From one private school librarian's view:
There is a huge difference between public libraries, public schools, and private
schools - and their libraries reflect this difference.
I get a lot of heat when I claim to read all the fiction that I put on the shelves
- but I do. Now, a lot of times I am double-dipping - as I have to read them for my
ALA/YALSA/PPYA committees - so many books are pre-read before they get on the
shelf. Other titles I inter-library loan from the public library or one of the many
public schools in the area.
Coming out of the public schools and now in a private school, it was surprising to
me the number of students who complained to me about language (especially) in some
of the library books. They were honestly offended by "f bombs" and other famous
curse words. I am also delighted, however, by the number of students who read the
PPYA nominations with me - and offer suggestions - including language concerns.
Also, with our limited budgets (my current total budget for everything including
equipment is not even equal to my equipment budget when I was in the public
sector), I have really honed my skills and become a very careful selector.
Some would label it censorship - some would label it material selection - I would
label it wise decision making.
Allan
Dr. Allan O'Grady Cuseo (Brother Donogh Allan, MGC)
Bishop Kearney High School Library
125 Kings Highway South
Rochester, New York 14617
585-342 - 4000 x231
585-342 - 4694 (FAX)
acuseo@bkhs.org
Education in the tradition of the Christian Brothers and the School Sisters of
Notre Dame
FAC OMNIA BENE (Do all things well)
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----- Original Message -----
From: Ria Faber
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 8:53 AM
Subject: Re: [LM_NET] Erring on the side of caution
Dear Marsha,
I hope that you don't take too much heat for your position, because you are
right. There is a big difference between what books and material public libraries
should provide and school libraries (especially private schools). A public library
needs to satisfy the tastes of many different people and parents usually accompany
their children when they checkout books. We need to be more selective,
understanding our audience (children, parents and teachers). Parents trust us to
select appropriate books for their kids since they cannot be there. I checkout and
preview many books from the public library before deciding if it's appropriate for
our library.
I have appreciated your opinions as expressed on LM_NET recently.
Thanks,Ria Faber, Librarian Covenant Christian HS, Grand Rapids MI
ria_faber@hotmail.com Library Website: http://www.covenantchristianhs.org/Library/
"Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again." Louisa May
Alcott Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:57:54 -0500From: Marsha Redd
<marsharedd@HOTMAIL.COM>Subject: Re: Erring on the side of caution 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
ReddLibrarian, Kelloggsville High SchoolGrand Rapids,
MImarsharedd@hotmail.comEducation is not a goal; it is a life-long process.
Everyone is a student. Everyone is a teacher.
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