Tag Archives: book challenge

Academic, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Services, Special

A Wider Look at Frequently Challenged Materials (Banned Book Week Series #4)

banned-book-week
We stand for the freedom to read!

As librarians, we spend all day sharing information with our patrons. Therefore, it can be beneficial during this Banned Book Week to look back at some of the most challenged materials over a broader span of time than discussed in our previous post in this series about the materials challenged in 2015. I like to be very deliberate in seeking these books out to read, so I understand why there may be concerns, and so I am better prepared to discuss the content of a book in a challenge situation.

This is a list of the  100 most challenged books from 2000-2009, as complied by the ALA. Of course, a list like this can not be entirely accurate: many challenges go unreported, or may not rise to the level of a full challenge but still provide concerns for patrons. But it does give us some ideas about the types of materials that get challenged, and we can see some trends in consistently challenged books.

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16. Forever, by Judy Blume
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20. King and King, by Linda de Haan

And here is the ALA’s list of the 100 most challenged books from 1990-1999.  I am copying in the top 20 from each list; and when you click on the links you can see all 100. You will see several books that are consistently on the list, and several authors who write in areas of sensitive material and appear regularly on these lists.

  1. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
  2. Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite
  3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
  4. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
  5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
  6. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
  7. Forever, by Judy Blume
  8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
  9. Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman
  10. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
  11. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
  12. My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
  13. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
  14. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  15. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
  16. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
  17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
  18. Sex, by Madonna
  19. Earth’s Children (series), by Jean M. Auel
  20. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson

Some of these books are not popular anymore, or too dated to be of interest to today’s school-aged readers. But some carry on as significant enough to continue reading. And many of the books in both lists appear there after some national publicity of challenges – which may have caused other challenges in other places to occur.

A troubling trend in book challenges, beyond just their existence, is the increased number of challenges over materials about diverse content  from the ALA, or books written by authors of color. Read through that second link, which is a blog post by Malinda Lo – one of the creators of the blog Diversity in YA. She looks at a lot of perspectives on publication of authors of color and books with diverse content, complete with charts to make her points visual. Although the authors have ceased contributing new content, looking back through their archives gives some interesting insights into this issue. Censorship, or book banning, is not always an overt process; and we will explore that topic further in the fifth post in our series this week.

As with everything we do in libraries, there is a lot to consider and a lot to balance. We serve the needs of our communities with their diverse interests and needs; and we also serve the library profession. A strong collection development policy, with a lot of discussion in the library among staff and with the community about rationale for different collection items, will be the best way to ensure communication happens when conflict occurs. You can not stop conflict, but you can plan for it and be ready to address it in a professional way.

Academic, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Services, Special

Preparing for a Challenge (Banned Book Week series #3)

banned-book-week
Freedom to read is a core of our profession!

When a patron comes to your library, upset about a book or some of your materials – are you prepared with an answer? It can be hard for you to respond quickly unless you have a policy and are comfortable with the procedure for working with patrons who challenge your materials. Fortunately, in our profession, we have several resources available to help you to respond well to patrons!

As a profession, one of our core values is Intellectual Freedom. “We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.  ALA Policy Manual, B.9.16 (Old Number 54.16) ( ALA Code of Ethics, Article II)” We believe in providing information to the community, and letting them make choices about their consumption of it. In our Code of Ethics from the American Library Association, this same sentence is Statement Two. Our profession believes in protecting people’s right to choose material, not to restrict it.

Your library needs a policy for this issue, and also to have some training for everyone on their role in challenges. A patron may come to anyone in the building to start a challenge, so everyone needs to know how to either proceed with it or who to pass the patron to for better assistance.

All types of libraries can receive challenges to their materials, so everyone needs to be ready to respond in the best way. The ALA has a set of strategies here, for any library to use in preparing a policy and starting some staff training. There are good tips on effective communication styles, both for the patron in person and when dealing with the media.

It is important to take seriously the concerns community members bring to your attention. Creating and following a procedure can help to assure patrons that you are respecting their rights to share their opinions and to voice their concerns.

