aspect of the university,

but specic protocols within the

plan allow expansion of specics and

further tailoring. Dorn also points out

the importance of working with local

emergency management agencies and

of widely distributing and marketing

the plan so that it does not become a

document in a le drawer that can’t be

found when needed. However, posting

of the plan on a publicly available

Internet site is not the way to make

it widely distributed. “Making it easy

for potential oenders to review how

you would respond could increase the

chances of a planned assault and put

the safety of responding personnel at

risk” (25).

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 101

In Because One Day the Emergency Will Be

Real Danielle Przyborowski looks at the

importance of testing and drilling on the

emergency operation plan. She outlined

four key factors for an eective drill:

1. Start the planning process early.

2. Market heavily for broad

participation.

3. Cost is a factor, but use of in-house

resources and outside agencies can

keep it reasonable.

4. A drill is not beyond your capabilities

– and is worth the stretch (2000,

29-30).

e disaster fair staged at California State

Polytechnic University had multiple

eects. Students were involved and

educated, and outside agencies were

identied and contacted that would be

involved in a true emergency. Much can

be learned from what went well and what

went wrong during a drill, and these

lessons can be worked into the disaster

preparedness plan. is process also

yielded the important opportunity to raise

awareness in the community of issues

around disaster planning.

Creating a Disaster Plan

In most cases, organizations – unless

they are brand new – who are

considering disaster preparedness

are not starting from scratch: a basic

plan is probably in place. However,

the plan is also likely to be dated and

incomplete, and even if it was once a

comprehensive plan it may no longer

t the current organization. Still, it

is a good starting point. From there,

consider other sources of plans that

may be used to expand and/or update

the plan already in place. ere are a

variety of sample plans available online

for all types of organizations. While one

would hope that disaster preparedness

is being considered at a university wide

level, sometimes that is not feasible.

is should not stop segments of the

university community from planning

while they continue to lobby for a

comprehensive plan.

As a librarian, I found the International

Federations of Library Associations and

Institutions (IFLA) Disaster Preparedness

and Planning Manual to be an excellent

general guide with specic and useful

pieces of advice for libraries interested

in disaster preparedness, and much of

the general guide could be used by any

organization. IFLA conducted a survey

when considering the need for such a

guide, and found that only 39 out of

177 responding libraries (McIlwaine

2006, 5) had a disaster plan in place.

ey decided to proceed with the guide.

While conducting research for her

dissertation, e Great Comeback: a

Comparative Analysis of Disaster Recovery

Actions, Lea Johnson found over 90

examples of disaster plans available

online from colleges and universities.

However, she warns: “e vast majority

are hypothetical plans to be used in

the event of disaster – not based on

any actual disaster experience at the

institution” (11). Dorn and others

warn against the use of “canned plans.”

“Only a comprehensive, locally tailored

plan, developed and tested with the

assistance of local public safety ocials,

works during a major event” (2001, 23).

However, starting with a canned plan

and tailoring it to the needs of your

university is certainly better than going

without a plan because of the diculty

of starting from scratch.

A variety of federal resources are

available to assist with disaster planning.

In 2003 the Federal Emergency

Management Administration (FEMA)

published a set of guidelines entitled

Building a Disaster Resistant University.

e FEMA website describes it as “both

a how-to guide and a distillation of

the experiences of six universities and

colleges that have been working to

become more disaster-resistant.” e

guidelines are meant both to provide

basic information for beginning a plan

and specic suggestions and ideas for

those further along in the process.

Additional assistance from FEMA is

available through the FEMA Emergency

Management Higher Education Project,

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grants, and the

Building Partnerships to Reduce Hazard

Risks program.

convention

& exposition

tcea

2013

www.tceaconvention.org

With more than 400 sessions and

hands-on workshops, a 900+ booth

exhibit hall, inspiring keynotes,

and content experts sharing best

practices and solutions for engaging

todays digital learner, teachers will

discover easy and exciting technology

integration ideas. Administrators will

find tools for managing technology and

maximizing existing resources to excite

teachers, students, and parents.

Find out how the annual TCEA

Convention & Exposition captures

the hearts of tech-loving and tech-

learning educators year after year,

and discover learning in a new light.

February 4-8, 2013

TLJ 1-3 pg.indd 1 8/15/12 3:25 PM

convention

& exposition

tcea

2013

www.tceaconvention.org

With more than 400 sessions and

hands-on workshops, a 900+ booth

exhibit hall, inspiring keynotes,

and content experts sharing best

practices and solutions for engaging

todays digital learner, teachers will

discover easy and exciting technology

integration ideas. Administrators will

find tools for managing technology and

maximizing existing resources to excite

teachers, students, and parents.

Find out how the annual TCEA

Convention & Exposition captures

the hearts of tech-loving and tech-

learning educators year after year,

and discover learning in a new light.

February 4-8, 2013

TLJ 1-3 pg.indd 1 8/15/12 3:25 PM

102 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

e U.S. Department of Education

and FEMA created the Emergency

Management for Higher Education

grant in 2008 to “aid in the

development, review and improvement

of emergency plans for higher education

institutions” (Russell 2010, 1). As of

2010, Ready Campus grants had been

awarded to 43 institutions, a relatively

small number compared to the number

of institutions of higher education in

the United States. Pennsylvania colleges

and universities worked together to

implement one of the rst grants, and

North Dakota State University (NDSU)

used the grant to create a Ready

Campus Initiative Team “designed

to create a comprehensive emergency

management plan for the university

and spread awareness about emergency

management to the surrounding

community” (Russell 2010, 1). Ready

Campus initiatives are designed with

two goals: to provide colleges and

universities with assistance in disaster

preparedness and to become valuable

resources to their communities in

emergency situations.

