Newbery and Notable: Investigating Trends in Children's Literature 2000-2009
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NEWBERY AND NOTABLE: INVESTIGATING TRENDS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE 2000-2009 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FUFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUTE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION BY MARIANNE CRANDALL FOLLIS, M.L.S. DENTON, TEXAS MAY 2012 DEDICATION To my husband Fred I am so grateful to have you by my side Late nights Or early mornings Vehemently reminding me to breathe Encouraging me to push forward You have made this possible Overseeing my well being Ubiquitous to all I do and am And to: Sylvia Vardell, I'd write pages of thanks but there aren't enough words ... 111 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been said that doctoral work is solitary work. So much of what needs to be done is done alone. It is important to note that "alone" does not mean without help. I don't think I have ever relied on the help and support of others as much as I have during this process and I am truly thankful to the following: First and foremost, I'd like to recognize the amazing group of educators at Texas Woman's University who served on my doctoral committee. I am grateful for your feedback, support, guidance and encouragement through every step of this process. To Maria Cahill, Ph.D., thank you for your support and allowing me to work alongside you as your graduate assistant. To Lynn Akin, Ph.D. thank you for encouraging my love and advocacy of the public library. And most importantly, Sylvia Vardell, Ph.D. forsending me an email aftermy graduation from Library School in 2004 encouraging me to continue my education, and foryour continued support of that decision over the past six years. Thanks also to the graduate school staff, especially Michan Chowritmootoo for your expertadvice and infinite patience. I would also like to thank former TWU faculty, Dr. Janet Hilbun foryour friendship and support, and fellow student Kimberly Kinnaird forbeing my comrade in arms. IV Special thanks go to Rose Brock for being my "lifeline," the one I call late at night to talk me down fromthe ledge and to my other super hearted friends Jill Bellomy and Libby Holtmann. Thank you all for listening ... and for the pancakes. Almost everything I have ever learned aboutthe history of the Newbery A ward, came from the amazing K. T. Homing in her ALSC class, "Newbery, Past, Present and Future." Thank you forsharing your knowledge. This research is heavily based in cataloging which is not my specialty. Thanks to the following forsharing their knowledge and experience: Michal Ayers, MARC EDIT tutor and Technical Services Manager at the Irving Public Library; Helen Hughes, data miner and Technical Services supervisor at the Irving Public Library; and Shedrick Pittman-Hassett, Library Systems Administrator at North Central Texas College, friend and best second coder a girl could ask for. Thanks also go to my supervisors and co-workers at the Irving Public Library System for their patience and support during this process, especially, Chris Dobson, Karen Beckett, Patty Mount and eagle eyed Kristin Trevino. To my children, Madelaine, Freddy and Owen, thank you for understanding my mental absence and psychotic moments. I owe you many, many loads of clean laundry, home cooked meals and game nights. I promise I am good forit. Andlast, but not least, thank you to my best friend, loudest cheerleader, breathing coach and "the wearer of the rose-colored glasses:" Fred. What would I do without you? Certainly not this. V ABSTRACT MARIANNE CRANDALL FOLLIS NEWBERY AND NOTABLE: INVESTIGATING TRENDS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE 2000-2009 MAY 2012 Given the prestige and longevity of the Newbery award winning books, they are often used as historical samples of children's literature. This use is questioned in this study since the Newbery award winning title is but one in thousands published in any given year. This study asked: Should the Newbery award winning books be placed in a position of servingas landmarks of the past? Do they reflectwhat typically occurred in the time period during which they were produced? Can assumptions be made about the whole year's worth of children's literature through the examination of one book? In order to answer these questions, a larger, yet similar sample data set was needed. The Notable Children's books list was selected due to its similarities in selection committee makeup and book selection criteria. Using the standardized Library of Congress subject headings, an open coding method, based in grounded theory, was applied, resulting in created inclusive groupings, called "supersets." Frequencies and Vl analyses were gathered and reported forthe study showing there were six years in which the Notable book list and the Newbery award winning title shared a superset heading. After examining aggregate data forthe studied years, 2000-2009, five superset headings were shared by both lists: "animal (wild)," "family," "fantasy," "friends" and "traditional literature." One of the findingsthis study reported was that the top ten superset headings occurring in the Notable books list accounted fornot quite half, 47%, of the listings of superset headings; 1272 occurrences out of a possible 2709. Of the 88 superset headings created by the researcher, a mere ten of the 88 constituted almost half of the entries. This would seem to show a concentration in these areas of content for the Notable books list: "biography," "poetry," "animal (wild)," "traditional literature," "science," "occupation," "family," "fantasy," "books and reading," and "friends." In conclusion it is important to note that while breaking the books down into subject headings in this study may seem to anonymize the titles or reduce them to their base elements, in this case their subject headings, each of these books is really a single drop in the sum total of children's publishing. However, the impact of the Newbery award winning titles on individual readers is what makes them truly unique. Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................. : .......................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .. .'..................................................... ................................ iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 5 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 6 Significance....................................................................... .................................. 8 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................... 12 John Newbery, the Man .................................................................................... 12 The John Newbery Medal, the Award .............................................................. 14 The Newbery Controversies ............................................................................. 15 The Popularity of the Newbery Award Winning Books ................................... 19 The Newbery Award Winning Books As a Research Sample .......................... 23 The Association for Library Service to Children's Notable Books for Children ............................................................................. 26 III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 30 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 31 Research Problem ............................................................................................. 32 Research Questions ........................................................................................... 32 Definitions.................................... ..................................................................... 33 ... Vlll Newbery A ward .......................................................................................... 3 3 Notable Children's Books ........................................................................... 34 Libraryof Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) ......................................... 34 Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) Record ........................................ 35 Superset Headings ....................................................................................... 36 MarcEdit.............................................................................. ....................... 36 Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) .................................................. 37 Cataloging in Publication (CIP)......................................... ......................... 37 Trend ............................................................................................................ 37 Measurement Tools................................................................... ........................ 37 Sample .............................................................................................................. 38 Procedures