BENTO IS SERVED

Readers took to book bentos, ­covered in Joyce Valenza’s May blog post. blog.slj.com/nerverendingsearch.

"Thanks so much for this! It’s almost the end of the school year, but I’ll be sharing this at our language arts department meeting next week. You also have me thinking about how to use it next year with our ProjectLIT book clubs. Our middle schoolers could create them for all the middle grade books to share with our elementary buddies! It would be such a great way to introduce all the books."—Mary Reilley-Clark

ASKED & ANSWERED: TEEN LANGUAGE

Rach asks in a comment on the blog "Teen Librarian Toolbox":
Question about teen space and what is ‘allowed.’ My library just got our very first enclosed teen space with my desk being located within the teen room. In the past, when the teens were in with the rest of the library, staff often asked them to quiet down, asked them not to use foul language, etc. since other patrons were in earshot. With an enclosed teen space, do you ever comment on foul ­language? Or, if someone says things like ‘that’s gay.’ Do you ever police language, or let them be?

Karen Jensen answers:
I do on occasion comment on ­language. For example, I always ask people not to use ‘gay’ as an insult or other language that is actively harmful to my patrons.

I frequently challenge racist, sexist, ableist, classist language. I also don’t allow joking about mental health issues or sexual assault. I would ­probably pretend not to hear the occasional use of the F word, but would remind teens they are in a public space if language was an issue and possibly making others uncomfortable. I think learning how to be in a shared, public space and ­being respectful of the people around you is a valuable skill so I don’t have a problem with some redirection.