Re: [LM_NET] HIT: Carolyn Haywood to weed or not to weed

[Julia Colvin <colvin@AAPS.K12.MI.US>]

I remember weeding a large collection of her books, finding one in 
which someone says of Betsy or Billy's new puppy, "It's a b -- h!"
--Anne


On Dec 21, 2005, at 8:30 AM, MARY KATE CULLINAN CULLINAN wrote:

> Everyone,
>
> Thanks for all of your imput!  Since I posted I have had 2 kids check 
> out her books so I'm going to wait and see if more books go out this 
> year.  Here is my original question and all the responses.
>
>
>
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>> I'm thinking about weeding all the Carolyn Haywood books in my K-5
>> collection. They seem so "dated" but I don't have a lot of money to
>> immediately replace the books with more recent ones.  Students look 
>> at the
>> covers and put them back.  So does anyone still have these books in 
>> your
>> collection?
>>
>
>
>
> But oh they are such good stories - I remember how I enjoyed them.  It 
> is
> too bad that todays children don't appreciate them - instead they want 
> all
> that gory stuff!  Of course, this statement dates me! :)
>
> I loved this set when I was growing up and yes it was dated even 
> then....
> However if you do decide to let them go, please let me know I am 
> trying to
> collect the whole set.
>
> Have some. Nancy Drew lovers seem to check them out a few times a 
> year. I have not thought to remove them yet.
>
> I got rid of the really ratty ones and replaced the
> ones that were still IP.  The first grade teacher here
> still reads them aloud. and there is a demand for them
> from students in grades 1-2-3.
>
> I have them but just got in new printings of them with more up to date 
> covers.  The kids are loving them.
>
> I still have them, but they don't circulate much (if ever).
>
> We still have some of them.  We can generally get the kids to read
> "Snowbound with Betsy," but that's about it.  I'd be anxious to hear 
> what
> others say.
>
> I do and I have them on the shelves for the very same reason... can't
> replace them, but they are ugly to look at. They even have that old
> library smell too.
>
> I have those books in my K-5 collection as well.  They don't circulate 
> well, but circulate occassionally just because they are AR.  If you 
> get any responses on this topic, I would love to know.
>
> I think your thoughts are ones many of us have had.  Last year, I did 
> weed duplicate copies and books with faded covers.  However, I still 
> have several on the shelf because they meet the need of high level 
> first grade readers who are clamoring for a chapter book.  We know 
> that there will not be objectionable material in them.   Would be 
> interested in what others have done.
>
> I started pulling these when I started in libraries seven years ago.
> They were dated when I read them as a child.  The teacher that leaves
> work when she gets married wasn't a reality in the early 70s.   Even if
> I don't have money to replace the titles, having books that turn
> students off from reading, in my mind is worse than not having enough 
> books.
>
> I still have them in my K-3 collection, but was
> considering withdrawal because my kids won't check
> them out, either.
>
> My sister taught third grade five years ago, and she
> read one or two of Carolyn Haywood's books to her
> class, sparking an interest in those books in the
> school library.  The librarian was thrilled to see the
> books checked out again because she didn't want to
> weed them.  Do you think you could enlist an ally
> among the third grade teachers to do the same?
> Those books were dated when I read them in the 70s but
> I really liked them.  My personal opinion is don't
> weed them!
>
> I had both the betsy and Eddie books.  Every year I would read B is for
> Betsy to the first grade.  We would discuss that Betsy went to school
> at the same time as my mother and some of their grandparents.  They
> absolutely loved Betsy.  They took her out a lot.  However I did not do
> the same with the Eddie books and they were not as popular.  Also the
> first 3 Betsy books have been republished in the last 5 years or so.
> Give it a little publicity and see what happens.  If nothing, them
> discard
>
> I only have How the Reindeer saved Santa which is checked out currently
> and her book of selected Halloween stories.
>
> Ugh! Heavens no! For precisely the reason you witnessed.
>
> My Haywood (and Lovelace) books are as old as the hills but every 
> couple of
> years, I get a girl (usually a great reader) who reads through the 
> whole
> series.  I think they might circulate more if I invested in an updated 
> set. I
> wouldn't  throw mine out, but if yours truly haven't circulated in 
> many years, you
> might  consider it.
>
> I have a couple. I do like her Christmas Fantasy and  Santa Claus
> Forever, but the novels are never checked out. I should pitch them, 
> too.
>
> Hi,
> "I hear you."  I loved the Betsy books growing up (they were probably 
> NEW
> then!) and got desparate enough now and then to read one of the Eddie 
> ones.
> When I started, our library had most of both series plus a few others. 
>  But,
> little by little, I have weeded most of them out except for her 
> collection
> of Halloween stories called "Halloween Treats" and maybe the original 
> Betsy
> book (I'm home and can't check.)  But they weren't being borrowed (and 
> I
> wasn't promoting them) and, literally, the shelves in that section 
> were full
> and there just wasn't any room.  Besides, I'm hoping our local library
> (which is in a small town) still has them or can get them through
> interlibrary loan.  I know, maybe more than a few years ago, they were
> reissued with different covers but the same pictures inside.  I wonder 
> if
> those circulate.  I'll be curious to hear the responses you get.
>
> I just pulled them all on Monday!!!!!!!  The stories are great, but 
> they are so old, the books are worn out and the
> covers so old fashioned.  I gave them all to a fifth grade teacher.  I 
> worked at another school in my district last year and weeded them 
> because no one read them.  I  hope this helps.
>
> oh, I've been having this debate myself for years!  I LOVED the Betsy  
> books
> when I was a kid...but I've only seen one circulate in the past five
> years...we may just have to bite the bullet...
>
> I weeded mine several years ago.  No one had checked them out in quite
> awhile.   I reread one, but it was very dated, and I knew I couldn't
> comfortably recommend it to anyone.
>
> I weeded mine several years ago and no one ever missed them.  They 
> never circulated, the pictures, while quaint, are dated and in black 
> and white which didn't appeal to the students. Even though you won't 
> be replacing them right away, you will have the shelf space for new 
> books when you do!
>
> These books were just recently re-released with shiny new read 
> covers--there has been a renewal of interest in these "old-fashioned" 
> authors, like Maud Hart Lovelace, Elizabeth Enright, Eleanor Estes, 
> and yes, Haywood as well.  I suspect that what the students are 
> responding to are the outdated covers more than the actual content.  I 
> don't know how to get around that (except maybe by "hand-selling" 
> them) and I don't know if that really answers your question about 
> whether or not to weed them.  They might be a good choice for students 
> from more conservative families especially.
> I love her books and was going to ask you if you would sell them to me 
> if you decide to weed them.  I didn't know there would be any 
> controversy.  I'll be interested in reading the responses.
>
> If you decide to weed I would be happy to pay for the shipping to get 
> them.
> They were a childhood favorite of mine and I would love to won them.  
> Since
> I grew up in the 50's, yes they probably are dated.  However, I do 
> think at
> least one has recently been reissued.  You might want to check and see 
> if
> any of the titles are still in print.
>
> We do, but they haven't circulated much. You could replace them with 
> Boxcar
> Children books, perhaps.
>
>
>
> Mary Kate Cullinan
> Media Specialist
> School No. 12
> 638 Magie Avenue
> Elizabeth, NJ 07208
> (908) 436-5669
> cullinanma@edu.elizabeth.k12.nj.us
>
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>
Julia Anne Colvin, Librarian
Scarlett Middle School
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
colvin@aaps.k12.mi.us
http://SCA-AColvin.aaps.site.eboard.com

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