Hello there! Culture is not the field that is the most talked about in the election campaign, but just before we are going to put the slips in the ballot boxes, I have found a cause close to my heart: School libraries. You won’t believe how unfairly distributed books are in Norway, and we have to do something about that. I also share a poem about swallows and am envious of a new series of reference books about zombies and dragons. I will honestly admit that school libraries have not been on my radar before. The whole topic seemed a bit snoring, but now I’ve really turned around! It started when I became involved in the news from the United States that books are being removed from American school libraries. Parents complain about content perceived as immoral, and librarians despair. What was it like in Norwegian schools, I wondered. It was no stress, it turned out. So far I have not found any indications of content censorship. The problem in Norwegian school libraries is completely different: It is a bingo lottery what kind of offer the various schools give their students. SATISFIED: Gamlebyen school in Oslo is among those who have really invested in school libraries for several years. F. v Selma Eline Brand Barsnes, Christian Martinez Hamre and Anwar Seid Seid Photo: Elisabeth Jensen Lombnæs / Gamlebyen skole After a round of ringing, I realize that the word “school library” can mean so many things. This may involve modern premises with a pillow corner, reading sessions and a full-time librarian. Or it could mean a box of books in a bunker, and a teacher who has half an hour a week for librarian duties. Library is culture, while school is education. You would think school libraries would then be important as BOTH culture and education, but often it is neither-or. news Vestland has documented the poor condition of several school libraries in this article. Let’s take a little sunshine story from Bergen for inspiration. INVITING: Even the color of the building is cool. Photo: Camilla Grindheim Larsen In Solheim in the north of the Årstad district, they struggle with child poverty and high school dropout rates. At home it is often cramped and noisy. In surveys about what children wanted, many answered “a place to be”. Several children have parents from countries without a public library, some of whom are illiterate. Here, the children needed both a safe place to hang out and, very fundamentally, to learn what a library is. As part of the investment in the area, the municipality has contributed to the development of the Ny-Krohnborg school library. What does that mean concretely? First they threw out old books with fake news, such as that Venezuela is a rich country and that Brad Pitt has just fallen in love with Jennifer Aniston. They were able to purchase comics, which are an important offer for children’s interest in reading. For furnishing, they obtained second-hand furniture, architects opened up the room, chose nice colors and good lighting. The books stand with their covers out and tempt passers-by. Ny-Krohnborg library is not large in area, but it became a place children want to be. Brynjulf Jung Tjønn has been on a massive school tour with his book “Kvit norsk mann” and has seen a bit of everything. In a panel debate this spring, he singled out the Ny-Krohnborg library as a fabulous place to meet the children. GOOD ATMOSPHERE: Mediator Mirjam talks to students at the opening party. Photo: Anne Marthe Dyvi But a nice room is not enough. They have employed a full-time library intermediary, 50% as a school librarian, 50% as a public librarian. With her expertise, Mirjam Eiksund can help the children find books that suit their level and interests. She collaborates with the teachers on the topics they have on the timetable, so the books become a deepening of the learning at school. In order to achieve this, several actors in the municipalities have joined forces. They distribute the financial burden and pool knowledge for a common lift. They applied for money from the National Library for development, and thus Ny-Krohnborg got help for its makeover. But will it last? The trial period for the new library in Bergen is soon over. Will the city council be willing to include the expenses in normal operations? Or will the fine library offer only be a short stopover? It remains to be seen after the election. Coincidence prevails We look up. Now that we’ve heard about the nice new offer at Ny-Krohnborg, we wish all children an equally nice school library, don’t we? The worst thing is that there are big differences within the municipality. A school librarian at another Bergen school says that it is often up to each individual principal how good the school library is. She has been involved for many years in order for Bergen municipality to introduce a minimum standard, but has not been successful. When I ask the librarian to describe the situation in the municipality in one word, she sighs and says she has to choose one word children often use: – Unfair. It’s really unfair. I hear the same from the rest of the country. Coincidence prevails. A zealot among the teachers has happily taken on responsibility for the school library. Then the zeal in the job ends, and that was the library offer. Some municipalities are upgrading, while others are cutting back on existing services. The small school library Biblis Øystese was named the best library in Vestland in 2022, while the prosperous Bærum municipality cut almost 7 million in school library services last year. THE BET: By using driftwood and reusing the secondary school’s old floor, the school library in Øystese has got plenty of space for the children and soul in every plank. Photo: Katrine Helgheim Van Tulder Are there arguments against a good school library? Gains are increased focus, greater vocabulary, better reading skills, more empathy, more knowledge, and a community with others who read. For us adults, the