Elements of Disaster

Preparedness Planning

e IFLA guidelines break disaster

preparedness planning into ve

elements: risk assessment, prevention

and protection, preparedness, reaction,

and response and recovery (McIlwaine

2006). e plan must also be

comprehensive enough to include these

elements for all facets of the university.

Today, a typical university campus is

a small city running enterprises from

retail bookstores to hotel services to

restaurants, each with their own risks

and needs.

Risk Assessment

e rst step requires participants in the

planning to take an in-depth look at the

risks to the organization. Facilities and

location are two key factors here. How

are the buildings situated? On hills? In

valleys? Do they have basements? How

tall are the buildings? Are they built to

withstand high winds? Where are trees

located in relation to the buildings?

Where are communication centers

located? Does the university generate

its own electricity, or is it dependent on

external vendors? Are the risks urban

or rural? Is the institution located near

an airport? A railroad? Is it in hurricane

country? Tornado Alley? e questions

are many but illustrate that one plan

does not t all. A university in rural

Kansas is going to plan for dierent

risks than one in urban Miami.

Prevention and Protection

“Prevention is concerned with measures

to prevent an event happening.

Protection is concerned with measures

to limit the damage...if an event does

happen” (McIlwaine 2007, 10). For

example, if the risk assessment indicates

that a tree is too close to a building in

a hurricane prone area, then removal

of that tree will prevent a lost roof,

or worse, in the event of a hurricane.

Regular inspection of life safety systems,

such as re alarms will help mitigate

damage with early warning signals to

responders.

Preparedness

e IFLA manual refers to this stage as

“getting ready to cope.” e oft-revised

plan is readily available, the disaster

preparedness team is in place, and the

roles of each team member are clearly

dened. Sta are well-trained, and drills

are held to reinforce training, heighten

awareness, and nd (and repair)

weaknesses in the plan. e plan itself

should include or be supplemented by

building plans, and extensive, up-to-

date contact information. Contacts with

outside support agencies are maintained

and nurtured. Standing contracts are in

place with vendors who will help with

recovery.

Reaction and Response

In the event of a disaster, the safety

of sta, faculty, and students, as well

as emergency responders is always

the rst priority. Activate the plan in

a timely manner, and use it. In any

disaster, there will be situations that

don’t t within the plan, and you will

need to think on your feet and change

direction. is does not mean that it is

time to throw out the entire plan. Deal

with that situation and get back to the

plan. Provide as much communication

as possible to sta, faculty, students,

and parents using whatever method is

currently available.

Recovery

Attempt to maintain services or to

reopen services as soon as possible.

Work with pre-contracted vendors to

re-establish communication systems

and to prepare buildings for re-opening.

Be clear to your faculty and sta on a

timeline for their return to work but

be exible with individual cases, since

employees may also be dealing with

personal disaster related situations.

Lessons from Survivors

e literature around disaster

preparedness includes a good number of

articles on how universities responded

to and recovered from specic events.

Lessons learned from these “survivors”

fall into two categories: best practices

for planning and best practices for

recovery and response. ose who have

dealt with a disastrous event are better

prepared for the next event, and the rest

of us can learn from them.

Tropical Storm Allison and

Hurricane Ike

Tropical Storm Allison formed in the

Gulf and moved through Houston on

Tuesday, June 5, 2001, depositing 12

inches of rain. is was not a crisis.

Unfortunately, on June 8, the storm

then turned, strengthened, and came

back through Houston where it stalled,

depositing an additional 28 inches

of rain Friday evening and Saturday

morning on already saturated land,

an overwhelmed pipe system, and

full bayous. “When the local rains

nally eased, Allison had left Harris

County with 22 fatalities, 95,000

damaged automobiles and trucks,

73,000 damaged residences, 30,000

residents in shelters, and more than $5

billion in property damage in its wake”

(HCFCD 2010, 1). In the summer of

2008, Hurricane Ike came o the Gulf

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 103

IT systems to saving research animals.

e systems were down longer than

expected, but UH lost no research

animals as a result.

• Send the right messages to your

constituency. “Like Baylor, UH was

focused on restoring classes as quickly

as possible. Symbolically, we tried to

close the ocial command center as

quickly as possible, as a statement

that we were focusing on the return

to normal operations” (Jarriel and

Shomper 2005, 9). e community

needed to see progress, even if the IT

help desk was still operating from the

sports arena.

• ousands of research animals in the

medical center were lost during Tropical

Storm Allison. Researchers are now

encouraged to cryopreserve rare lines

or collaborate with researchers in other

parts of the country to protect unique

genetically engineered animals.

• Flood gates were added on several

campuses after Allison. e ood gates

were eective during Ike, but caused

new diculties. ey now recommend

that emergency exits are placed above

the level of the ood gates, so faculty

and sta can exit the building after they

have been closed.

• On one campus, high security after

the storm inhibited recovery. With all

facilities manually locked, hours were

wasted waiting for buildings to be

reopened.

