Unveiling Perspectives: Navigating Self-Censorship in School Libraries

Jamie A. Becker, M.A., M.Ed.

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Ph.D. Student

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High School Teacher-Librarian

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A Few things to Note:

• I am NOT an expert on the topic
• I do NOT have all the answers
• I am NOT here to judge anyone
• This can be a tough topic, and we all belong here learning together

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TOPICS

• What censorship/self-censorship is
• How it affects students
• Checking for self-censorship within yourself
• Being a champion for intellectual freedoms

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COULD YOU SAY THIS TO YOUR STUDENT?

Said to a 15-year old student who, along with other friends, were looking at bookstores and public libraries for gay and lesbian characters (in books). When he asked his school librarian, he was told:

“This is a school library. If you’re looking to read inappropriate titles, go to a bookstore” (Limited Shelf Life, 2010, as cited in Pierce Garry, 2015, p. 1)

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WHAT IS SELF-CENSORSHIP, ANYWAYS?

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CENSORSHIP VS. SELF-CENSORSHIP

Censorship: An objection is made about a book, usually based on offensive language, sexual content, or age unsuitability, and a complaint is filed to have the book removed

Self-Censorship (AKA Preemptive censorship): the fear that it may happen, and a librarian makes a choice about what to put or not put in their library prior to purchase due to it being of a possible controversial matter. This can be due to external or internal factors

Ex Post Facto Self-Censorship: Decision by a librarian to remove materials after purchase from their collection without going through the reconsideration process, usually to avoid a challenge

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Dawkins, 2018; Hill, 2021; Kimmel & Hartsfield, 2019

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Self-censorship is RARELY reported in censorship data.

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(Fanetti, 2012, as cited in Hartsfield & Kimmel, 2020)

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WHY DO LIBRARIANS SELF-CENSOR?

• Fear of future controversy
• Fear of losing their jobs/not being rehired
• Librarians with less experience more likely to feel this way
• Subject matter of book is “too controversial”
• Perceptions/reactions of community
• Principal/administrator support
• Fear of not being supported in a challenge

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Becnel & Moeller, 2020; Dawkins, 2018; Jacobson, 2016; Sachdeva et al., 2023; Yorio, 2022

“School librarians may choose to exclude controversial content if they perceive their community as rural, conservative, or likely to challenge such choices” (Dawkins, 2018, p. 12)

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WHY BOOKS GET CENSORED

• 87% for sexual situations
• 61% for language
• 51% for depictions of violence
• 47% for LGBTQIA content
• 34% for racist material
• 16% for religious concerns

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Whelan, 2009, as cited in Becnel & Moeller, 2020

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WHY BOOKS GET CENSORED BY LIBRARIANS - DIGGING DEEPER

School librarian comfort level for vs. believed principal’s comfort:

(1-7: 1-extremely comfortable; 7-extremely uncomfortable)

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Dawkins, 2018

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MORE STATS…

• Likely that over 70% of librarians self-censor…
• SLJ reported in 2023 that 75% self-censored based on sexual content…
• Other studies have shown that it could be up to 90% when it comes to elementary & middle school librarians…
• Drops to 75% for high school

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Carlson, 2020; Jacobson, 2016

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SELECTION vs CENSORSHIP

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“Selection begins with a presumption in favor of liberty or thought; censorship, with a presumption in favor of thought control. Selection’s approach to the books is positive, seeking it values in the book as a book, as in the book as a whole. Censorship’s approach is negative, seeking for vulnerable characteristics wherever they can be found – anywhere within the book, or even outside of it.”

Asheim, 1953, as cited in Bencel & Moeller, 2020

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COMPARE:

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booklooks.org

bookresumes.uniteagainstbookbans.org

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WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS?

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WINDOWS, MIRRORS, SLIDING GLASS DOORS

• Books are windows when they offer views of worlds that may be real or imagined
• Books are sliding glass doors when readers only have to walk through in imagination to become a part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author
• Books are mirrors when they transform the human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences

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Bishop, 1990, para. 1

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WINDOWS, MIRRORS, SLIDING GLASS DOORS

“When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part. Our classrooms need to be places where all the children from all the cultures that make up the salad bowl of American society can find their mirrors.”

