by Heather Moorefield-Lang and Ida Mae Craddock, March 2022

It seems every day in the 2021-2022 school year we've been reading about a new list of banned books or a new book being challenged at a school board meeting. As a school librarian and a professor of school librarianship, we are constantly concerned for our peers in the field and the challenges they might face in their libraries. This column is focused on digital resources that might be useful in the face of book challenges and censorship.

Selection and Reconsideration Toolkit

The first resource I recommend to my students is the Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries from ALA. This toolkit was created by a committee of librarians, library directors, and library science professors. It is a user-friendly kit complete with letter samples, policy creation examples, procedures, documents on intellectual freedom, and so much more. It is available online and is one of the most comprehensive toolkits out there while also being very short and to the point. If you haven't already bookmarked or saved this kit, make sure to check it out at https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/selectionpolicytoolkit.

Cooperative Children's Book Center

The CCBC is brought to you by the School of Education of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is a wonderful collection of ideas on books and expertise in the area of children's and young adult literature. CCBC also offers a selection of resources on intellectual freedom. They offer an intellectual freedom forum to help librarians and their peer educators prepare for challenges complete with sample answers, conversations, and ideas for situations as they happen in the field. There is a page on Steps to Take When Materials Are Challenged, which is well laid out and very intuitive. CBCC also offers a nice selection of resources for future reading. If you're looking for more advice and ideas in the areas of intellectual freedom, challenges, and censorship, definitely take a look at the Cooperative Children's Book Center. You can find it at: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/.

Office for Intellectual Freedom

When it comes to challenges, intellectual freedom, and censorship resources your one-stop shop comes down to ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. There is such a wealth of information here that is being continuously updated. Our personal favorite is the OIF YouTube channel. This channel has webinars as well as guest speakers and authors speaking out against banning books, offering training on censorship, and so much more. There is also a form to report censorship efforts; the OIF wants to hear from librarians and their peer educators. The 2021-2022 school year had a momentous amount of censorship attempts. There is a good chance that the 2022-2023 school year will bring its share of challenges as well; and OIF will be there to help. The OIF also offers a wealth of information through their blog, publications, programming, and resources. You don't have to be a member of the American Library Association to access all of this great information. Check it all out at https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif.

When in Doubt…

Challenges are tough. Book challenges can also be really lonely and it's hard when you are the person in school standing up for the rights of your students to read (Adams, DaNae, and Venuto 2015). Standing up for voices to be represented, to oppose parents, administrators, and school boards is hard and it's lonely. When in doubt, know that you are not alone. Always remember you have peers in the field going through the exact same thing. You have professors that support you. Know that you have a state library or school library association that can help you. Always remember you have national support as well. The Office for Intellectual Freedom is ready and available to answer questions and provide assistance to librarians, trustees, and educators on selection and reconsideration policies. Just some of the areas of assistance include policy development, state laws, and professional ethics. You can get in touch with OIF via email to oif@ala.org or via phone at (312) 280-4226.

Work Cited

Adams, Helen, DaNae Leu, and Dee Ann Venuto. "Standing by Their Principles: Two Librarians Who Faced Challenges." Knowledge Quest 44, no. 1 (2015): 42-47.