Censorship and the case for institutional literacy

The plague of censorship infecting its way through the nation has reached the halls of Congress, with two congressional hearings putting librarians in the hot seat. Historically beloved by students and parents alike, school librarians in particular are under attack for doing their jobs. Under the guise of “parental rights,” some vocal and well-funded groups accuse librarians of failing to “protect” kids from certain books and ideas and for allegedly disrespecting parental rights.

Accusations stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of school libraries, how they function and the role of certified school librarians. The process of book selection, organization and lending in school libraries needs to be demystified so parents can understand they actually have a great deal of agency in selecting books for their children to read.

School libraries are spaces for voluntary First Amendment exploration by students, as ruled in Pico v. Island Trees Union Free School District (1982). Books in school libraries are student-selected, not teacher-directed. If a book is not to a student’s or parent’s liking, there are thousands of other options. As in public libraries, conscientious parents can do what they have done for decades: Consult the online catalogs and sit down with a librarian. Libraries offer guidance on how to use online catalogs and interpret book summaries, allowing families to make informed decisions for their own children, whatever their age.

The core value of librarianship is to respect the individual reading choices of each family while providing a collection relevant to all students. High school libraries often have books with sexual or controversial content such as sexual assault, drug use and violence because they are relevant to the issues their readers are navigating. What one family finds “inappropriate” may be exactly what another student needs to see themselves reflected in a story.

Professional school librarians aim to provide a diverse collection to satisfy a diverse array of student interests and their communities. Reading books with a broad range of perspectives — even and especially those we don’t agree with — promotes student achievement and contributes to the wellbeing of students and communities. Library challenges predominantly target books by or about people in LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) communities. These prejudices, no matter how widely held, have no place in a library. Parents have the right to decide what their children read, but that right extends only to their family, not others. Libraries support this individual right and assist families in making informed choices.

Contrary to the notion that certain books are being forced upon younger students, school libraries are generally divided by grade levels. Even in combined middle/high schools, librarians use catalog flags or separate shelving areas to guide appropriate selections. With collections often numbering around 10,000 books, it’s unrealistic to expect librarians to read every book before acquiring it. Rather, they rely on practices such as consulting professional reviews, following known authors, seeking trusted publishers and responding to student and parent requests.

Nearly every library in the nation has district policies and review processes to correct misplacements. Problems arise when external groups weaponize the review process. Instead of genuine engagement from parents, organized campaigns are creating chaos through intimidation and threats. According to the American Library Association, the largest contributor to the rise in attempts to censor reading material is demand for the removal or restriction of multiple titles at once. In 2021, there were no such cases. In the first eight months of 2023, nine in 10 book challenges were part of an attempt to censor multiple titles, and cases documenting a challenge to 100 or more books were reported in 11 states.

While school librarians are responsive professionals that take authentic concerns seriously, book challenges are also costly in terms of time and resources. The cost of sourcing books to ensure all review committee members can read the materials runs into the hundreds of dollars — let alone the cost of time for reading, discussing, reconsidering and reshelving. Book removals contested in courts are found to be clear violations of federal civil rights protections. Schools, librarians, classroom teachers, students and parents all bear the cost.

Controversies surrounding school libraries and librarians are rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of their mission and practices. Professional librarians, widely credited for fostering a love of reading and literacy, now find ourselves having to cultivate institutional literacy for vocal groups and individuals who are challenging books and the very libraries that get children excited about reading.

Librarians strive to ensure that every child finds themselves represented on their shelves. The choice to engage with that story remains a personal family decision. But discarding someone else’s story is not the answer.

Christopher Harris is a school library administrator and senior policy fellow for the American Library Association.