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Bishop, 1990, para. 4

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DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES

• Removes diverse voices silences those who do not have a dominant identity in American society
• Essentially tells students that they don’t exist
• Or, they are the only ones experiencing this
• Removes the opportunity for students to understand social justices and examine privileges

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Bailey, 2009, as cited in Kimmel & Hartsfield, 2019; Jacobson, 2016; Knox, 2019;

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The Hate U Give author Angie Thomas, regarding the ‘appropriateness’ of her book:

We have to have discussions about police brutality… Honestly, there is a fear among some parents – I’ll just say it: white parents – who say, ‘I’m not sure my child is ready for this. The fact is, black parents are [needing] to have these conversations with their 9- and 10-year-olds about the subject matter in this book. I need white children to be aware of that.’

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Knox, 2019, p. 34

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STRONG LGBTQ+ SECTIONS

• Discourages bullying
• Encourages a more tolerant culture within a school

• Give kids access to books depicting characters and situations that may be unfamiliar to them
• Open the window to understand some of the struggles of peers who identify as queer

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Rauch, 2011, Whelan 2006, as cited in Pierce Garry, 2015

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STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

“I know that a lot of the books here… give us a sense of comfort knowing that this is a safe place, because it’s [LGBTQ] a topic that can be talked about and isn’t taboo… this is something that is normal and is something that is okay because it’s in literature, it’s in books and it’s something that happens, it’s not something we can’t talk about, even if it’s like more “iffy” to talk about.”

-TP, 11th grade

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“If a student finds it [a scene in a book] uncomfortable they will simply skip past it. I’ve done that with various books… If a parent really finds it that offensive that is a talk should be having with their child.”

-NK, 11th grade

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“If we fail to learn how diversity and culture is a positive influence, then we will be stuck in our own ways. And our own ways are not always the best.”

-CB, 10th Grade

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MISSOURI STATE LAW

• Missouri state law subjects librarians to fines and possible prison time for allowing books with ‘sexually explicit’ images on their bookshelves
• More specifically, this is for books with photos, drawings, and other visual depictions - it does NOT include written descriptions of sex or sexual acts
• There are exceptions for anatomy, biology, sex education, art, and other images that are considered ‘educational’

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Ballentine, 2022

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Yes, follow state law.

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Be careful of the slippery slope of sliding into self-censorship…

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DETERMINING YOUR SELECTION PATTERNS

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AKA - AM I SELF-CENSORING?

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YOUR SELECTION PATTERNS

• What are your reasons for selecting, or not selecting books (or other materials) for your library?
• Are your reasonings based on bias or actual reasoning?
• “Lack of funds”
• “No demand”
• Are you looking for a reason to reject a book, or a reason to select a book?

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Coley, 2002; Pierce Garry, 2015

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AVOIDING POSSIBLE CHALLENGES?

• Are you letting community perception determine whether you purchase a material?
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• If you notice a title in your current collection that may, possibly, maybe be challenged, are you removing it (or putting it on a special restricted shelf, “hiding” it in the catalog, etc.”)

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Pierce Garry, 2015; Rickman, 2010

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HOW TO PROTECT AND BE A CHAMPION OF STUDENTS’ RIGHTS

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It’s the responsibility of a library to serve EVERYONE.

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Jacobson, 2016

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SELECTION POLICY

• Have a good, strong, and probably detailed selection and collection development policy in place
• Many have in policy to consult professionally sourced reviews
• Does it include things like state award nominees?

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Jacobson, 2016

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APPRECIATE YOUR ROLE IN THEIR WORLD

• If it [a book] cannot be found in your collection, it may as well not exist. Think about it this way:
• Would you have LGBTQ+ students believe they don’t exist? That they are the only ones that feel the way they do?
• Would you allow victims of sexual abuse feel that they are the only ones who may have ever had that experience?

