Library of Juvenile Literature

The best advice I ever got was that knowledge is power and to keep reading.
— David Bailey, photographer

Books for children are an index of changing social values and often have dated values, revealing prejudices about race and gender. They are a useful gauge for policy makers of changing social values. They continue to be hotly disputed as to their appropriateness for school libraries.

One succinct comment by Evie Blad on this can represent what has all the signs of being an endless debate:
“Around the country, school librarians have found themselves on the front lines of the culture wars. As states pass laws that restrict teaching of “controversial” or “divisive” subjects, school libraries have seen calls to remove books about issues like race, gender, and sexuality from their shelves.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for example, wrote to his state’s school boards association this month, saying districts should remove ‘pornographic or obscene material’ from school library shelves. That letter came after a state senator launched an inquiry into whether schools shelve a list of 850 books titles about issues like transgender identity, AIDS, the history of the abortion debate, and racial justice…But school librarians have a responsibility to assemble collections that represent all students, helping them to learn about themselves and the world around them, said Jennisen Lucas, the president of the American Association of School Librarians.”

Westphalia Press offers titles representing a whole variety of issues and eras, in keeping with the contention that bibliography has a place in policy analysis and often buttresses the arguments for policy decisions. If you use some of our books please tell us how and perhaps we can publish your use.

儿童文学图书馆

儿童书籍是不断变化的社会价值观的指标，并且往往具有过时的价值观，揭示了对种族和性别的偏见。它们为研究不断变化的社会价值观的政策制定者提供有用的衡量标准。其是否适合学校图书馆，这仍然是一个极具争论性的话题。

Evie Blad对此的简洁评论能代表无休止辩论的所有迹象：

“全国各地的学校图书馆员发现自己处于文化战争的前线。随着各州通过法案限制‘争议性’或‘分裂性’主题的教学，学校图书馆收到一系列呼声，要求对涉及种族、性别和全性等问题的书籍进行撤书。

例如，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特本月致信该州的学校董事会协会，称各区域学校图书馆应撤下“色情或淫秽材料”。这封信来临之前，一位州参议员发起调查，询问学校是否拥有一份850本书的清单上列出的书籍，这些书籍涉及跨性别认同、艾滋病、堕胎辩论史和种族正义等问题……但学校图书馆员有责任收集那些代表所有学生的馆藏，帮助其了解自己和周围的世界，美国学校图书馆员协会主席詹尼森·卢卡斯（Jennisen Lucas）如是说。”

威斯特伐利亚出版社（Westphalia Press）提供代表各类议题和时代的书籍，这与“书目在政策分析中占有一席之地并经常支持政策决策”的论点相一致。如果您使用我们的部分书籍，请告诉我们您将如何使用，也许我们能出版您的作品。