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A parent has expressed concern with her 6th grader having access to more mature books popular with 7th/8th graders. The book that prompted the discussion is Letters from The Inside by John Marsden (listed as grade 8 level). It has been in our collection for a number of years and was a hold-over from when we were only a 7th/8th grade school. Balancing the needs of voracious readers and reluctant readers and younger readers is quite a chore! I do know that my purchasing has changed somewhat now that 6th grade is in our building but now am faced with possibly "identifying" books that may be too mature for 6th graders. Where does one draw the line? Are some topics off limits? The age of the characters is not always an accurate rule of thumb either. What is popular with the kids is often on the edge....do we?....don't we? When I try to decide where to start addressing the issue it quickly becomes overwhelming. How do we address these issues with parents yet still provide for the students. I am trying very hard to keep my collection open and accessible to all students so they can find what they want and need. Fortunately I have the best principal ever and he is with me 100%. What do you do in your middle school libraries? Do you avoid the "edgy" older fiction by not purchasing? Do you put a "YA" or "Mature" sticker on the binding to inform the browser? Do you go so far as to have a separate section for 8th graders? Or do you have some other creative way of dealing with this issue? I would very much appreciate hearing how you handle this issue. Thanks for the help. Liz Liz McMahon Library Media Specialist Messalonskee Middle School Library 33 School Bus Drive Oakland, ME 04963 207-465-2167 lmcmahon@rsu18.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, you send a message to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * LM_NET Help & Information: http://lmnet.wordpress.com/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/join.html * LM_NET Supporters: http://lmnet.wordpress.com/category/links/el-announce/ --------------------------------------------------------------------