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Dear Vanessa,

I would hope that any information in a high school library was purchased
with the district selection policy in mind. Purchase orders must be approved
by the principal, too. Therefore, anything in the library about the occult
is factual and not sensational. If it is sensational it shouldn't be a part
of the collection.

That should be true about anything that may be about a controversial topic.

If the parents chooses to challenge a book, there should be a policy and a
procedure in place.

I would not the responsibility of making sure a student did not borrow
anything about the occult. My Winnebago program will not let me mark a
student's restrictions at all. I would have to remember to monitor that
particular student, and I would have to be at the check out desk whenever
she was around. That's not possible in my life.

Our public library is in the center of town and is frequently visited by our
students without a parent present. As a matter of fact, when I have been
there the teenagers I have noticed are not accompanied by a parent.

As parents we must teach our children what we expect of them and what is
acceptable. They must be taught to make good choices. If I restrict what a
student can borrow then it is not the student's choice.

We could take this even further and as what EXACTLY is meant by the occult.
Magic? Witches? What about vampires? Where does Harry Potter fit in? The
Wizard of Oz? Anne Rice? Stephen King? Salem, Mass.?

I have second grade kids who are Jehovah Witnesses. One brother borrowed a
Magic Tree house book and it came back with a note from mom - no books with
magic, please. The other brother borrowed The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars. I
asked him (thinking I had learned from the first brother) Will these books
be okay with you mom? The kid said he thought so, since they had both of
these movies at home!

It is not my job to monitor what kids borrow from a collection that is
selected with care and board approved.

Off my soap box!

Karen DeFrank, LMS
Bullock School
Glassboro, NJ 08028
kdefrank@glassboro.k12.nj.us



> From: Vaneesa Thompson <VANEESAT@AOL.COM>
> Reply-To: VANEESAT@AOL.COM
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 23:54:51 EST
> To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Re: SEC: Parental request
>
> <I would disagree. If the parents say "No," then that's the answer. The
> <student does NOT have a right to those materials. Parents, not the school,
> <have the ultimate responsibility for their children. Therefore they have
> <the ultimate say about what their children may or may not read.
>
> I really don't understand why all the discussion of this topic.  As a parent,
> I would hope that my request would be honored.  In our age of automation, it
> is not that much trouble to place a notice on a patron's name.
>
> And yes, I understand freedom of information.  But has anyone decided at what
> age that freedom starts.  Is a child free to read what ever he or she likes
> with or without their parents consent?
>
> Yes, I also understand that many children will sneak around to do that which
> is forbidden.  And it is unfortunate that the parent in question has chosen
> restrictions rather than discussions.  But their request must be upheld.
> They are, after all the parents.
>
> Further, the question was raised about whether this same request was made at
> the public library.  Why should it be made?  The parent is able to accompany
> the child at the public library and monitor what she checks out personally.
>
> I say go ahead and honor the parents request.  This is not a battle that I
> would choose to fight.
>
> Anyway, that is my two cents worth (more from a parents perspective),
>
> Vaneesa Thompson
> Library Media Specialist
> Hazlewood High School
> Town Creek, AL
> Vaneesat@aol.com
>
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