[LM_NET] "Lucky" Controversy

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>]

This will definitely be one of those incidents that will eventually
end up in a SLIS textbook in a few years.  It will be during the
dicussion of censorship or the Newbery Awards (or both) that future
classes will laugh at the behavior of librarians in 2007 scrambling to
hide a Newbery Award Winner (and "the word") from the eyes (and minds)
of children and their adult supervisors (teachers, parents, etc.) for
fear of what "might happen."  These SLIS students will make
comparisons to the "times we lived in" and remark that they mirror
those earlier days in the 1970's when librarians also tried to "cover
Mickey" in "The Night Kitchen (Maurice Sendak) by drawing pants on the
naked child for fear of reactions by others.

Finally, the SLIS students will make note that within their
professional responsibilities is to uphold the creative rights of
individuals who write books for all individuals and to protect speech,
even if it is not what they personally believe. They will come to
understand that the library is one of the most "neutral areas" within
the community and often invites all sides of a debate before
determining an action---and not a place where information is hidden,
stifled, or refused because of those who choose to make its holdings
reflect only "some ideas" that are held in highest moral admiration.

To conclude the section of study on censorship and selection, this
SLIS class will be reminded to support the school's curriculum which
does include the instruction and reading of both the Caldecott and
Newbery works by children in grades K-8 (and often above) and to
provide equal access of these materials for all.  Then, when asked to
compile their Selection Policies, they will remember to include a copy
of the Request for Reconsideration form which requires that anyone who
has a request for a book to be removed from a library to undergo the
correct procedures for examination before a removal is made.

These SLIS students will work hard to make sure that their libraries
support the ideals of a free democracy and that the spoken and written
words of others are heard and read, despite their unsavory flavor
amidst the banquet of books previously chosen by a select few.

~Shonda

-- 
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
Library Media Specialist
sbrisco@gmail.com

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