The F-Word: What to Do When Cussing Appears on the Printed Page | Scales on...
What to do when cussing appears on the printed page A 10th-grade English teacher received an advanced reader’s copy of a novel, and she’d like me to purchase it when it’s available. While thumbing...
View ArticleBetter Safe Than Sorry: Does Your Library Have an Online Acceptable-use...
I heard a speaker say the Supreme Court had ruled that as long as schools and other public entities have CIPA safeguards in place, they can’t be sued if a minor accesses an “inappropriate” Web site....
View ArticleThe Parent Trap: How to Handle a Group of Witch-hunting Grown-ups | Scales on...
A parent who objected to one of the titles in an eighth-grade classroom collection has recruited a group of parents to search for other “objectionable” titles in the teacher’s collection. I’m the...
View ArticleHave No Fear: Don’t Be Frightened by Book Challenges—Be Prepared | Scales on...
Don’t be frightened by book challenges—be prepared I live in fear that someone will challenge one of our books. I’m not very confident about dealing with censorship because I didn’t have a single...
View ArticleJust Say No: It’s essential for librarians to resist censorship | Scales on...
One of our parents returned from a religious retreat with a 10-page list of books that elementary school children shouldn’t read. When she asked me to remove them from the library, I said, “No.” Now...
View ArticlePolicy Buster | Scales on Censorship
Is it legal for an administrator to make sweeping changes? What happens to challenged books after they’ve been removed from a library collection? Are they ever returned to the collection? Or are they...
View ArticleHello Madduh, Hello Faddah | Scales on Censorship
Fielding parents’ complaints about summer reading programs We just passed out information about our public library’s summer reading program, and a parent has already complained because it excludes...
View ArticleThrough the Wringer | Scales on Censorship
As a boy approached our circulation desk with a copy of Jerry Spinelli’s Wringer, his mother grabbed it and said, “I just checked reviews of that book on my iPhone, and I think there’s sexual content...
View ArticleAvoidance Behavior: Moving children’s books to the teen collection is the...
We’ve always kept Robie Harris’s books in our children’s room. But after a mother complained about them, our public library director asked us to put the titles in our teen collection. Although I was...
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Library Police: Who Determines What Is “Appropriate”? | Scales on Censorship
I always buy the Caldecott Medal winner and Honor Books for my elementary school library, and I was appalled to discover This One Summer (First Second, 2014) by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki [among the...
View ArticleWhen Colleagues Need Clarification About Restricting Books | Scales on...
As a K−6 elementary school librarian, I frequently hear other librarians debate the question: What grade level do you let borrow the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (Abrams) and “Captain Underpants”...
View ArticleIt’s About Choice: Tactics for Fostering Intellectual Freedom | Scales on...
Our public library is making program plans for Banned Books Week that target adult patrons, but the director also wants at least one program for children. We have done things for middle school and teen...
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Open Door Policy for All Students | Scales on Censorship
A parent has challenged my policy that K–5 students may not come to the library until second semester. I do take a cart of books to the K–5 classrooms, but this parent wants his son to have access to...
View ArticleFresh Alternatives Build Engagement | Scales on Censorship
My students are very enthusiastic and sometimes competitive readers. Last year our first graders became obsessed with Diary of a Wimpy Kid but the books were really above the reading level of most of...
View ArticleAssessing Controversial Books | Scales on Censorship
You previously made reference to FactsonFiction.org, a site that labels books that have controversial content, and I can’t find it. Please advise. Thankfully, it appears that the site no longer exists....
View ArticleCourting Controversy? | Scales on Censorship
Have you known of a teacher who taught a book for the purpose of getting it challenged? I suspect it happens, but I’ve never had anyone write to me and tell me that they intentionally wanted to create...
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When a Volunteer Oversteps | Scales on Censorship
A parent volunteer in my high school library saw a sign in a local used bookstore that said, “Warning to parents about all Ellen Hopkins’s books.” Hopkins is one of the students’ favorite writers, and...
View ArticleWhen Book Sharing Backfires|Scales on Censorship
I will finish my library degree this summer and would like to work in a school library. I’ve interviewed with three principals. I asked about the school district’s selection policy, and none knew of...
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Mock Election Worries | Scales on Censorship
The principal of my high school told the social studies teachers that the school couldn’t hold a mock presidential election this year. He fears complaints because of the vitriolic rhetoric from the...
View ArticleBlack Lives Matter; Syrian Refugees | Scales on Censorship
Our high school students are very concerned about the police brutality in some cities in the nation. They are interested in marching with Black Lives Matter, but our principal doesn’t want the faculty...
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