Censorship challenges in the library.

Censorship is often a loaded topic that many members of a school community will have differing opinions on the suitability of resources. Many T.Ls may also have their own opinions of censorship in a school library subject to their own personal philosophy about freedom of information. There often is a preconceived idea that the school librarian is somewhat of a moral gatekeeper of the school acting as chief censor.

Parents and teachers come from a variety of backgrounds with a spectrum of beliefs. It will be guaranteed that something at some time will be challenged in a library. Often the principal wishes to err on the side of caution in order to not make extra work opening a ‘can of worms’. However, do we cave in to the demands of a few who’s opinions don’t reflect the large majority of the school community?

I am reminded of the Harry Potter issue in a small Anglican boy’s school in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where I worked in the early 2000s. We had a passionate TL who worked tirelessly with all teachers in the school. As the Art teacher, she was my go-to person for resources to give my prep and year 1 classes context with books and literature.  Our principal had received demands from a small band of fundamentalist Christian parents to remove all Harry Potter books from the shelves, as there was a belief that they promoted black magic. Our principal never wanted to make waves and proceeded to ask our TL to remove the books. I do remember her standing her ground and stating that they would also have to remove several other books from the shelves as well if this was their reasoning. At that time Harry Potter was huge and the books and films were beloved by so many of the students. It was a long time ago, however I remember her referring to a policy that the school library staff uses to review a challenged book. The process involved reviewing it against the criteria that she had in place in this policy. The books remained and her response was clear and direct. Another staff member had an issue with a book called ‘Hello Baby”, by Jenni Overend, an honest depiction of a home birth. The book is a warm and honest account of a family preparing for the arrival and birth of a new baby. The illustrations were beautiful but somewhat detailed of he process of giving birth. The book prompted many questions from our young students and some found the depiction of birth fascinating but also confronting. Our librarian saw the value in this book for teaching issues around human development and kept it behind her desk. Remember her concern was if the book were to be borrowed and taken home, there could be reactions from some families. Again she followed advice from her policy document.

Reading The Effect of Censorship on Collection Development in School Libraries,  gave me some insight and guidance on both these situations.  Do we censor to avoid any type of confrontation with the most conservative or easily offended parents or do we stand our ground and protect the rights of our students to access a range of material even if difficult or challenging. By giving access to these resources, a librarian’s role could be to start dialogue, to educate readers, regardless of age. To sidestep the noise from outside sources, librarians can make informed decisions based on bodies such as ALIA to inform school criteria for a collection management policy. (Follen, J., Goff, M., & Salazar, K. 2018)

 

Follen, J., Goff, M., & Salazar, K. (2018). The Effect of Censorship on Collection Development in School Libraries.

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