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Jacobson, 2016

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EDUCATE THE SCHOOL

• Educate faculty, administrators, and even school board members of:
• The legal rights of students
• Arguments for and against book banning
• What types of censorship are currently happening in the city, county, or state
• Various policies regarding book selection
• Librarian's duty to provide access

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Carlson, 2020

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RECOGNIZE STUDENTS’ RIGHTS

• Pre-emptive self-censorship is “Inconsistent with readers’ rights assured in the United States Constitution.” (Pierce Garry, 2015, p. 76)

The 1982 Board of Education, Island Tree Union Free School District vs. Pico

• Ruled that barring students from accessing age-appropriate books because of possible objectionable content violates students’ rights

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Whelan, 2009a, as cited in Pierce Garry, 2015

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THANK YOU!

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Jamie A. Becker, M.A., M.Ed.

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Ph.D. Student

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High School Teacher-Librarian

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REFERENCES

American Library Association. (2024). Banned & Challenged Books . Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

American Library Association. (2023, March 20). Book Ban Data [Text]. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data

Ballentine, S. (2022, August 26). Missouri to ban sexual images in school library books. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/science-entertainment-education-biology-missouri-0fdae848f82c26b67751662801dfe7c9

Becnel, K., & Moeller, R. A. (2020). “I’m conflicted about my shelf of censorship”: High school library graphic novel collection development in North Carolina, USA. School Libraries Worldwide, 26(1), 124–135. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=164209565&site=eds-live

Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. In Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom (Vol. 6, no. 3). https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf

Carlson, C. (2020). The fear of retaliation: Proactive censorship by public school librarians. Michigan Reading Journal, 52(3), 6–14. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=144793540&site=eds-live

Coley, K. P. (2002). Moving toward a method to test for self-censorship by school library media specialists. School Library Media Research, 5. https://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume52002/slmrvolume52002

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REFERENCES

Dawkins, A. M. (2018). The decision by school librarians to self-censor: The impact of perceived administrative discomfort. Teacher Librarian, 45(3), 8–12. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=128027170&site=eds-live

Dawkins, A. M. (2021). Ex post facto self-censorship: When school librarians choose to censor. In Intellectual freedom issues in school libraries (pp. 93–96). Libraries Unlimited.

Hartsfield, D. E., & Kimmel, S. C. (2020). “Please let this be the crassest thing my child reads!”: Exploring community perceptions of challenged children’s literature. Reading Psychology, 41(5), 369–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2020.1768983

Hill, R. (2021). The problem with self-censorship. In Intellectual freedom issues in school libraries (pp. 88–92). Libraries Unlimited.

How it all blew up—Book Reports. (2022). Booklooks.Org. https://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/H/How%20it%20all%20Blew%20up.pdf

How it All Blew Up—Unite Against Book Bans—Book Résumés. (2024). Unite Against Book Bans. https://bookresumes.uniteagainstbookbans.org/how-it-all-blew-up/

Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural Selection. School Library Journal, 62(10), 20–24. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=118573940&site=eds-live

Kimmel, S. C., & Hartsfield, D. E. (2019). “It was . . . the word ‘scrotum’ on the first page”: Educators’ perspectives of controversial literature. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(4), 335–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117751126

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REFERENCES

Knox, E. J. M. (2019). Silencing stories: Challenges to diverse books. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI), 3(2). https://doi.org/10.33137/ijidi.v3i2.32592

Pierce Garry, C. (2015). Selection or censorship? School librarians and LGBTQ resources. School Libraries Worldwide, 21(1), 73–90. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=102442730&site=eds-live

Reck, J. (2022). Uncover the mirrors. Young Adult Library Services, 20(3/4), 48–52. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=173135402&site=eds-live

Rickman, W. (2010). A study of self-censorship by school librarians. School Library Media Research, 13, 1–21. https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=126492386&site=eds-live

Sachdeva, D. E., Kimmel, S. C., & Chérres, J. S. (2023). “It’s bigger than just a book challenge”: A collective case study of educators’ experiences with censorship. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 125(6), 30–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681231184515

Yorio, K. (2022, October 18). After her book displays drew criticism, librarian Elissa Malespina lost her job. She’s here to say “I’m not ok with this.” School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/After-Her-Book-Displays-Drew-Criticism-Librarian-Elissa-Malespina-Lost-Her-Job-Shes-Here-to-Say-Im-Not-OK-with-This

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