A Study of Self-Censorship by School Librarians by Wendy Rickman

(Barbershop Books, n.d.)

To understand the censorship of resources within a school library I read the peer reviewed journal article A Study of Self-Censorship by School Librarians by Wendy Rickman (Rickman, 2010). This journal article explored how the practice of self-censorship has impacted the collections within school libraries and how a lack of diverse information based on the beliefs of school librarians can negatively impact the intellectual growth of students. The study in this article sampled the self-censorship practices of 1,069 school librarians within the United States (Rickman, 2010, p. 9).

Analysis of Article

This article highlighted how librarians must put away their own biases and judgements when managing a collection and a school library collection should be based solely around the needs of the children and the curriculum of that school. A school library collection must be developed to give differing ideas and a range of topics which “allows students to make an objective decision about the benefits of the work or its suitability to their needs” (Manuell, 2020, p. 39). A librarian who imposes self-censorship can impact the intellectual growth of the students who must be able to explore topics freely in order to develop the critical thinking skills (Leicester, 2009, p. 3).

The article concluded how self-censorship can be reduced. Maintaining standards such as having a degree in library science, set of national standards regarding collection management for students and mandatory professional developments courses for all school librarians, as the articles study showed that those who not have a foundation in librarianship and continue their development often committed self-censorship of their collections.

The article explored how it is the task of librarian to provide information for a child and to be able to guide them to new information and promote serious thought, no matter how uncomfortable or against their own personal views this information may be (Rickman, 2010, p. 8). A youth librarian must be able to give access to topics which may cause backlash but will also allow the children to explore topics that they are not comfortable to talk about so they can explore feelings they have. This is especially prevalent with LGBTQ material in school libraries as it has been shown that librarians will self-censor material in fear of backlash, but this can leave students fearful of the ideas they are having about their own sexuality (Dawkins, 2018, p. 10). Not censoring items also allows for the child to make their own judgements on divisive topics without outside influences and prejudices (Leicester, 2009, p. 3).

What Did I Learn?

This article revealed gaps in my knowledge regarding the effect that censorship can have on children. The idea of the librarian providing “physical and intellectual access to information and ideas” has been reinforced in previous experiences but the impact of censorship has not (Australian Library and Information Association, 2016). In my future practices I will develop collections which cover differing views on topics and select age appropriate resources which cover topics sensitive topics as it is important for children to examine different ideas and make their own conclusions.

How Will This Shape my Practice?

This article was relevant to my own professional practice with children and young adults as it reinforced the ideas of how censorship has a negative impact on the development of youth using the collection. In future when I am working in children’s collections, I will take note how the collection has been developed and if all sides of topics have been equally represented through the collection. I will also know the negative impacts of censorship and provide the children with information which is appropriate to their level, not using any of my bias or values in the judgement of what information to give the client.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2016). ALIA-ASLA statement on teacher librarians in Australia. https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/alia-asla-statement-teacher-librarians-australia

Barbershop Books. (n.d.). 5 banned children’s books that may surprise you – Barbershop books. https://barbershopbooks.org/banned-books/

Dawkins, A. M. (2018). he decision by school librarians to self-censor: The impact of perceived administrative discomfort. Teacher Librarian, 45(3), 8-12.

Leicester, M. (2009). Teaching critical thinking skills. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=601834

Manuell, R. (2020). Module 6 – Challenges in delivering library services [Modules]. INF330, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_49776_1&content_id=_3997955_1

Rickman, W. (2010). A study of self-censorship by school librarians. School Library Research, 13, 1-21. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol13/SLR_Volume_13.pdf#page=168