Censorship in School Library

A New Jersey middle school recently made headlines when its principal censored a teen poetry book in response to a parental complaint. After one student's mother objected to the poem, "Diary of an Abusive Stepfather," the principal simply removed the pages with this piece from the book, Paint Me Like I Am. The school system's superintendent backed this decision. Written by a teen author, the poem in dispute contains profane language and violent content, as it describes the perspective of a child abuser.

Perhaps this work needs to be evaluated for its appropriateness in a middle school library. However, the school administration's approach to the situation violates the standards of responsible review and the ethics of intellectual freedom. The ALA correctly declares such "expurgation of library materials" to be in opposition to the Library Bill of Rights as it alters the author's original work and perhaps his or her overall message (Intellectual Freedom Manual, p. 146-147). Since authors generally do not approve these changes, this form of censorship may also break United States copyright laws.

Although the principal evidently believed he was doing less harm by retaining the book without its incendiary pages instead of removing the book completely, he clearly acted unwisely. In the future, would the principal remove any item that a parent declared offensive? One person should never make such decisions in a democratic society. The school library should have a process in place for parents and patrons to request reconsideration of materials. This process should involve a formal complaint, a committee review, and standardized guidelines. The administration's handling of this situation was wildly inappropriate and unethical; hopefully, community backlash will encourage the school to amend their procedure.

Link to the story:
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20090518/NEWS01/905180322

References

Marko, D.M. (2009, May 18). Vineland principal censors book. The Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyjournal.com

Office of Intellectual Freedom. (2006). Intellectual Freedom Manual, 7th ed. Chicago: American Library Association.

Monitor Your Local Politics

A severe challenge to intellectual freedom nearly came to pass in a small Utah town early this month. The Tremonton city council actually approved an ordinance that would have made parental consent mandatory for any minors to check out a work of "adult fiction" from the Tremonton City Library. A city council member who also holds a library board seat actually admitted that he erroneously voted for the ordinance, believing that the board must have approved it. Naturally, the head librarian strenuously objected to this ordinance, correctly citing it as an attack on intellectual freedom. Luckily for Tremonton, the council repealed the ordinance before it ever took legal effect. Furthermore, the council amended their process to require individuals making agenda requests to appear at the meeting and state their cases to prevent future confusion.

This news story caught my attention because it emphasizes the precarious nature of local politics and the hazards they may pose to libraries. As a strong believer in public libraries, I was appalled to realize how easily a city or county council could hamper intellectual freedom. Although this story had a happy ending, other challenges might not be so innocuous. While this ridiculous rule might have been ultimately appealed as unjust, the interim repercussions would have been devastating to that library and its patrons. The Tremonton situation offers a great reminder to all librarians to monitor local politics, to elect competent, invested individuals, and to be prepared to defend intellectual freedom in the public domain.

Link to the original article describing the ordinance:
http://www.standard.net/live/news/171594

Link to the follow-up article explaining its repeal:
http://www.standard.net/live/news/171772

Coming Soon...

Starting this summer, this blog will be my home base for posting about all things regarding intellectual freedom. I am participating in a seminar about that topic and look forward to sharing some news and ideas about the current state of intellectual freedom, especially as it pertains to libraries. See you soon!