CIPA and school libraries

[Laura Pearle <lpearle@PCS-NYC.ORG>]

Dear all:

Before we break out the party hats, I should remind everyone that school
libraries were not represented in the lawsuit and CIPA may still be
enforcable in our schools.

Last August, I received this response to a query about the issue:

Dear Ms. Pearle,

Don Wood has asked me to respond to your question concerning the CIPA
litigation and school libraries.

The reason that school libraries will not be affected if the CIPA
litigation is successful is because the lawsuit only contests the
provisions of CIPA that affect public libraries. The ALA cannot contest the
school library provisions in CIPA because it cannot act on behalf of school
libraries, who can only be represented by their respective school boards. A
full explanation by ALA's counsel can be found on the ALA website at
http://www.ala.org/cipa/litigation.html#cipaandschools

Since the lawsuit does not raise the school library provisions, the court
will not address them or change them. It is a well-settled legal principle
that courts will not overturn provisions that are not contested by a party
with legal standing. Unfortunately, this means that the school library
provisions contained in CIPA are in force and will remain in effect, even
if the ALA wins its lawsuit.

The ALA hopes that a school group with legal standing will challenge the
public school library provisions of CIPA in the near future. If such a
challenge is raised, the ALA plans to support it to its fullest ability.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if there are any other questions
I can answer, or if you would like more explanation.

Cordially,

Deborah Caldwell-Stone
Deputy Director
Office for Intellectual Freedom
American Library Association
800-545-2433 x 4224
www.ala.org/oif

Sorry about the wet blanket, but we're not in the clear yet!



Laura Pearle
Head Librarian
Gladys Brooks Library
Professional Children's School
lpearle@pcs-nyc.org

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