How have your various roles based on your age, family background, societal position, religious beliefs and profession influenced your stance on censorship of children’s literature collections?
As teacher librarians, we often feel very strongly that we should not be participating in censorship, be it self-censorship or censorship that comes from above. We also know that it is our job to provide resources appropriate to the community in which we work. The fact that we need to select books based on their appropriateness indicates that it is also our job to not select books that are inappropriate. But where is the line? Who decides what is “selection” and what is “censorship”? Who decides what is appropriate and what is not? In some communities it is not acceptable to include books about certain religions, or books that celebrate cultural features that others may find offensive. I believe there is a line where some subjects become inappropriate for children, but there are many resources out there that skate very close to that line and may, under some circumstances, actually be appropriate for particular purposes, used under teacher guidance. I believe that having a robust challenge policy and a strong selection policy to go along with it is important. If community members can show that something is inappropriate, then we have an obligation to listen. However, I think it should be stressed that it should not be made easy to show that something is inappropriate. Some principals will require any challenged item to be removed simply in order to avoid arguments. I do not think this is a helpful attitude to take. The assumption should be that the material stays in the collection unless and until it is shown to be inappropriate. This should not be because it agrees or disagrees with a particular religion or political belief, or because it contains or does not contain certain language. It should not be because it perpetuates stereotypes (this should be countered by the addition of a collection of texts that balance the stereotype: some authors use stereotypes for particular effect and to make a point.
Books pertaining to controversial topics should be included in school library collections. For example, age appropriate books about periods, evolution, gender fluidity should all be included, offering a balanced collection. I strongly believe that parents have a right to control (up to a point) what is available to their child, but they do not have the right to control what is available to other children.
