Library Observation

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is the main branch of the District of Columbia Public Library (hereafter D.C.P.L.). D.C.P.L. librarians provide reference services in support of the library’s mission of “providing resources for the education, information, research, cultural enrichment, and recreation needs of the Washington, D.C. community.” In addition to a reference desk in the lobby, which provides directional and referral services, there are fourteen subject division desks at the main branch library. Reference service within the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is division specific. Thus, if a patron were looking for books or articles about Van Gogh, the painter, he or she would be directed to the Art Division on the third floor. There the patron would have access to the entire “Art” collection of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and his or her reference questions would be fielded by one of the Art Division’s reference librarians.

The Children’s Division is housed on the second floor of the building, and is equipped with its own restrooms and water fountains. The Children’s collection is split into the ALA recommended divisions: Picture or Easy Readers in one section, fiction in another section, non-fiction books (classified by Dewey Decimal designation), and reference books. The collection seems geared for patrons between Preschool and eighth grade. During my visit there were two librarians providing division specific reference services, and maintaining the collection.

In addition to children, parents this division caters to adults who work with children. At the main desk educators may apply for an “educator card,” which entitles them to check out up to 100 books at a time without ever having to worry about late fees! Furthermore, the library will provide laden educators with an educator cart upon request to help tote books around the city.

Diverse Authors
I was pleased to discover a plethora of diverse authors and illustrators in this collection. For example, in non-fiction I discovered that one of my favorite African American poets, Eloise Greenfield, was more than adequately represented in the non-fiction poetry area (811). I also found Donald Crews more than adequately represented in the easy reader section of the children’s division this African American writer and illustrator depicts African American characters engaging in everyday situations, and his books read like a chronicle of his exploits as a child. His colorful illustrations are perfect for early readers, and one of my favorites is Shortcut. Furthermore, I discovered a great number of Patricia Polacco’s stories in the easy reader section. Polacco is a diverse author and illustrator who describes traditions specific to her family and ethnicity (Polish) in a delightfully child-like way. Her stories are engaging and well written. Several of her stories feature Polish terms, and they are perfect for exposing young children to different ethnicities.

Diverse Books
My desire to counter Lucy Loud Lips’ stereotypical portrait of African American’s led me to search for some positive images of African Americans in literature. I found Henry’s Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine. This picture book is based upon the incredibly true story of an African American slave whose family is split up and traded like chattel. His horror at the situation leads the to seek asylum from slavery; thus, he decides to mail himself north to freedom. Thereafter, I browsed the shelves in search of books that represented other cultures and ethnicities. During my search I encountered an astonishing number of fiction and non-fiction materials available in different languages including but not limited to: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and German. For example, I found Fiesta Fiasco, by in the Easy Reader Section (E PAU) a fun fiction story about a rabbit that convinces a turtle and iguana to buy some ill-fitting presents for their friend the snake. The story features Spanish words, and a glossary of the terms used in the story. In the non-fiction section I discovered the folktale Hansel and Gretel : Hansel y Gretel, by Abeyà, Elisabet (398.2 ELI). In this book the traditional folktale is told in both English and Spanish.

In addition to a nice collection of books with diverse ethnic and cultural themes I also found books that spoke to exceptionalities. For example, while in the nonfiction section I discovered a book about a boy suffering from Cerebral Palsy and about the positive effects that getting a wheelchair had on him. Rolling along : the story of Taylor and his wheelchair, by Jamee Heelan (616.83 HEE). In the fiction section I found the story Bluish : a novel by Virgina Hamilton (J HAM) about a young girl who is intrigued by the tragic illness of a fellow classmate whose leukemia causes her to become pale and confines her to a wheelchair.

I was very happy with the diverse collection in the children’s division. This, I discovered, can be attributed to the diverse community that surrounds the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The librarian I spoke with explained that the library diversifies its holdings as it becomes increasingly aware of the unique needs of its diverse patrons. When asked how this division ascertains its patrons’ needs she described the twice-yearly patron studies produced by the Marketing and Communications Department, “[Surveys] are executed by all twenty-six branches, or neighborhood libraries as they are currently referred to, and circulated amongst all divisions. The librarian assures me that these paper and pencil surveys are “quite thorough,” and adds that patrons happily oblige to survey requests. She states: “We talk to them, we ask them to, and they are willing to fill out the surveys because they love the library. Surprisingly, everyone loves the library.”

The library itself provides patrons with many services designed to meet their diverse needs. For example, there is a language service that allows us to conduct reference interviews, through an interpreter, with patrons who do not speak English. The service is called Language Line, and is a popular and exciting new service. Another example is the assistive listening devices that are available for patrons with hearing problems, who are seeking reference service.