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Book Challenges: "Is this appropriate?"

Use this guide as a resource to help you navigate your way through a book challenge or understand more about the process.

What is appropriate?

If a teacher, parent, students, or support staff member has a question on library resources, it should always be directed to the divisional librarian (if your school has more than one librarian). 

Advocate for your own knowledge regarding the right of all students to access information and promote that part of your job to others in the school. 

Receiving a Concern: A Phone Call

When a librarian receives a complaint, the first step is a conversation; NOT an email. Make time to call or set up a face to face. 

As hard as it can be at times, be patient and listen without judging. Listen and do not agree or disagree. A parent is rarely questioning a book but rather how to deal with hard or unexpected conversations with his/her child. 

Try to identify what they are concerned about and offer alternative solutions or points such as: 

  • Thank them for taking the time to be diligent and careful with their child(ren). Acknowledge that it sounds like a conversation they were not ready to have. 
  • Encourage parents to always tell their children if the book they are reading is not a good fit. Use the opportunity to talk about a family's expectations and to put a book down. 
  • Explain that the library serves many students and families and [insert number of books] in the collection. We try to guide and navigate students to age appropriate resources but it is always up to families to choose what is best for their own values. We hope and rely on parents to determine, when reading with their children, to stop reading. 
  • The library program works to teach students how to find and choose a good fit book and this is natural part of the journey. 
  • Explain the library selection policy. 
  • The library does not pre-select/manage books for students as we support student choice. There are not separate shelves for [whatever topic the parent is complaining about.]
  • Not every book by every author is right for every child. 
  • A library represents access to information and viewpoints. Our school community is diverse and so is our library collection. Parents have every right to decide if books are not the right fit for their own family. They do not have the right to decide other children and families will not find value in the book. Define and be clear that that is called censorship. 
  • If a parent feels strongly enough, and this does not answer his/her concern, then offer to make a note on the students' account to steer them away from the topic/author/subject the parent feels strongly about. 

ALA | Libraries Transform

ALA: Transforming Libraries | Challenging Ideas

Unresolved?

 

If the phone call or conversation does not resolve the concern, the next step is to send the parent(s) the 'Reconsideration of Library Materials' form. 

In other words, the process becomes more formal. See example below from the ALA (as well as the linked PDF).

 

 

 

 

Receipt of the Form

After receiving the form back from the parent, you do need to acknowledge receipt. See a sample from ALA below.