I believe all librarians face the same challenges as Jenkinson (2002) describes how silent self-censorship leads to the deselection of books. The book by Sylvia Olsen, No Time To Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kemper Island Residential School, depicts scenes of sexual abuse, and Jenkinson (2002) uses this text as an example to show how librarians may be challenged by the community on decisions such as the purchase of books containing (graphic scenes/ethical or controversial issues). As a future librarian, this challenge of determining how we go about selection or deselection, the policies employed, and the guidelines that we should follow is inevitable. In accordance with Shupala (2006), I agree that schools should adopt a complaint policy to protect librarians and schools when faced with complaints or challenges from parents or the wider community, and without support from the staff and principal, finding ways to respond to the challenge of selection and censorship is not possible. In most cases, complaints can be resolved through clear messaging and explanations to parents regarding why certain books in contention have been purchased. However, some schools choose to restrict access to controversial books or require parental consent, which is counterintuitive to “the concept of intellectual freedom” (Australian School Library Association, 2018). Jenkinson (2002) provides no answer to this challenge at the end of the article. Challenges in any shape or form will always exist for all librarians.
References:
Australian School Library Association. (2018). ALIA-ASLA policy on school library resource provision. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-policy-school-library-resource-provision
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection & censorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School Libraries in Canada, 21(4), 22. https://www.proquest.com/docview/222536019/fulltextPDF/C58F00A11F61437APQ/1?accountid=8194
Shupala, A. M. (2006). School library selection policy and procedures: A survey of attitudes, perceptions and experiences of Texas public-school principals and certified librarians. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. https://www.proquest.com/docview/304910929/fulltextPDF/84599795BB054F34PQ/1?accountid=8194