Hurricane Ivan

In September of 2004, Hurricane Ivan

came ashore over Pensacola, Florida, and

it remains one of the worst hurricanes

ever to hit West Florida. e University

of West Florida

was hard hit, and

John Cavanaugh

wrote about

this and other

experiences as

an administrator

dealing with

disasters in

Eectively

Managing Major

Disasters (2006).

Lessons Learned

• Some natural disasters (hurricanes,

oods, and blizzards) have the

advantage of lead time – use it. “Use

the available time to clearly and

concisely communicate the steps people

should or must take” (6).

• Back-up information on sta, students,

nance, etc., needs to be suciently

remote from the location of the disaster

as to be accessible during the disaster.

Work with a sister school in another

part of the country to trade back-up

information.

• While insurance and FEMA will pay

out eventually, cash will be needed

to get through the emergency. is

means cash in the bank for operating

until assistance is available and may

also literally mean cash in hand to buy

drinking water and batteries. Purchase

orders are not helpful in an emergency.

Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd hit the east coast of

the United States on September 15,

1999. A Category 2 storm at that point,

it triggered torrential rains in an area

already soaked by Hurricane Dennis just

two weeks earlier. As in Tropical Storm

Allison, the worst damage came from

ooding, which in this case went on for

weeks. East Caroline State University

was forced to cancel classes for a week

and evacuate the campus through the

one road still open.

Lessons Learned

When planning assume you will lose

all vital utilities for one week. is may

not be the case, but you need to have a

CREATE A PLAN

TRAIN ON THAT PLAN

COMMUNICATE THAT PLAN

Coast and Galveston and Houston as

a Category 2 storm with 110 mile per

hour winds taking down thousands

of trees and leaving 2.15 million

residents without electricity and was

one of the most costly storms ever to

hit the United States. However, colleges

and universities in the area that had

sustained heavy losses during Tropical

Storm Allison were better prepared for

this storm and had much less damage

and fewer losses than expected.

Lessons Learned

• At the University of Houston (UH)

the lack of personnel on campus

exacerbated the eects of Tropical

Storm Allison, so during Ike, UH

had “a full ride-out team, including

electricians, landscape experts, and

plumbers on campus during the

hurricane, which allowed us to evaluate

the situation immediately...As the

eye of the hurricane was moving over

the area, the team was assessing the

damage” (Parker 2008, 1).

• No critical functions are located in

basements anymore. None. is was

reported for UH, the Baylor College of

Medicine, and the University of Texas

Medical School at Houston.

• Denitions of critical systems morphed.

“e Baylor Web site had not been

considered an essential system, but

we learned that it was indeed critical,

both for posting announcements and

for soliciting information” (Jarriel and

Shomper 2005, 7). Another survivor

recommended having “alternate o-site

web hosting capabilities, enabling the

distribution of campus information to

a widely dispersed sta” (Goodwin and

Donahoe 2010, 117).

• Complacency and denial must be

recognized and addressed early in

the process (117). Quick response

and action from team members are

essential.

• Use the people and resources you have

on hand. rough a bit of luck, there

were a number of IT personnel on

campus in the early morning hours of

Tropical Storm Allison, but ocials

re-deployed all of them from restoring

104 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

plan in place in the eventuality that it

happens.

• When planning, assume you will lose

all vital utilities for one week. is

may not be the case, but you need to

have a plan in place in the eventuality

that it happens.

• “Make alternative arrangements

for producing your payroll should

the disaster come at such a time.

Employees will need their paychecks

even more during these times”

(Brown 2000, 42.)

• Consider that local emergency

personnel may be asking you for

assistance. If these relationships are

built before the disaster strikes, the

situation will be easier to navigate

during the disaster.

• “Celebrate the success of the recovery

eort and thank all involved” (42).

Conclusions

Disaster preparedness is neither easy nor

quick: it is essential, however. Colleges

and universities have essential assets

and investments to protect during a

natural disaster: human life, buildings,

and research, along with the continued

operation of the organization. A well-

formed, well-rehearsed disaster plan is

a crucial element in protecting these

resources. Federal assistance is available

to assist colleges and universities with

planning, and local resources should

certainly be considered. Much can be

learned from fellow academics who have

been through disasters, and area colleges

and universities can benet from

working together in planning as well as

response and recovery. Create a plan,

train on that plan, and communicate

that plan. What you will learn about

your organization will help you be more

eective now and during a disaster.

Diane Bruxvoort is associate dean

for scholarly resources and research

services at the George A. Smathers

Libraries, University of Florida.

References

Brown, R. 2000. “Disaster planning

101: Not just waiting for the

rainbow sign.” Business Ocer

34(4): 39-42.

Cavanaugh, J. C. 2006. “Eectively

managing major disasters.” e

Psychologist-Manager Journal

9(1): 3-11. doi:10.1207/

s15503461tpmj0901_2

Chachkes, E, Nelson, L., Portelli,

I., Woodrow, R., Bloch, R.,

& Goldfrank, L. 2007. “An

organizational safety net in an

academic setting: An evaluation.”

Journal of Business Continuity &

Emergency Planning 2(4): 403-415.

Dorn, M. 2001. “Are you ready?

basics of emergency operations

planning.” College Planning &

Management 4(12): 23-25.

Fulmer, T., Portelli, I., Foltin, G.

L., Zimmerman, R., Chachkes,

E., & Goldfrank, L. R. 2007.