situation is completely different. There is a national library act which ensures that Norwegians have broad access to books throughout the country – completely free of charge. If you are to judge whether a country is democratic, public access to rich libraries is an important clue. Why then do we allow injustice to prevail for the country’s youngest citizens? TOGETHER: Reading is lonely but can be done together. Former Mathilde Myrvang, Prune Lanquepin-Chesnais and Emily Boot at Gamlebuen school Photo: Elisabeth Jensen Lombnæs I’m not going to tell you who or what to vote for. (Who works for school libraries probably varies across the entire color scale from municipality to municipality.) But no one is going to put school libraries in your municipality on the agenda if you don’t do it yourself. If you were also engaged by this, the action group for school libraries has a Facebook page. I got a lot of my contacts and info from there. As there are no recent national statistics on school libraries, I am curious as to what it is like in your municipality. Feel free to tell me about it in the comments section below! Poem of the week Finally, some warm weather arrived in Eastern Norway as we flipped through the calendar sheet for September. Summer heat in the first autumn month, that is. One can be confused by less. It will probably also be the swallows, who wonder when it is actually time to fly to the South. Terje Tørrisplass is a forest worker, living in Hallingdal and a poet. He writes poems about the nature he experiences around him, often on walks with his dog Abak. I have followed him since his debut in 2010 and enjoy his books. Sometimes Tørrisplass shares his own poems on Facebook. I have been allowed to share one here, completely exclusively. I think it nicely captures this period we are in now, in limbo between summer and autumn. Last August, the swallows gathered on the wire between the outbuildings the other day. Looked like they were getting ready for departure but they are still here. Sveipar lay around my head as if I were a globe to practice trust in before flying over the earth. So I just float around the yard here these worthy days. Monster good reference book Reference books are the first literature little people encounter. Sitting with a small child on your lap and pointing at the cow and pig and learning their sounds together is super cosy. But do the reference books have to be so realistic? Photo: Siri Pettersen/ HL: Phoenix / Kagge forlag That was the question fantasy author Siri Pettersen asked herself. She loves mythical creatures and thought it was unfair that they should not perform in the world of the little ones. Pettersen took the spoon in his own hand. This autumn she came out with a series of four reference books with adventurous, terrifying, wonderful and magical beings. Isn’t it a bit scary with zombies and mummies for the little ones, you might ask. Fear not! Artist HL Phoenix has made sure to draw the cutest tomboys and trolls you can imagine. All of us in the culture editors are now envious of today’s children who get such cool reference books. But do they appeal to the target group, then? Colleague Ola took them home to test on her 4-year-old, and there was wild cheering in the children’s room, as you can see. MONSTERBRA: Dad Ola and Solveig have fun with zombies and mummies. Photo: Selfie If you want to learn to spell first, you can just as easily practice “ghost” and “skeleton” as “Siri sees seal”. Now Reading For those missing an update on my Lord of the Rings project, I have to blame Oppenheimer. Not only did he invent the atomic bomb, he’s driving my Tolkien reading. When I started the audiobook biography of him in August, I didn’t realize how much time 26.5 hours of reading actually constituted. Although I was a bit snarky towards Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation in a previous book letter, I feel that the film works as a good support to give a face to the many names I hear about in the book. I still have 13 hours left of “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” even though I listen to it every night. The accusations of communism, which take up half the film, have only just begun, but I’m hooked. I notice that I miss someone to discuss topics from the book with. Oppenheimer invents the atomic bomb because he wants to stop Hitler and because he believes the bomb’s horror will end all wars. SCIENTIST AND COMMANDER: Oppenheimer and General Groves (the one played by Matt Damon in the film) Photo: AP But Oppenheimer’s plans are sidelined, and American politicians and military leadership use his invention for an arms race that we still live in. What responsibility scientists when it comes to developing weapons? It is a central question in the book. On TV, I constantly hear news about rearmament and new types of weapons in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Is all such development a good thing? Would you like to read the book about Oppenheimer? Yes, the film gave me more taste No, it seems too long and detailed Show result So I have two mammoth reading projects underway this autumn. Between battles, I read Norwegian short stories and brew a theory that this is the best short story harvest in a long time. I will come back to that. Now I’ve had the floor for a long time here. What about you? Do you have tips about good books or questions about literature and the book industry? Send me an email, then. I reward some submitters with the Book Letter bookmark. Look how nice it is on a beach in Bulgaria, for example! Photo: Magne Hansen / news Comment Back to the main issue: What kind of experience do you have with the school library where you live? Is it a priority field in your municipality? Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue
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Bokbrevet #21 Unfair difference in school libraries – news Culture and entertainment
