Libraries Are the Homes of Books: Whiteness in the Construction of School Libraries

Abstract

ABSTRACT The bibliographic instructional work, The Children's Book on How to Use Books and Libraries, issued seven times between 1937 and 1973, utilized the metaphor of the library as the “home of books.” That “home” was constructed as a private, white, middle-class space in which children, who are invited guests, not residents, were expected to behave according to white, middle-class social norms and cultural values. The children depicted were uniformly white, able-bodied, and middle class as well. American cultural values such as individualism, competition, and pragmatism and utilitarianism were celebrated. This work critically analyzes the whiteness of the presentation, including the subtle ways in which white culture is promoted and supported as an institutional norm.

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