In 2022-23, Grand Haven Area Public Schools (GHAPS) purchased a subscription to the Junior Library Guild for $12,825.59. Junior Library Guild (JLG) has books for PreK-12, but also offers webcasts and a blog. JLG assists school districts by doing the book selection for them with the goals of providing the latest buzzworthy books and broadening collections. JLG appears to place a high value on diversity, multiculturalism, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
The webcasts feature interviews with authors and cover some topics such as the importance of engaging children in reading and Demand Diversity. Blog posts include articles titled The Psychology of Book Censorship, Teaching Teachers the Value of the Graphic Novel, Blog Talk Book Talk- Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place, and Seeing Yourself on the Page: LGBTQ+ Comics.
The JLG books include titles such as More than Peach, a book about crayons and skin colors, Pro Athlete Pay Equity, A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities, The Other Talk: A Reckoning with Our White Privilege, The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the US Government Over Climate Change, and Bloom, a book that includes strong language, and strong sexual content. The description reads, “Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band, if he can just convince his dad to let him quit their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away his days over rising doughs and hot ovens. But in the midst of interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easy-going guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of breads, love begins to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.”
JLG recommends celebrating Black History Month with the novel Blackout that contains mild sexual content and the description reads, “A power outage. A sweltering summer night. And six love stories flickering in the dark… Brimming with Black teen joy and swoony romance, this blockbuster book of intertwined stories by six bestselling and award-winning YA authors will spark and glow in the hearts of readers everywhere.”
JLG separates books into categories and also offers customers assistance finding books using a subscription builder and collection advisor meant to help districts fill gaps in collections. The category ‘City High School,’ features “ethnically and culturally diverse characters”. The Mature Young Adults Plus, and Adult Crossover Thrillers Plus categories for high school target kids with interests in horror, diversity, LGBTQ, and those interested in mature content. In addition, each year JLG offers a Rainbow Book List composed of diverse stories and identities representing the LGBTQIA+ youth experience.
In 2021, parents in Grand Haven created a list containing over 300 questionable books available to students in school libraries. They have been questioning whether the content in Grand Haven Area Public School library books is age appropriate, and have been asking district leaders to implement a book rating system since 2019. Although this JLG service appears to be convenient to assist librarians with book selection, as residents we must ask ourselves if the content we are receiving by outsourcing this responsibility matches the academic goals of our school district. In addition, is this a way to remove accountability from local leaders and librarians when parents question the appropriateness of GHAPS library books in the future?