I think that there is a big difference here between public libraries and
school libraries. I may draw some heat for this, but here goes . . .
censorship, in my opinion, does not apply to the same degree in schools as
it does in public libraries because we are dealing with minor children. What
parent is going to say that he/she has never censored anything that
pertained to their own children. I wouldn't let my son read anything he
wanted when he was 5 years old. Fortunately, this never came up for me, but
if my son had wanted to read something that I thought was totally
inappropriate, I would not have allowed it . . . the same way 10 year olds
are not allowed to see R rated movies. It's easy to get carried away with
this anticensorship cause because everything we believe and are taught tells
us not to censor. In reality, where children are concerned, there is already
censorship all of the time.
And it is important to remember that the school board is an elected body
whose job is to oversee the school. We can advocate for books all we want,
but I think our responsibility ends there. If the school board says "no" I
don't think the librarians should feel bad about just accepting the
decision.
Marsha Redd
Librarian, Kelloggsville High School
Grand Rapids, MI
marsharedd@hotmail.com
Education is not a goal; it is a life-long process. Everyone is a student.
Everyone is a teacher.
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Teri S. Lesesne" <lis_tsl@SHSU.EDU>
Reply-To: lis_tsl@shsu.edu
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: [LM_NET] Erring on the side of caution
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:04:35 -0600
> I don't think we should be judging librarians that chose not to add
> certain books to their collection. Are you willing to lose your job over
a book?
If I do not take a stand, who will? I know I am out of the trenches where
I teach. I am guaranteed intellectual freedom. I can and do elect to use
controversial literature as I prepare future school librarians and reading
teachers. We talk about selection policies and reconsideration of
materials processes. Take a look at the people honored by ALA for their
heroic defense of books. I had the honor to work with Ruth Cox (now Ruth
Cox Clark), one of those librarians who did put her job on the line. Our
local library system has been assaulted by people who tried to remove the
Robie Harris books about sex. The head of the system, Jerrilynn Williams,
put her job on the line. She, too, received support from ALA and other
entities to help her in her battle against censors. If we do not fight
for books, I am fearful there will be no books left for which to fight.
teri
----------------------------------------------
Teri S. Lesesne
Sam Houston State University
Department of Library Science
MAKING THE MATCH: THE RIGHT BOOK FOR THE RIGHT READER AT THE RIGHT TIME
Stenhouse (2003)AND
NAKED READING (Stenhouse, 2006)
Blog site:
www.professornana.livejournal.com
Web Site:
www.professornana.com
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