Hit -->Librarian as censor

[Allison G Kaplan <akaplan@BRAHMS.UDEL.EDU>]

Dear Netters,

Many thanks to all of you who responded to me and to the "net regarding
my question on the librarian as a censor. I have forwarded your letters
to her. She was very impressed and thankful for the number of
constructive letters. She has decided to let the kids take out what they
want.

I will summarize the answers here. The original question follows the summary.

Most of the respondents sided with the teachers stating that the
librarian should not limit even the young reader's choices. Although
most were hesitant to use the word "censor" as being too strong of a
word for this situation in that the librarian probably was misguided
rather than malicious and simply needed a refresher on the ALA Library
Bill of Rights. Surprise was expressed that it was the _librarian_ doing
the limiting, not the _teachers_ as seems to be more often the case.

Many offered
the advice to let the kids take out two items, one which they can read
and one of their choice regardless of reading ability. This was further
supported with these arguements: there may be someone at home to read to
the child, the child may take pleasure in simply being with the
difficult book, the child may not be interested in fiction (as most of
the "easy" books are fiction), the child may prefer to "read" the
pictures, and the librarian may not really know the child's reading level.

Some retold personal stories regarding bad experiences with librarians
not letting them check out desired materials. Maybe the world is a better
place now because you are now librarians helping instead of hindering
intellectual freedom :-) (my own personal opinion). There were a few who
used the example of "how would you feel if you could only use certain
areas in the public library?" I'm afraid I'd have to disagree with that
approach. After all, how many of us go into libraries where there is a
separate children's section or even a separate room? (This is a can of
worms perhaps better left to another listserv.)

Finally there was the gentle reminder to the librarian not only of the
ALA Bill of Rights but also that she refer to the "E" section as an
"everyone" section so as to not embarrass or inhibit the older children who
wish to check out those items.

Again, many thanks to those who responded. You have proved once again
what a powerful resource LM_NET is.

Sincerely,
Allison G. Kaplan
Education Resource Center
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716-2940

akaplan@brahms.udel.edu

Original message:

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 09:47:06 -0500 (EST)
From: Allison G Kaplan <akaplan@brahms.udel.edu>
To: lm_net@suvm.syr.edu
Subject: Target -->Librarian as censor

I am posting this message for a school librarian who does not have easy
access to Internet (not yet anyway).

Her situation is this:
Recently the first and second grade teachers (mostly the second grade
teachers) have accused her of consoring the children's reading materials
and inhibiting their freedom of choice of books. The librarian limits the
1st and 2nd graders to the easy reading section because that is the level
of books the kids can read. Those with higher reading skills she
personally helps to find books in other areas of the library. She also
works with individuals who want non-fiction books. The teachers feel kids
should be able to get anything they want even if they can't read it and
she feels the kids will have a better attitude about books and reading if
they select books they can read.

Question:
Is the librarian being a censor or is she building the foundations of
future readers? Has anyone else run into this situation or organize their
collections similarly?

You may respond to me or the list. I will summarize responses.

Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise and experiences.

Allison G. Kaplan
Education Resource Center
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716-2940

akaplan@brahms.udel.edu