My original posting was:
I read the article posted in Publisher's Weekly.com concerning the
censorship of The Higher Power of Lucky: What kind of censorship do you use
within your library? In my elementary school I had to censor for violence,
religious concerns, and anything with that might have a sexual connotation.
Of course local concerns and demographics contribute to what is censored as
well as the age group of the population. Do any elementary librarians teach
students about censorship? I was thinking of doing something for Banned
Book Week, but decided that this might be a topic best left to the upper
grades.
Thank you to all that responded!
I'm in preK - 12 situation. We usually do some sort of display in the
library and if asked by the younger ones about it, I tell them some people
don't want people to read certain books. There are only one or two people
who can tell you not to read something - your mom or dad.
Some of the upper grade - 6 and higher - will do a lesson in class.
When I choose to include or exclude a library book or other resource from my
library's collection, it is NOT censorship, IT IS SELECTION! I have to
carefully weigh the pros and cons about each item and determine what are the
best choices based on my limited budget and my school community. If someone
opts to call the selection process "censorship," then they really don't
understand the complexities of being a school librarian when budgets will
only stretch so far. There's so much good stuff available - in print, in
media, in online resources - that selection becomes even more challenging!
Choosing not to put certain materials in an elementary school is not
censorship!!! It is selecting appropriate material for your age group! I
personally think elementary school is too young to discuss the concept of
censorship.
I work in a private Catholic school. We have students from K-8. I have to
censor/select for the same things as you do. I touch on censorship with my
7th grade classes. I'm not sure that students younger than that can
appreciate what censorship means. Diane Van Gorden posted to the whole group
and I agree with her thoughts. When I make a decision, I too don't think
about censoring as much as selecting based on the community I serve.
It's not always censorship; sometimes it can properly be called selection.
When you are in a library, you learn that with a limited budget you can't
buy everything, so you choose the best content for your situation.
I maintain that you select rather than censor.
When you are in a library, you learn that with a limited budget you can't
buy everything, so you choose the best content for your situation.
I maintain that you select rather than censor.
Thank you for clarifying! This has been my thought exactly! I am not
censoring, I am selecting purchases for my patrons. I always tell my
students that if I don't have it, they may go to the public library and
check it out. If I was censoring, I would never volunteer that information.
I prefer the term "selection" to "censorship" - although of course given our
local population, sometimes what seems like judicious selection in one
context may look like censorship in another context. A good book to use
with elementary students (gr 3-4 or so) that looks at censorship is "Arthur
and the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club", by Stephen Krensky. This book is part
of an early chapter-book series based on the character Arthur (Marc Brown).
I have read it out loud to grade 3 and 4 classes, and used it as a
discussion starter on intellectual freedom. I haven't pushed the theme,
just presented it. The "blurb" for this book says:
When a parent group bans a series of scary books from the local public
library, Arthur and his friends devise a plan to get their favorite books
returned.
I don't consider what I do censoring. nor do most librarians. I consider it
collection development:
"Collection Development is defined as the planned purchase of materials
in various formats to match the instructional and research needs of the
campus within the current fiscal environment and resource sharing
opportunities. "
Although many definitions exist for collection development, the definition
guiding this policy is:
"Collection development is the selection, acquisition, evaluation, and
maintenance of a collection of materials and resources that meets the
needs of the people it is intended to serve."
Kelly Tucker
MLS Student, East Carolina University
K1Tucker@home.nl
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