School Library Jounral RSS School Library Journal en_us Fri, 17 May 2013 17:29:19 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.rss.XMLServer.cls Illustration by Brian Stauffer When Barry Lyga finished writing his second young adult novel, he knew there'd be trouble. After all, Boy Toy was about a 12-year-old who has sex with a beautiful teacher twice his age, and Lyga expected it to spark letters ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856811-341/a_dirty_little_secret_self-censorship.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 416224@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 14 May 2013 17:29:16 A local church recently asked me to display a brochure about its vacation Bible school in our public school library. I refused because that would violate the separation between church and state. Our principal attends the church, and some of its members... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/894716-341/separating_church__state_is.html.csp Censorship 914006@eschoolibraryjournal.com Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:24:03 Our fourth and fifth graders (and a few third graders) have been asking for The Hunger Games. I love the novel, but it’s not in our elementary school’s library collection because it’s a YA book. I think my students would enjoy reading it when they’re a... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/894163-341/how_low_can_you_go.html.csp Censorship 893510@eschoolibraryjournal.com Fri, 25 May 2012 17:23:22 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 and violence.” They got into a tug-of-war, and I did... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/891621-341/through_the_wringer.html.csp Censorship 807468@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:19:21 We just passed out information about our public library’s summer reading program, and a parent has already complained because it excludes 12-year-olds. She thinks this is a form of censorship. What’s your advice? I assume that your summer reading progr... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/890949-341/hello_madduh_hello_faddah.html.csp Censorship 785191@eschoolibraryjournal.com Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:17:52 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 I’m afraid she’ll rally other parents behind her. Wha... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/889136-341/just_say_no_its_essential.html.csp Josephine Marc-Anthony Censorship 723041@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:15:51 Rick Riordan loves flavoring his mythological-based tales of Ancient Greece and Egypt with a heavy dose of educational spice, sending his young readers racing for forgotten tomes in their libraries. We catch up with the adored author and former English te... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/885597-341/rick_riordan_on_his_latest.html.csp Debra Whelan Censorship 613278@eschoolibraryjournal.com Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:15:25 Ann Brashares may have imagined a sisterhood of girl talk, romantic angst, and friendship-but one mother in Fond du Lac, WI, believes her child, and potentially others, shouldn't experience this relationship until high school.'I know some parents want the... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/885050-341/ann_brasharesaposs_sisterhood_series_under.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 585262@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 It looks like Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning Number the Stars (Houghton, 1989) may be caughtin the middle of an international storm between the United States and Turkey. Lowry wrote in a blog postdated March 9 that she received a troubling letter fro... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884955-341/lowrys_number_the_stars_in.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 584784@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Lauren Myracle's hugely popular ttyl (Abrams) series-written entirely in IM format-tops the American Library Association's Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009, with complaints ranging from offensive language to nudity contained in... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884830-341/myracleaposs_aposttylapos_series_tops_alaaposs.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 584157@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Dixie Fechtel wants to know the kinds of books her daughters check out of the local public library's YA section. That's why the Leesburg, FL, mom of two is pushing for labels on any book aimed at teens containing material that refer to illegal acts or wha... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884796-341/florida_mom_wants_ya_librarybooks.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 584018@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 For years I've worked at a school that serves seventh and eighth graders. But recently, we've also added sixth grade. For the first time in my career, I feel as though I'm guilty of self-censoring. Some of the books that were fine for eighth graders, like... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884772-341/mature_content_to_label_or.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 583850@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A book about slam poetry and the history of spoken word has come under fire in Abilene, TX,where a parent and the Abilene School District's superintendent both have questions regarding the language and content of the title, along with its placement in loc... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884764-341/slam_poetry_book_raises_ire.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 583833@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 error: ERROR #6901: XSLT XML Transformer Error: SAXParseException: Expected entity name for reference (, line 4, column 10676)... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884753-341/how_i_corrupted_americas_youth.html.csp Dan Gutman Censorship 583787@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A coalition of free speech groups is protesting the recent banning of the book Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (Alyson) from New Jersey's Rancocas Valley High School library following a complaint by a conservative group.Leaders... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884661-341/free_speech_groups_protest_glbt.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 583286@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 If you're planning to attend this week's BookExpo America conference in the Big Apple, don't forget to order theater tickets. Adam Rapp's Off Broadway play, The Metal Children, deals with a subject that's sure to resonate with many librarians-the banning ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/884614-341/adam_rapp_amplsquothe_metal_childrenapos.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 583069@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/864119-341/amplsquosandpiperapos_to_remain_on_library.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 452803@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/864072-341/king_amp_king_goes_back.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 452568@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Young people'sauthors like Rodman Philbrick, Chris Crutcher, and Christopher Paul Curtis are rallying behind a California librarian who allegedly lost his job over a disputed book.In a letter dated November 20, librarian Richie Partington, best known for ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/864071-341/ya_authors_rally_behind_fired.