restricted shelves - elem. school

[JEN SHELTON <JENNY@UWYO.EDU>]

Here's a more personal twist on the discussion of the advanced reader who might
want to check out books restricted to students in a particular grade.

I WAS one of those students and I devoured every book I could get my hands on,
whether they were above or below my grade level.  I also had extremely strict
parents who would never have agreed to sign a permission slip for me to check
out a book from a restricted shelf.  If my school library had had such a policy
in place, I would not have had access to many very good books that made a
major contribution to my life.  Not only were my parents strict, they were 
quiteunwilling to discuss many "sensitive" topics, so much of my knowledge on these
topics was obtained from the books I had access to.

At one point as a young student, I bought a book that dealt with a subject my
parents felt was inappropriate for me to be reading about, so they confiscated
my book.  I promptly went to the school library, checked the book out, kept it
at school and read, understood and enjoyed every bit of it.

The point of all this "personal" rambling is to proclaim my undying support to
free access to ALL books in a school library to ALL students.  Students who are
too young or reading at a lower level than that at which the book is written
will either abandon the book without finishing it, or will slog their way througand 
not "get it".  Either way, no harm, no foul.

Jen Shelton
Grad student
Univ. of Wyoming
jenny@uwyo.edu