“Organization-based incident

management: Developing a disaster

volunteer role on a university

campus.” Disaster Management

& Response 5(3): 74-81.

doi:10.1016/j.dmr.2007.06.001

Goodwin, J., Bradford S., &

Donaho, J. C. 2010. “Tropical

storm and hurricane recovery and

preparedness strategies.” ILAR

Journal / National Research Council,

Institute of Laboratory Animal

Resources, 51(2): 104-119.

HCFCD. 2010. Tropical Storm

Allison Overview, Retrieved from

http://www.hcfcd.org/F_tsa_

overview.html.

Harrell, G. W. 2000. “What we

learned from hurricane Floyd.”

Facilities Manager 16(6): 23-27.

International federation of library

associations and institutions.

Core Program on preservation

and Conservation., McIlwaine,

J., Varlamo, M., Koch, C., &

Hernandez, S. 2006. IFLA disaster

preparedness and planning. Paris:

IFLA-PAC.

Jarriel, J., & Shomper, C. 2005.

“Lemons to lemonade: disaster

preparation and recovery.” Educause

Center for Applied Research 2005(5):

2-12.

Knapp, J., Benton, K., & Calhoun, T.

2002. “Connect the dots in disaster

planning.” Business Ocer 35(7):

25-27.

MacDowell, M. 2006. “Ready

campus: Prepared to help when

disaster strikes.” e Police Chief

73(4): 172.

Mitro, I., Diamond, M., & C.

Murat Alpaslan. 2006. “HOW

PREPARED are America’s colleges

and universities for major crises?”

Change 38(1): 60.

Parker, F. 2008. UH weathers the

storm. Retrieved from http://www.

uh.edu/uhtoday/archives/2008/

september-2008/92308uhweathers-

the-storm.php.

Przyborowski, D. 2000. “Because

one day the emergency will

be real.” College Planning &

Management 3(6), 29-30.

Russell, E. 2010. Emergency

management for higher

education: U.S. department of

education resources and grantee

highlights from North Dakota

State University. Retrieved from

training.fema.gov/.../Russell%20

-20EM%20for%20Higher%20

Edu.

Stein, C. H., Vickio, C. J., Fogo,

W. R., & Abraham, K. M. 2007.

“Making connections: A network

approach to university disaster

preparedness.” Journal of College

Student Development 48(3), 331-

343. doi:10.1353/csd.2007.0031

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 105

Approaching the 83

Legislative Session

 G M

The 83

LegIsLATIve sessIOn

cOnvenes JAnuARY 8, 2013.

THE TIME FROM LABOR DAY UNTIL

THE HOLIDAYS IS THE BEST TIME

TO CONTACT LEGISLATORS AND

CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR

OFFICE ON ISSUES THAT NEED

TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE STATE

LEGISLATURE.

LIBRARY SUPPORTERS MUST

UNDERTAKE A RIGOROUS

GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN ON THE

LOCAL LEVEL TO RECRUIT OTHER

LIBRARY ADVOCATES AND TO BUILD

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR STATE

SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVE

(AND CANDIDATES FOR THOSE

ELECTED OFFICES).

TOWARD THIS END, TLA IS

DEVELOPING AN ARRAY OF

TOOLS FOR YOU TO USE WHEN

UNDERTAKING LOCAL ADVOCACY

EFFORTS.

Summary of the 82nd

Legislative Session

e state faced a massive budget

shortfall in 2011 and made

unprecedented cuts to statewide

programs. Elected ocials voted to cut

about $4 billion in funding for schools

along with signicant cuts to higher

education, healthcare, and almost all

areas of the state’s budget. e Texas

State Library and Archives Commission

(TSLAC), which manages statewide

library programs, sustained a signicant

cut in funding. is sum represents a

loss of about $30 million in support

for library programs over the 2012-13

biennium.

ese drastic state cuts have an

additional devastating impact: the

potential loss of almost $9 million more

in federal funds in 2015 since the state

can no longer meet federal requirements

for eligibility for all matching federal

funds for library services.

ese cuts aﬀected just about every

community, school, and institution of

higher education in the state.

Other Legislation

e 82

Legislature also passed

legislation to extend the state’s

telecommunications program for

libraries, schools, institutions of higher

education, and hospitals through

January 1, 2016.

Texline 282 (www.txla.org/texline)

contains a full summary of the session

and library initiatives.

Preview of the 83rd

Legislative Session

e State Comptroller recently

noted an improvement in the Texas

economy with sales tax receipts and the

Rainy Day Fund exceeding budgeted

expectations. Despite the improved

nancial outlook for the state and

higher revenue available for the 2014-

15 biennium than for the 2012-13

biennium, the state budget may remain

stagnant, as the Governor reiterated

his pledge to support legislation that

shrinks government spending and

oppose legislation that raises taxes

or raids the Rainy Day Fund. All

state agencies have been required to

submit proposed budgets that reduce

current funding by up to 10% (in 5%

increments).e state must also make

payments in the 2014-15 biennium

that were delayed from the 2012-

13 biennium (i.e., Medicaid and

the Foundation School Program).

Additionally, the anticipated lawsuit

by several school districts against the

state for failing to adequately fund

public schools is about to begin this

fall in a district court, but without a

Texas Supreme Court decision, we will

not likely see any legitimate legislative

proposals to remedy the situation.