As you begin to write your policy, or to do the regular edits necessary for policies, you may find this information helpful from the ALA. They discuss some justification for having a policy, then help you to walk through the basic format of a policy with information you may want to include. Every library is different in focus and in the community it serves; so all policies will need to have different language and information to make them fit your needs.  If you have a challenge hearing, some steps on the procedure are given to be sure you are thinking through this process before a need for it arises.

While each library is different, it can be helpful for you to look at the policies other libraries have created. These are often included with their Collection Development polices, as potentially controversial materials are not collected just to be controversial, but because they are adding to the overall collection. Here is an example from the Pikes Peak Library District. This site gives you some specific information on collection development, including sample policies, for school libraries. And here is a Prezi presentation on reconsideration of library materials policies for school libraries. Here is a policy from the University of South Carolina; scroll down to the “Intellectual Freedom” section for the challenged material sample.

Part of your process may include education for your community on the rationale for including controversial materials in your collection. This is some material from the National Council of English Teachers, discussing some reasoning for teaching challenged materials. There are also other links on this page to give you some information and ideas about providing materials that may be challenged.

Handling a materials challenge can be hard: you want to do the right thing for the patron, for your library, and for the profession. It is a lot to balance! But you do not have to do it alone. The resources from the ALA are here, and there are more on these sites linked above. And the CMLE is available to help member libraries as you create and revise policies, or to help with training for your staff to help everyone feel more comfortable with this topic – and ready to handle challenges well!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Freedom to Read: Getting Involved! (Banned Book Week Series #1)

Today the library profession begins Banned Book Week! CMLE will provide information to you each day this week, from September 25 − October 1, 2016.

This is the week we band together to draw attention to the issue of books and information being banned from our patrons. As a profession devoted to distributing information, and connecting great materials with our patrons, any sort of censoring of that process is troublesome to us. We support the freedom to read, and intellectual freedom, across genres, platforms, and formats.

banned-book-week
Support the freedom to read!

 

Today we are looking at the resources the American Library Association’s website provides to us.

Do you have questions about this topic? A handy Q&A has been provided for you. Talking about censorship, banning books, and restricting freedom to read for some or all patrons can be tough. It can be hard to bring it up in your library with your colleagues, and hard to discuss with patrons. ALA provides you with some content to share and discuss, and some suggestions about spreading ideas of intellectual freedom. You can also follow the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom on Twitter. It is filled with facts and information, as well as fun displays and activities libraries around the country are doing!

How can you get involved in publicizing banned books? Check out this information about making your own videos for the Virtual Read Out! Your library can participate, and you can bring in your patrons if they want to share in the video making experience.

Many libraries are doing interesting programming for this week, and there is a lot of great information being shared in advance. You can look at the things libraries and librarians are contributing here. And you can share the contributions from your library here.

Sadly, book challenges happen all the time, so we need to be aware of banned book information the other 51 weeks of the year. You can get involved, and learn more about the issue – before you have professional problems in your library.

Does all of this make you want to have Banned Book Week swag in your library or for yourself? The ALA has you covered! Check out all the material available, and see what you might want now, or get started planning out next year’s displays!

Intellectual freedom is a continuing struggle, and libraries of all sorts are on the front lines. You need support and information to help you in providing the best possible resources to your community, and CMLE and the ALA are here to help you!

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Does your library own this challenged book?

Just One Day - Gayle FormanA Rosemount, MN couple challenged the book, Just One Day by Gayle Foreman, suggesting that it is inappropriate for middle and high school libraries in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district.  A review committee consisting of parents, students, and district staff was convened to review the young adult book and make a decision to remove the book or leave it in the school libraries.

Dawn Lyons, a secondary media specialist in the district and on the review committee, suggests that “Media specialists must consider the students and staff population we are serving. Our collection must include material for the most mature students as well as the younger students.”

Just One Day won the Young Adult Library Services Association’s award in 2014 for Best Fiction for Young Adults and is recommended for ages 14 and older.

Read the full story here.

What about you? Do you have policies in place for dealing with book challenges? For additional definitions and resources to assist you in this area, go to http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challengedmaterials. First you will see definitions, then scroll to the bottom to gather additional resources including information on how to report a book challenge.

Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials