Research into censorship, particularly in the Unites States, hasconsolidated previous inquiry by Williams and Dillon pertaining to itsjustification. Reading of banned texts followed by scrutiny ofsuppressive justification supports the theory that censorshiporiginates from individual and community concerns based on moralargument. Ethical seeds of societal discomfort and misinformation arepropagated by psychological motive, in which conservative andtraditional principles are utilised as a… More →

Date: 20/07/23  Organiser: School Libraries Association Victoria (SLAV)   Presenter: Tehani Croft, Teacher-Librarian, academic and previous CBCA judge  Format: Webinar   Time: 1.5 hours  Level:  School librarians & teacher-librarians  Subject Area: CBCA, library events (Children’s Book week), literacy, readers advisory  Objective: Judges discussion of entries and winners in the 2023 CBCA Book of The Year Awards.  Reason for attending: Introduction to CBCA advocacy of children’s… More →

Date: 19/10/2023 Format: Webinar Time: 1.5 hours Organiser: Social work in Libraries (SWIL) Simulation Hub project, facilitated by CSU Presenter: Dr Beth Wahler, research faculty affiliate and previous director of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and founder of Beth Wahler Consulting. Level: library staff Subject area: patron needs assessment, trauma-informed library programmes, practice… More →

Age of Consent. (2024). United States age of consent map. https://www.ageofconsent.net/states  Alter, A. (2023). How a debut graphic memoir became the most banned book in the country. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/01/books/maia-kobabe-gender-queer-book-ban.html  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (2023). Over 120 bills restricting LGBTQ rights introduced nationwide in 2023 so far. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/over-120-bills-restricting-lgbtq-rights-introduced-nationwide-2023-so-far  American Library Association (ALA). (2024). Top 13 most challenged books of 2022. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10  Andrews,… More →

Juno Dawson (2014) Hot Key Books, London Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit Dawson has created a non-fiction resource as a guide, resource and “instruction manual” (Dawson, 2014, pg.7) offered to any individual questioning their gender and/or sexual orientation. At the time of writing secondary school sex education was lacking inclusivity for… More →

Jesse Andrews (2012) Amulet Books, USA Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit Andrews describes his text as “weird little anti-romance about a teenage boy whose mom forces him to befriend a girl with cancer” in which “I hoped it would make kids laugh and feel understood; I thought adults might find it refreshingly frank about how… More →

Ashley Hope Perez (2015) Carolrhoda Lab, Minneapolis, USA Number of challenges: 50 Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit Perez has written a novel of relationships and societal values set in Texas, USA, in the time surrounding the 1937 New London School explosion which killed over 300 students and teachers. The catastrophe caused by natural gas leak is… More →

Sherman Alexie. (2007). Little Brown & Company. Number of challenges: 52 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit Alexie’s semi-autobiographical book centres on Arnold Spirit known as Junior, 14 years of age and living on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Northern America. Arnold’s challenges are many: born with hydro-encephalitis (excessive cerebrospinal fluid in the brain) his physical appearance, small stature… More →

Stephen Chbosky (1999) Simon & Schuster Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit Chbosky’s text is a consideration of acceptance, connection, inclusion and resilience in environment that constantly challenges these facets within the individual: high school. As a middle-school student socially awkward Charlie is befriended by two seniors… More →

John Green (2005). Dutton Books. Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit Green’s novel features 16-year-old protagonist Miles on a quest for the “great perhaps” within a new boarding school environment (Green, 2005, pg. 10). The “Alaska” in question is one of Miles’ new companions;  along with his roommate “The Colonel” and another acquaintance, Takumi.… More →

Maia Kobabe (2019). Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.  Number of challenges: 151 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit” Gender Queer chronicle’s the author’s non-binary and gender identity experience through this illustrated biographic. It is a sensitive and candid telling of selfdom that explores innocence and cathartic psyche exploration in an environment that, beyond familial support, feels constantly incompatible. Alter and… More →

Date: November – December, 2023 Author: American Library Association (ALA): Banned and Challenged Books,  Various Format: Article, books Time: 1 hour allocated per book + 1 hour of background research = 8 hours Level:  Librarians in school and public libraries, YA readers, and parents Subject Area: Literacy, censorship, information access, right to read freely, young adult literature, adolescent development. Objective: Research on… More →

The Troll Under the Bridge: should Australian publishers of young adult literature act as moral-gatekeepers? Date: 07/12/2023 Author: Shivaun Plozza Format: Article Time: 1 hour Level:  Librarians, publishers, the general public Subject Area: Literacy, censorship, information access, right to read freely, young adult literature, adolescent development. Objective: Research on censorship within YA literature Reason for attending: Comprehension of perceived impact of texts… More →

Brought to book : Censorship and School Libraries in Australia (Chapter 6: Preparing for the censor). Date: 20/12/2023 Authors: Claire Louise Williams and Ken Dillon (1993). Format: Book Time: 1 hour Level:  Librarians, members of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Subject Area: Literacy, censorship, information access, right to read freely, young adult literature, adolescent development. Objective: Research on censorship within… More →

  Date: 07/12/2023 Presenter: Tracie D. Hall,  former executive director of the American Libraries Association (ALA) Format: Online Webinar Time: 2 hrs Organisers:  State Library of Victoria (SLV) Level:  Librarians, the general public Subject Area: Literacy, censorship, information access, right to read freely. Objective: Orientation with foundations and issues of censorship. Reason for attending: Comprehension of parallels between American and Australian historical… More →

Date: 31/19/2023 Presenter: Susan La Marca, Executive Officer SLAV Format: Online Time: 1 hr Organisers:  SLAV Level: SLAV members: Teacher Librarians and library staff/ administration in Victorian schools Subject Area: Reading programmes, children and young adult literacy, access, censorship Objective: Orientation with current children’s and YA book club programmes facilitated in school library environments Reason for attending: Comprehension of reading trends, potential expedition of… More →

Date : April, 2023 Supervisor: Frankston High School Format: Online Time: 2 hr (total time for first video production = 5hrs) Organisers:  TechSmith, creators of Camtasia Editing Software Level: General public Subject Area: Patron access, collections, marketing Objective: Refresh previous skills in video recording, editing and production for use in an LIS environment. Reason for attending: to create tutorials for students on using… More →

Date: November 2022 Supervisor: Frankston High School (FHS) Format: Online Time: 1 hr (total time = 7hrs) Organisers:  TechSmith, creators of Camtasia Editing Software Level: General public Subject Area: Patron access, collections, reformatting of text (written word to Audiobook) Objective: Refresh previous skills in audio recording, editing and production for use in an LIS environment Reason for attending: to create alternative resource access for… More →

Date: 05/04/2023 Supervisor: Sarah Lewis Format: Online Time: 1 hr Organisers: Australian National Copyright Unit (NCU) Level: Australian school librarians. Subject Area: Copyright, statutory licensing, Creative Commons and open education resources Objective: Familiarisation with Australian education copyright regimes Reason for attending: Comprehension of school copyright parameters and ownership rights, particularly in creating alternative resources. What was learnt: In conjunction with trademarks, patents and industrial designs, copyright… More →

Date: 21/12/ 2023 & 22/12/2023 Supervisor: Rachel Summers (Electronic Resources Librarian Victoria Legal Aid Library) Format: in person Time: 6 hrs Organisers:  Victoria Legal Aid Library (VLA) Level: Volunteer Subject Area: Public law library collections, terminology, systems, processes and practices. Specialised classification schemes and use of thesauri.  Research training. Introduction to intranet and legal databases. Objective: Attainment of new skills in a specialist library… More →