State funding for library services is at

a critically low level. With only $2.5

million appropriated last session for

TexShare, TSLAC requires an infusion

www.txla.org/

advocacy-tools

106 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

of state general revenue funding to

maintain the TexShare program,

provide statewide resources for K-12

campuses, and assist libraries in

providing workforce training, literacy

programming, and educational services

to the people of Texas. It is also critical

to note that, without additional state

funds directed to library programming,

the State Library may not be able to

make the case to the federal Institute

of Museum and Library Services for a

continuation – even at a smaller level

– of federal matching funds for library

services. Federal funds currently help

support interlibrary loan, TexShare, and

other critical statewide library services.

e 83

State Legislature will include

a large number of freshmen legislators.

Although these newly minted elected

ocials will face a steep learning curve,

this change represents an opportunity

for all library supporters. It is critical

that all the members of the 83

Legislature hear from constituents

about the potential loss of federal

matching funding, the list of reduced

or eliminated programs and services,

and the importance of libraries to

the people in their home districts.

Many lawmakers are campaigning on

promises of scal conservatism. All

elected ocial must be made aware

that statewide library services represent

a cost-eective and highly benecial

deployment of state dollars. Funding

of library services yields support for

under-employed or unemployed

individuals seeking to build their skills

and résumés in the sluggish economy;

small business use of resources to help

grow and market their enterprises; and

millions of library users (i.e., students,

families, and researches) who rely

on the Internet access, instructional

programs, and resources available at

their libraries.

Other key issues that may be addressed

include the state’s telecommunications

discount program (which was extended

last session in a bill by Sen. J. Zarini

of Laredo). e Senate Business

and Commerce Committee was

charged with reviewing the program

during the interim. At a hearing on

August 14, Roosevelt Weeks, deputy

director of Houston Public Library,

oered testimony on behalf of TLA

in support of the discount program.

Telecommunications providers renewed

their desire to eliminate the program.

TLA, along with other eligible

institutions, discussed the need for the

continuation of the discounts and noted

that telecommunications providers are

able to recoup the cost of the service

and make a small prot. We also

expect proposed legislation that would

permit local economic development

corporations the option of using certain

local funds for library projects.

TLA Platform for the 83rd

Legislative Session

Texas libraries are essential to the state’s

information infrastructure which fosters

the economic and educational success of

Texas. e statewide library initiatives

brought before the 83rd Legislature

represent a unied statewide approach

for supporting library services and are

built on the principle of promoting

equity and maximizing economies of

scale. e goals of these programs are to

promote economic vitality, workforce

and college readiness, and educational

attainment. ese statewide library

programs:

• Oer a broad vision and mechanism

of support for all types of libraries

now and into the future

• Focus on the State’s articulated

goals of workforce development,

educational success, and college &

workforce readiness

• Promote increased reading, writing,

and digital literacy

e two primary initiatives for

consideration before the legislature

are represented as budget items in

the proposed 2014-15 budget for

the Texas State Library and Archives

Commission (TSLAC). (See Article I,

General Government, HB 1/SB 1.) e

State Library Commission approved

the agency’s proposed budget (i.e., the

Legislative Appropriations Request)

for 2014-15 at its August 2 meeting.

e approved budget contained the

following two exceptional items requests

for library programs.

1. E-Content Learning

Resources – $9.25 million

over the biennium for:

• Digital (electronic) materials in

libraries for online homework help,

college preparation, research, job

searching, career and test preparation,

and other assistance in helping people

reach their economic goals;

• Shared resources available to persons

of all ages, such as databases, ebooks,

interlibrary loan networks, and

training aids.

Why we need e-content…

• Economic vitality is a product of

a well prepared workforce and a

robust business environment. Texas

libraries form a broad and ecient

foundation that provides Texans

tools for education, innovation, and

entrepreneurship. Library e-content

supports these strategic statewide goals.

• is request would strengthen

and consolidate the provision of

digital content – online research on

science and business; ebooks; online

homework help; job search resources;

and career preparation services –

available through libraries and library

websites statewide.

• is program leverages the purchasing

power of the State of Texas and reaps

enormous savings and realizes the best

value possible for Texas taxpayers.

• e funds requested would strengthen

TexShare, the statewide program that

makes resources readily available to

learners, job creators, college and

university students, and faculty

throughout the state.

Roosevelt

Weeks

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 107

NEW from TEXAS A&M

800.826.8911 Fax: 888.617.2421 www. tamupress.com







Everyday Music

Alan Govenar

Online Teaching Resources

by Paddy Bowman

Govenar traveled more than 35,000 miles around Texas, interviewing, recording, and

photographing the vast cultural landscape of Texas. Here, he brings readers face-to-face

with the stories and memories of people who are as varied as the traditions they carry on.

Online teaching resources accompanying the book include video clips, recorded interviews,

and performances.



• e requested funding would allow

the millions of K-12 students and

educators to have access to these

materials at their school campuses.

2. Incentive Grants for

Increasing Literacy and

Educational Success – $3.4

million/biennium for:

Training and programming built on

local partnerships and innovative

practices to advance educational

attainment, workforce development,

and written and digital literacy

Why we need to support these

strategic partnerships and

programs…

• According to the report Addressing

Long-Term Unemployment, almost ve

unemployed workers exist for every

job opening. Yet, many workers do

not possess the skill set necessary to

perform those jobs. e report nds

that policymakers will need to invest

in education and training programs

that can prepare workers for new

employment opportunities.

