Reading is a big aspect in students’ lives, especially at school. Reading a diversity of books is important in many ways; it influences the way we view the world, and that in turn affects us as a person and therefore our lives. A wonderful source of books that students have are the school libraries. Librarians do a lot to keep the libraries in good condition as well as improving upon them, and we interviewed the librarians at our schools about how they diversify the school library’s bookshelves.
What is your vision for a library that fully embraces diversity?
“A library that fully embraces diversity should be inclusive and responsive to those needs because leveraging diverse books enhances students’ thinking. Diversity helps students develop critical thinking skills at the same time that they develop different literacies.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“At our student-centered library, all users will have the skills and ability to access a variety of diverse, new and classic materials which are appropriate to them, in both physical and digital formats. Through practice and instruction, students will become savvy consumers of information and experienced in using research and critical thinking skills.”
– Mission statement from the RIS Library Policies
“Okay, but what do you mean by the word? Diversity itself? The reason I asked the question is that diversity is such a broad term. Yeah. Diversity is essentially variety. So when you look at diversity, you don’t just look at the nationality or the language, or the culture or the country or whatever. Diversity as far as we are concerned, includes things like home language, diversity of genre, variety of authors, the subject matter, the context, the content, basically, anything you can think of, is what we try and cater for. However, the thing with any library, or any institution like this, that’s been buying books over many, many, many years, is that historically, we are a British International School; therefore, the books we buy are generally in the medium of English. And if you think about many, many years ago, when I first started school, the representation of other cultures, other faiths, other colours, other nationalities, anything was relatively small, it wasn’t non-existent, but it certainly wasn’t as important as it is now. So, we’re trying to cater for many, many different things, and we’re not perfect, we know we’re not perfect, and we know we are moving in the right direction.”
– Mr Stephan Murgatroyd (BPS Head of Libraries)
As a librarian, how do you contribute to your school’s efforts in embracing diversity?
“I help ensure that current books are genuinely inclusive. It is a great idea to understand their inventory if a student is looking for a perspective not yet a part of the library. At Panyarat High School, students can choose their interested books unavailable at the library and send the request to me. I will approve suitable books and purchase them for the library with financial support from the school.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“I implemented several new things (such as the new library policies). I also did a diversity audit of all of our library books in the Griffith and Elizabeth Libraries. Overall, our collection had 29% diverse materials–which is a pretty good metric, but when it was broken down, we were short in abilities/disabilities, neurodiversity, gender non-conforming and sexual orientations. To remedy this, a collection development policy was written, and I heavily weigh books on if they will support these areas.”
– Ms. Natalie Rector (RIS Head Librarian)
“In terms of authors and publishers, we look at books from different countries, from smaller publishers to larger publishers, not specifically authors; more things- areas. We are slowly talking to parents and the World Language Department in secondary and MFL, about building our home language collection as well, and that is growing over time, and it will continue to do so.
We’re also looking at recommended reading lists from all over the place from different organisations and sources, and so on. So they’re often driven by what’s happening in the world at the moment. I think it’s safe to say we’re much more aware today, than maybe 20 years ago, of having a broader selection of books for the students to choose from. I don’t think we can say with absolute certainty that we are where we want to be. But we’re moving in the right direction. Most definitely.”
– Mr Stephan Murgatroyd (BPS Head of Libraries)
Why should students have a choice in what they read? What factors affect students’ reading choices?
“Books are wonderful tools to encourage kids to celebrate diversity. Reading stories enables children to connect with their feelings and experiences about the character’s feelings and experiences. In addition, children may benefit from reading stories featuring characters they relate to in terms of culture and lifestyle. The significant factors that affect students’ reading choices involve age, interest, peer pressure, social media, and environment. In addition, home literacy and the interaction of school education with books also play a prominent role in students’ reading choices.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“I support student choice in reading, and this topic also influences creating a reading culture. The second and third law of library science in the RIS library policies covers this nicely: Every Reader Their Book/Every Book Their Reader. For what factors influence students’ reading choices, I would say that the students themselves would know that best.”
– Ms. Natalie Rector (RIS Head Librarian)
“All on a very, very simplistic level, we in the library, want the students to be pleasure readers; to read for pleasure, read because they want to. I’m a pleasure reader. I love to read. Why should students have a choice? Because you want to stimulate that interest, you want to try and make sure that you cater for different kinds of views of what they want out of a book. Do they want to be excited? Do they want to laugh? Do they want to cry? Do they want to be involved? To learn stuff? Are the students finding what they want in a book? So that’s why we try to give as much choice as possible.
On the factors that affect students’ reading choices, well, that’s a personal choice. And where does that come from? Well, it will come from your history and have come from the books you’ve read before and what you like and what you don’t like. It may come from maybe your family, it might come from your culture, it might come from your language, interest, or favourite subject. You know, if you’re interested in history, that might lead you into reading historical fiction. If you’re interested in science, it might lead you into sci-fi. Same with sports and without music and so on. I just think there are so many factors that influence students and children and what they like.”
