The School Library: Part of Their World, Your Whole World

There's a saying about pets that goes something a long the lines of "They might only be part of your world, but to them, you are their whole world." Sweet, right? A casual reminder about the view point differences of the pet and owner. After recent discussion, it be came clear to me that this is also how the school library relates to a principal or administrative team.

I've only been learning about libraries for about a month now, but the same issue has come up in almost everyone of my classes. Here's the situation: A librarian chooses wide variety of books and materials to create an ample collection for the students. A principal/administrator/parent walks in a judges a book by the cover or select few pages and immediately demands that it be removed. What should the librarian do, knowing their reasoning for having that book on the shelf is solid? Fight and risk their job? Give in and take something away from the students? The answer is complicated. 

To help figure this out, let's start from the beginning with some things that a librarian can do to help herself out in situations like these. The first thing that the librarian should know is the definition of  intellectual freedom. The ALA defines it as “ the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored” (ALA Brochure)  It is important that librarians are able to provide non-bias sources or be able to show all, or as many as possible, the biases that are out there. 

Another thing that the librarian can do is have a strong collection policy. This should contain elements that clearly state what type of criteria a book/materials must meet to be select as well as a policy that clearly states how others can challenge a book and what happens during the process. A strong policy will give the librarian a solid foundation to base her defense of a selection as well as a guide on how to handle that principal's/administrator's/parent's request to immediately remove whatever material they believe to be inappropriate. A recent article in School Libraries Journal suggests making sure that the school and or district also has a strong policy on how community members can challenge books. I agree that those policies are very important, but should used along with and instead of an individual policy for each library. 

This is where we can go back to the pet comparison. A school librarian is in their zone in the school library. That is their workspace, domain, and place within the school. A principal/administrator/parent, however, does not devote at least eight hours a day to the library and may not understand that the librarian has specific responsibilities, such as those laid in the ALA Code of Ethics. Keeping in mind that they individual demanding that something be taken off the shelf may only see that specific item and not that it is part of larger collection can keep a situation from being escalated by both parties. Helping the person challenging the material see that could help avoid any conflict at all without any fuss. 

In the end, each challenge is unique much like each principal. There is no easy answer to the question of what to do when there is a challenge, but keeping in mind how others relate to the library may make the process of dealing with the challenge easier and educational. 

Some other resources that may be helpful on this topic:

Intellectual Freedom Manual

Cooperative Children's Book Center Overview of Intellectual Freedom

School Library Monthly - The Intellectual Freedom Calendar: Another Advocacy Plan for the School Library