• Texas libraries provide services

and resources that address gaps in

education, workforce skills, and literacy

levels. 64% of Texas public libraries

oer the only free source of Internet

access in their communities.

• Libraries provide a signicant

avenue to assist in meeting the state’s

priorities of promoting educational

opportunities, establishing favorable

environments for business, and raising

literacy at all age levels.

• With the closure of some local

Workforce Solutions oces statewide,

libraries must meet ever-increasing

demands for training and educational

programs.

Tasks to Accomplish before

December 15, 2012

• Recruit supporters and persons of

inuence within your community.

Have them contact elected ocials

and candidates asking for support of

library issues. Give them a list of the

local programs and services reduced

or eliminated as a result of the state

budget passed in 2011 and share

TLA’s platform.

• Meet your state representative and

senator (and any strong candidates

for those oces). Visit them at their

oces. Take a couple of supporters

with you to discuss the importance of

library services. Be sure to meet the

elected ocial’s sta members.

• Invite those elected ocials and

candidates to your library if you are

able.

• Prepare information about the value

of your library to your community,

students, etc.

• Send a letter to the editor about the

value and needs of your library. Invite

the media (or a known reporter) to

cover an event at your library, perhaps

a Library Snapshot Day event in

October.

• Continue communications with your

state senator and representative. Write

them and have your supporters write

them about the library and the need

for state funding.

Resources Available at www.

txla.org/advocacy-tools

• Handout of TLA Platform

• Video of library activities and need for

funding (can be used in presentations

to boards, community groups, and

elected ocials)

• PowerPoint Presentation on library

funding and the need to support

library initiatives

• Template resolution that library

supporters can ask city councils, county

commissioners, school boards, parent

groups, student unions, faculty groups,

and others to pass and send to their state

senators, representatives, and candidates

for oce

• Sample letter that can be sent to

elected ocials

• Calendar of activities and events

• Audio (MP3) of Texline 284

highlights

Gloria Meraz is director of

communications at the Texas

Library Association.

108 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

A P 

 A C

L U  T

E’ N:

e version of the report

published here has been edited for length. e

full report is available on the ACLU of Texas

website (www.aclutx.org/resources/banned-

books/) and was released in mid-September.

e report details challenged and banned books

in Texas public schools during the 2011-2012

school year, and is published in celebration of

National Banned Books Week, September 30 -

October 6. e Texas Library Association and

all people who value the right to read thank

the ACLU of Texas for its unwavering and

longstanding support of the freedom to read.

REFLECTIONS from ACLU

Executive Director Terri Burke

is year marks the 30th anniversary of

Banned Books Week when Americans

and Texans celebrate their right to read

what they damn well please…or not.

e ACLU of Texas pays tribute to

this fundamental right – and the First

Amendment that safeguards it – with an

investigative report on books banned in

Texas public schools. is is our 16th

annual banned books report: Free People

Read Freely, Challenged and Banned

Books in Texas Public Schools, 2011-

2012. We will continue to investigate

and report as long as Texas school

districts continue banning books.

Each year when we contact every one

of the state’s more than 1,000 school

districts, we ask which of the

following categories were cited for

a book’s challenge or banishment:

profanity; sexual content or

nudity; violence or horror;

oensive to religious beliefs;

politically, racially, or socially

oensive; and drugs or alcohol.

e answers usually involve

some or nearly all of these

categories. Although I continue

to be surprised at some of the

books that are challenged and

the reasons why, I am happy

to report fewer books were

banned last school year. In

many cases, those that were

banned or restricted were in

elementary school libraries

where their content was considered too

mature for younger children. e books

weren’t denied to older students.

Intellectual freedom – the freedom to

access information and express ideas

even if unorthodox or unpopular –

provides the foundation for Banned

Books Week. e ACLU of Texas

believes that one person’s views should

not govern what others may read.

At the same time, we believe parents

have the right to limit what their own

children read. In the main, however,

we are persuaded by the late U.S.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart

who wrote: “Censorship reects a

society’s lack of condence in itself.”

Unconventional or minority viewpoints

are as important for learning about our

world and imparting society’s values as

conventional perspectives.

Banned Books Week draws attention to

the danger that exists when restraints

are imposed on the availability of

information in a free society. We feature

the story of “book tracker” Tony Diaz

who trekked across Texas to “smuggle”

banned books into Arizona. Mexican-

American history and culture classes,

along with books in the curriculum,

were forbidden in Tucson schools

following passage of a state law that

deemed ethnic studies seditious.

We hope you will join with Houston

Community College professor Tony

Diaz and stand up for your Freadom!

ENJOY BANNED BOOKS WEEK

BY READING A BANNED BOOK!

FOREWORD by Dotty Grifﬁth,

Public Education Director

If there’s one thing that the ACLU

is known for, it’s free speech. at’s

why every fall for the last 16 years,

the ACLU of Texas has marked

Banned Books Week with the release

of our exclusive report on the state of

censorship in our state’s public schools.

is report underscores our belief

in a society where ideas are openly

discussed and debated. We believe in

your right to access information, and

the right to make up your own mind

about what you want to read and about

what your school age children read.

Since the inception of Banned Books

Week in 1982, sponsored by the

American Library Association, libraries

and bookstores throughout the country

have staged local read-ins as part of

their activities.

Join with us against censorship.

Consider holding a read-in, an event

where community members gather to

celebrate and read challenged books.

You can “read-in” at a school, local

bookstore, library, community center,

or even in your home or with your

book club. Contact us (gwilliams@

aclutx.org) and we’ll help.

You may also choose to become part

of a Virtual Read-In. Proclaim the

virtues of your favorite banned books

by submitting two-minute videos of

you or friends reading excerpts from

a banned or challenged book on a

dedicated YouTube channel. Or you

may be vigilant enough to have video

eyewitness accounts of local challenges

to post.

Once you have posted your video,

send an email with the subject heading

“Link for the BBW Virtual Read-In!”

to [email protected] with the link to your

video. Send the ACLU of Texas a link

as well to [email protected]. We’ll

post your video on our ACLU of Texas

Facebook page.

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 109

An Overview

is year marks the 30th anniversary

of Banned Books Week. Across the

country, people will hold read-ins of

“contraband” materials such as Love and

Other Four-Letter Words, e Adventures

of Super Diaper Baby, and Tess of the

D’Urbervilles (which happens to be over

100 years old!)

is year’s report, which accounts for

about 91 percent of the total number of

Texas school districts, reveals some good

news on the reading front. Over the past

decade we have seen a steady decline

in the number of books that have been

challenged and banned, with 2003-

04 and 2006-07 school years seeing

a slight spike in challenges and bans.

2011-12 shows the lowest number of

challenges and bans for the decade, with

50 challenged and 13 banned. is is an

enormous step for Texas and a trend we

hope will continue in the years to come.

Subject matters that concerned

parents, teachers, and even a bus driver,

included topics such as LGBT; teen

and race issues; cursing; bad behavior;

creepy illustrations; and even works by

Leonardo da Vinci!

Many of the challenged books, which

might not have been intended for an

elementary reader in the rst place, such

as DC Pierson’s e Boy Who Couldn’t

Sleep and Never Had To or Dan Santat’s

Sidekicks, found their way to library

shelves or classrooms of younger readers.

Some schools indicated they “restricted”

these books from the elementary schools,

either moving them to a higher grade

level or restricting use only for the child

whose parents protested. Some chose to

ban the challenged books all together.

Due Process Before

Pulling a Book

e process to ban a book begins when

someone makes a complaint. Books are

almost always challenged by a parent

or, every so often, by a teacher. When a

book is challenged, a school might ban

it, sometimes permanently. Fortunately,

most districts report they have retained

the challenged books or have restricted

the book’s use to a certain age or class

level; or restricted it only for the child

whose parents complained.

e process schools use to respond to

parental or a community complaint

usually determines the outcome of a

challenge. It may come as a surprise to

some that even the most prestigious of

titles consistently return to the banned

and challenged books list, even if they

are more than a half century old.

In Human ISD, J.D. Salinger’s classic

Catcher in the Rye was challenged for

its “profanity, sexual content, nudity,

oensiveness, and alcohol use” by a

parent at Hargrave High School.

In the tradition of Salinger, taboo

topics of discussion get at the most

uncomfortable parental scrutiny, such

as the issues raised in Marcus Ewart’s

10,000 Dresses, a children’s book about

An Overview

Most often books at the elementary and intermediate level are challenged and banned due to the age appro-

This year marks the 30th anniversary of

Banned Books Week. Across the country, people

will hold read-ins of “contraband” materials such

Love and Other Four-Letter Words

The Adven-

tures of Super Diaper Baby,

and

Tess of the D’Ur-

bervilles

(which happens to be over 100 years

old!)

This year’s report, which accounts for about

91 percent of the total number of Texas school

districts, reveals some good news on the reading

front. Over the past decade we have seen a

steady decline in the number of books that have

been challenged and banned, with 2003-04 and

2006-07 school years seeing a slight spike in

challenges and bans. 2011-12 shows the lowest

number of challenges and bans for the decade,

with 50 challenged and 13 banned. This is an

enormous step for Texas and a trend we hope will

continue in the years to come.

Subject matters that concerned parents,

teachers and even a bus driver, included topics

such as LGBT, teen and race issues; cursing; bad

behavior; creepy illustrations; and even work by

Leonardo da Vinci!

Many of the challenged books, which might

not have been intended for an elementary reader

in the first place, such as DC Pierson’s

The Boy

Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To

, or Dan

Santat’s

Sidekicks

, found their way to library

shelves or classrooms of younger readers. Some

schools indicated they “restricted” these books

from the elementary schools, either moving to a

higher grade level or restricting only for the child

whose parents protested its use. Some chose to

BANNED BOOKS

10,000 Dresses, Marcus Ewart

Bone Series, Je Smith

Call Me Hope, Gretchen Olson

Dark Rivers of the Heart,

Dean Koontz

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares,

Rachel Cohn

Love and Other Four Letter Words,

Carolyn Mackler

Num8ers, Rachel Ward

Sidekicks, Dan Santat

e Adventures of Super Diaper Baby,

Dav Pilkey

e Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and

Never Had To, D.C. Pierson

e Storm in the Barn, Matt Phelan

is is Just to Say: Poems of Apology

and Forgiveness,

Joyce Sidman

Vampires, Jennifer Besel

When is it Right to Die?,

Joni Eareckson

RESTRICTED BOOKS

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest

Hemmingway

A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah

Beloved, Toni Morrison

Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

Chronicle of a Death Foretold,

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

City of Glass, Cassandra Clare

Incredible Journey through the

Human Body, Nicholas Harris

Jake Reinvented, Gordon Korman

Molly’s Family, Nancy Garden

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World,

Jennifer Armstrong

Tess of the d’Urbervilles,

omas Hardy

e Awakening, Kate Chopin

e Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

e Outsiders, S.E. Hinton

e Princess Diaries, Vol VI: Princess

in Training, Meg Cabot

e ings ey Carried,

Tim O’Brien

Most often books at the elementary and intermediate level are challenged

and banned due to the age appropriateness of the content.

110 Texas Library Journal

• Fall 2012

a transgender child. Cuero ISD banned

the book from French Elementary

School for its reported “politically,

racially, or socially oensive” content.

ere are generally three ways for

school districts to evaluate books: by

the librarian or principal, by the school

board, or by a review committee. For

the 2011-2012 school year, more

than half of the districts surveyed (59

percent) reported that when a book is

challenged, it is reviewed by a “review

committee,” a stark dierence to last

10,000 Dresses, Marcus Ewert

A young boy named Bailey dreams

about dresses. Because he is a boy, his

parents don’t want him to think about

dresses at all. Bailey meets a friend who

supports his dreams, and they start

making dresses together.

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemmingway

During WWI, a young American

ambulance driver serving in the Italian

army and an English nurse fall in love.

ey stay devoted to each other during

the challenges of wartime.

A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah

is is a memoir of a child soldier in

Sierra Leone.

Amelia Rules: e Gym Class System,

Jimmy Gownley

After her parents’ divorce, an elementary

school girl moves to a new town. On her

rst day of 4th grade Amelia meets some

challenges in gym class.

Behind the Secret Window,

Nelly S. Toll

A young girl’s memoir of her childhood

during World War II. rough artwork

and text, fantasy and hope balance

heartbreaking and tragic moments.

year when half

of the districts

surveyed reported

that review was an

“administration

only” procedure.

“Administration

and other” and

“administration”

ocials now

monopolize the

process at only 21 percent of schools

surveyed for 2011-2012.

“Any book that helps a child to

form a habit of reading, to

make reading one of his deep

and continuing needs,

is good for him.”

Maya Angelou

According to the American Library Association, “A challenge is an attempt to remove

or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the

removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point

of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library,

thereby restricting the access of others. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers,

parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most

materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.”

Beloved, Toni Morrison

Set in 1873, a mother tries to kill her

children so they can escape the horrors of

slavery. She successfully kills one daughter,

whose ghost returns to haunt the family.

Bone Series, Je Smith

e Bone cousins face many adventures

after being run out of their hometown. As

they travel through dierent places, they

meet new people, learn about sacrice,

and enjoy fun times.

Call Me Hope, Gretchen Olson

Hope, a pre-teen who is not treated

well by her mother, thinks about running

away. Instead, she decides to stay home

and confront her mom.

Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

After being expelled from prep school,

young Holden Cauleld takes a few days

for himself in Manhattan. He looks up

people he knows, has some new and

surprising experiences, bonds with his

sister, and changes his outlook.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel

Garcia Marquez

is murder mystery is entangled with

love and deception.

City of Glass, Cassandra Clare

To save her mother’s life, Clary risks

her own by traveling to the City of Glass.

She is unwanted in the city, but nds an

important ally who helps her succeed.

Dark Rivers of the Heart, Dean Koontz

Before he knows it, Spencer Grant nds

himself on the run from mysterious men,

in love with a mysterious woman, and

is reminded about some moments of his

own past that could ruin him if his new

enemies don’t get to him rst.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares,

Rachel Cohn

A love story begins as a list of dares in

a notebook on a bookstore shelf. Lily and

Dash learn about each other at rst only

through their writing. eir relationship

becomes more interesting as they get to

know each other in person.

Da Vinci and His Times,

Andrew Langley

A history book about the Renaissance

that goes into illustrated detail about

Leonardo da Vinci, his contemporaries,

and general life in Europe.

Fade, Lisa McMann

After tapping into a classmate’s

nightmares, Janie is learning about the

consequences of being a dream catcher.

Learning the truth about herself, along

with her confusing relationship with

Cabel, keeps her life in scary suspense.

Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers

A teenager volunteers for the military

when his dream of attending college falls

through. Sent to the front lines, Perry

comes face-to-face with the Viet Cong and

the horror of warfare. As Perry struggles

to nd virtue in himself and his comrades,

he questions why black troops are given

the most dangerous assignments and why

the U.S. is there at all.

Summaries

Challenged Books

Red = Banned Orange = Restricted Black = No Action Taken

TEXASLIBRARYASSOCIATION 111

Hoot, Carl Hiaasen

Roy and his friends ght to stop the

building of a pancake house in Coconut

Cove, Florida, because they want to save a

colony of owls that live on the site.

I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother,

Selina Alko

A boy is very excited about becoming

a big brother and wonders what his new

sibling will look like.

Incredible Journey through the Human

Body, Nicholas Harris

is journey through the human

body oers explanations and colorful

descriptions of all of the body’s systems.

Jake Reinvented, Gordon Korman

Jake Garret is a wealthy, athletic, and