El Trasero Del Rey

[MCarter9]

What if you were working in a system without bilingual librarians? How could you head off a possible incident such as the one this book might create?

I'm not a librarian but would there be a system that carried much in the way of foreign language books without any bilingual librarians? I thought that there might be some web site of information on 'iffy' books, to save the librarians from having to read each one. Is there something like that, or does ALA or someone else provide anything like a list of potentially controversial books?

How can we practice thoughtful selection that cannot be construed as censorship? Are you clear about the difference between selection and censorship? I've taken the SIRLS ethics course where we did discuss censorship quite a bit but I'm not sure if there's a hard line on where it begins and selection ends. I'd guess that if a book violates a written policy such as one against profanity it'd be harder to call it censorship. I'm sure different people draw the line in different places. I think documenting one's policies is probably the best defense.

What's this particular book about anyway? It looks like the title translates to The King's Behind? I see it's 36 pages but I can't find much else about it.

[MCarter9]

Replying to my own post here... I see now from this week's reading assignment that there are indeed lists of 'challenged' books out there.

[Chris Ruiz]

I found this book in my library and showed it to two Hispanic bilingual speakers. Both agreed that the word in question is NOT appropriate for children and offensive. They thought if a young child heard the word, you’re at risk for mimic. Could the word be changed as a read-aloud? Yes, but emergent/fluent readers would be able to read it and comprehend. Neither thought the story was that great and would not personally choose it. At the same time, they didn’t think it should be taken off the shelf.

What if you were working in a system without bilingual librarians?
I guess you don’t know until someone points it out. A librarian did not select this book. The public library has a standing order with foreign publishers, and books just show up. Then it’s your choice!