Beth's
Intellectual
Freedom
and
Censorship
EDIT 6340
Spring 2008
Still applicable in 2011
"Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read
any books except the books that nobody reads."
-George Bernard Shaw
Beth's
personal interests / scholarly interests / and a quick story
A Disclaimer
What I hope you will leave with
- Some tools that you might find useful
- Experience looking at some of the materials that are often
challenged in media centers
- Ideas to think about
The First Amendment (The
Big Idea)
"Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances."
How does this apply to libraries?
Three ALA level documents (there are several more as well):
...and the
SLM version of the Library Bill of Rights:
AASL's
Interpretation
of
the
Library Bill of Rights (EL, p. 53)
Activity:
In Pairs, in the Lab:
Use ALA's
Notable
First
Amendment
Court Cases first, and you can go beyond
this if you like.
Bring back the....
- Book, material or activity that was challenged and why
- The "story" (if significant)
- How the courts decided and why
- How this impacts what we do in school libraries
- Any other important details
10 minutes or less....GO!
Quick reports
The Biggies
- Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District
No. 26 v. Pico (aka "Pico v. Island Trees" or "Pico")
- Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District
- Others?
(Results from
this activity from the past are posted as "Censorship Court Cases" in
eLC Resources.)
Some of you
will choose to adopt the AASL Interpretation into your selection
policies, which is an acceptable approach.
Still, these are broad documents, which have a lot of room for
interpretation.
Which leads to.....
Im A. Librarian's (or IAL's School Library's) Interpretation of the
AASL Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
(which may not be a written position, but there is a position)
How do these play out in the library? In your selection
policy?
Selection is fun, but it is also complex
- What you put on your shelves represents a point of view
about:
- what is important
- the stories that are worth telling
- the knowledge that is worth having
- and the kinds of materials that are worth reading (BF's
soapbox)
Selection
tools
- Upsides and downsides
- Selecting selection tools
- Nothing is comprehensive
- Variety enables balance
- Choices and rules about selection tools need to be revisited
along with the rest of the selection policy
The most
critical part of the selection process is an effective, informed school
librarian.
Why are books
challenged? Some quick stats
The Book Pass Activity - a distant cousin to Booktalks
All books are taken from the ALA lists of frequently
challenged
books.
Peer Recommendations
My Original Idea
- A standard reaction (Kristie M. will address this thoroughly)
With a partner, choose one of the books from the Book Pass.
Exploring Points of View
Imagine, you are a new school librarian, in your first few months on
the job. One day, a parent comes into the media center with this
book in hand. They insist that this book not be in the
collection, because it is ________ (indecent, not age appropriate,
racist, sexually graphic, etc.). The parent wants the book
removed and has told the principal as much as well.
In groups of 1-3....Consider the points of view of the four parties
involved in this immediate situation.
- You, the school librarian
What are all these people thinking / feeling / wondering about /
concerned about? What is at stake here?
Discussion
Recent Censorship Cases ...
Intellectual Freedom, revisited
The content and opinions expressed on
this webpage do not necessarily reflect the view of nor are they
endorsed by the
University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.
Last updated 2-24-10 by maf (added Majlessi resource, thanks to Cynthia
Fisher)
refreshed 3-16-11
Beth Friese