i like rap but i love RAPP

After taking Paulette's other course, FIS 2139, last semester I surprised myself by actually considering becoming a children's librarian. I have never been one to "oooohhh" and "aaawwwww" over babies or toddlers. I do not have the immediate connection to children. However, I do have an immediate connection to the books for children. Unfortunately, a love for children’s materials is not enough to be a children’s librarian. Sandra Feinberg, Joan Kuchner and Sari Feldman illustrate the aforementioned point in “Chapter 1: Family centered and developmentally appropriate practice” in their book Learning environments for young children: Rethinking library spaces and services. “In order for the child to thrive, the physical setting and the social interactions within that setting must be suitable for the age of the child and right for the particular individual. This premise is basic to the design of the developmentally appropriate environments for children” (4). The authors continue to inform the reader about the stages of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and primary grade children’s social, emotional and physical developmental stages and . While the authors appear to be quite knowledgeable and the reference list is extensive, the lack of in-text documentation is alarming. Not only is it disturbing because the reader does not know which idea is linked to which reference, but also a lack of in-text documentation makes the author’s ideas seem unreliable. I was also troubled by varying amount of coverage on the stages of children’s development. Three pages were dedicated to the “developmental realities [of] infants and toddlers”, while only one and a half page were used to describe “the preschool years”, and a half a page to describe “the primary grades”.


It was interesting to read about developmentally appropriate practices for children in libraries, but as stated above, I do not connect or have a passion for the wee ones. Contrarily, I have a strong interest, not only in young adult materials, but the development of young adults. This may be due to the fact that I still act and think I am 17, also known as experiencing middle adolescence. Melanie Rapp, in her article “Adolescent development: an emotional roller coaster”, describes three distinct developmental stages of young adults: early adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence. She suggests using humor when dealing with young adults. From my own adolescence experience, I always felt a sense of admiration for adults that were humorous. Another suggestion she puts forward as did Sandra Feinberg, Joan Kuchner and Sari Feldman to be involved with other community organizations or schools. That is a great idea for suggesting organizations and keeping up-to-date with what school’s perception of high school student needs are. I like how Rapp tells the reader not to just pay attention to circulation statistics when deciding to weed the collection: “For example many sex books may not be heavily circulated but are read extensively... Once can tell by the tattered edges and covers of these books how much they are being used, not to mention if they are interfiled with the cookbooks” (3). She goes on to highlight other ideas to keep in mind when organizing the collection for young adults—BRILLIANT IDEAS!


This is one article that I will be reviewing before I go to my young adult’s librarian interview.

Feinberg, Sandra, Joan F. Kuchner, and Sari Feldman. 1998. Ch. 1: Family centered and developmentally appropriate practice. In their Learning environments for young children: Rethinking library spaces and services, 3-13. Chicago: American Library Association.


Rapp, Melanie. 1998. Adolescent development: An emotional roller coaster. In Young adults and public libraries: A handbook of materials and services, edited by Mary Anne Nicholls and C. Allen Nichols, 1-10. Westport, CO: Greenwood Press.