– Mr Stephan Murgatroyd (BPS Head of Libraries)
How do you inspire a love of reading in your students? What is your role in creating a reading culture in your school?
“Motivation is the answer to promoting an affection for literacy in children. One of the most beneficial resources for creating motivation is a shelf filled with books that match students’ interest levels and reading levels. In addition, I provide students with books that represent all genres to determine what they most enjoy reading.
At Panyarat High School, we require all students to write the summary from books that they read in the bookworm notebook every semester. In addition, the students often go to the library to read and summarize. I provide guidance and support as children deepen their reading and encourage students to read beyond genres or more challenging texts.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“Inspiring a love of reading is an ephemeral quality that is hard to define. I role model reading, and encourage teachers also to role model it. I ask students their opinions about the library and for book requests. Most of all, I listen to students about what they want from their library and from their library books and I try to give them what they ask for as much as I am able.”
– Ms. Natalie Rector (RIS Head Librarian)
“We have displays, different areas for books, and different kinds of books. When we have a new book display, I’ll do book talks. So I will sell books to classes, you know, the English teachers will book me to talk about books and we talk about why they’re exciting. And then the students will come and talk to me afterwards about the different ones. And we can talk about why. So you’re always choosing books that you’ve read yourself. So then it becomes a case of try and see, you know, how do you know what your next favourite flavour of ice cream is going to be unless you taste it? How do you know your next favourite book, unless you give it a try and turn the page and have a look. So that’s what we’re trying to encourage, and we try to make sure we have a really good selection of books that they can choose from. We have on the library webpage, a recommendation button. So any student can recommend a book, I would say nine times out of 10, we will put it on the shelves. So a lot of our recommendations will come from the students themselves.”
– Mr Stephan Murgatroyd (BPS Head of Libraries)
How do you create a reading environment that meets the needs of students with different reading levels?
“The essential one is a selection of materials that will facilitate language and literacy opportunities, reflection and thought regarding classroom design, and intentional instruction and facilitation by teachers and staff. Also, children may face difficulties in reading because of impoverished exposure to language and early literacy activities and a lack of adequate instruction. Therefore, I suggest they read what they can understand before and ascertain and study related-topic knowledge from beginner-level books.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“Reading levels are also a component of having a diverse collection! For example, this year, I am making sure that we have graphic novel adaptations of classics that are read in English, just to make sure that students at every English level can understand the story.”
– Ms. Natalie Rector (RIS Head Librarian)
What book recommendations would you give to students who dislike reading? How would you change their minds?
“I have read a novel called “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.” I discovered that this book is a fantastic start for students who dislike reading because it is enjoyable and compelling. It will motivate them to continue reading. If they read this book until they finish, other books will not be a great deal for them.
I suggest students who dislike reading because of their interests—for instance, those interested in games. I recommend gaming books. The passion comes from focusing on what excites them, and it is the fundamental driving force in reading. Reading for pleasure can develop literacy skills leading to academic achievement.”
– Ms. Warattaya Sae-Tae (PHS librarian)
“For students who dislike reading, I would ask them to do a reading advisory interview with me, and I would recommend titles that align with their interests.”
– Ms. Natalie Rector (RIS Head Librarian)
“Well, that’s an interesting one because I get funny looks, sometimes the way I will answer that question, especially from different teachers. Ultimately, what we’re trying to do in the library is just get words into students because if you can have an understanding of words, you can use words in lots and lots of different ways. Doesn’t have to come from a book. You can get them through podcasts or YouTube videos or through films, or audiobooks. If you can hear those words, you can still hear the expression, the syntax, the sentence structure, you know, all that kind of stuff. You can get so much just by listening to it. So books are just one way of getting words in.
I think that’s really important if you engage the students that don’t like a book and give them words and another way you know, like when you were younger, if you didn’t like broccoli on its own, mum and dad might have mustered it up or cut it into tiny pieces or mixed into different kinds of food to make sure you’ve got what you need to eat- disguised in a way. And that’s what words are: you try and get them in many, many different ways so that you get words. You can give all these students who say they don’t like books. And it doesn’t matter how enthusiastic and how excited you are about it because it’s a book, as far as they’re concerned. Forget it. So you’ve got to try and get words into them in a different way.”
– Mr Stephan Murgatroyd (BPS Head of Libraries)
To conclude our article, we would like to thank our librarians for giving us their time to answer our questions.
Interviewed by:
— Writer Matthanat (Muke) Mahachaipongkul can be reached at matthanatm.8@panyarathighschool.ac.th
— Writer Jia Lee can be reached at jial26@rism.ac.th
— Writer Yewon Kim can be reached at yekm23@patana.ac.th.
Follow her on Instagram @amedreamlog.