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 452563@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Oprah Winfrey's move last week to withdraw her recommendation of The Education of Little Tree (Delacorte, 1976), an award-winning young adult novel by Forrest Carter, has ignited controversy within library circles, with an outspoken professor of library s... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863977-341/chelton_accuses_alaaposs_president_of.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 452094@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A U.K. high court judge says Al Gore's film about global warming could be distributed to schools only if teachers issue a warning before showing it to students, reports the BBC and the Daily Mail.The judge says that Gore's film, 'An Inconvenient Truth,'; ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863823-341/u.k._judge_al_goreaposs_global.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 451324@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The St. Louis County Library in Missouri says it believes a patron recently created an unauthorized YA book display of controversial books-and then accused the library of distributing pornographic materials to minors.Alocal resident allegedly pulled books... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863806-341/st._louis_library_accuses_patron.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 451239@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 When a Smyrna High School official in Tennessee prohibited student Dani Super from wearing a "Free the Jena Six" T-shirt to school on September 20, the move may have seemed like a case of outright censorship.But it wasn't.Rutherford County school administ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863795-341/aclu_banning_of_aposfree_the.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 451183@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A question about whether a book dealing with same-sex marriages should be available to children may have gotten mixed responses from presidential hopefuls-but most librarians say these kinds of titles are essential to learning."Librarians are able to broa... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863790-341/librarians_weigh_in_on_a.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 451158@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Lewiston Public Library in Maine is expecting several donations of Robie Harris's It's Perfectly Normal (Candlewick, 1994), thanks to the actions of a local woman who refuses to return the book because she's 'horrified'; by its graphic content.David M... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863725-341/maine_woman_swipes_sex_guide.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 450833@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision that Alaska school officials did not violate a student's free speech by suspending him for acontroversial banner is a setback but not a serious loss for student rights, say First Amendment experts from the legal an... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863417-341/supreme_courtaposs_free_speechdecisionis_a.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 449293@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Although the Wake County Public Library system in Raleigh, NC, is seeing positive results since blocking MySpace.com in March, a North Carolina officer of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it was the wrong move.The Wake County library imposed... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863310-341/wake_county_nc_public_library.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 448758@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863305-341/prep_school_teacher_fired_for.html.csp Censorship 448733@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863285-341/illinois_filtering_bill_fails_to.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 448635@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Readers of the new Chinese version of World Book Encyclopedia are in for some major changes. For one, it makes no mention of the 1989 government crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the arrest of Falun Gong protesters in 1999. And it also says Taiwan isn't a... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863230-341/chinese_aposworld_bookapos_omits_tiananmen.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 448359@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863229-341/webster_ny_school_district_rethinks.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 448354@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Readers of the new Chinese version of World Book Encyclopedia are in for some major changes. For one, it makes no mention of the 1989 government crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the arrest of Falun Gong protesters in 1999. And it also says Taiwan isn't a... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863224-341/chinese_aposworld_bookapos_omits_tiananmen.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 448328@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863185-341/quotand_tango_makes_threequot_prompts.html.csp Censorship 448134@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863163-341/wi_school_district_bans_sixth-graders.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 448024@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/863157-341/sniffing_nail_polish_remover_leads.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 447993@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 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 through her copy, I spotted the F-word on one of its pages. Now I'm worried about buying the book for our scho... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/860298-341/the_f-word_what_to_do.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 433693@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Why did someone at New Rochelle High School in Westchester, NY, tear out a chapter dealing with oral sex from Susan Kaysen's Girl Interrupted (Turtle Bay, 1993)?'The material was of a sexual nature that we deemed inappropriate for teachers to present to t... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/860250-341/ny_high_school_interrupts_amplsquogirl.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 433453@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 What's it like at Alaska's Wasilla Public Library 12 years after Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin (then Wasilla mayor)asked former library director Mary Jane Baker about the book-banning process? Library Journal finds out fromdirector KJ (... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859923-341/lj_talks_to_wasilla_public.html.csp Norman Oder Censorship 431817@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 There's nothing like a good vampire novel to draw concern - and Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight series (Little, Brown, 2005) is no exception.After noticing the large number of students requesting the books from the middle school library, Julia Ger... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859888-341/ca_district_reinstates_apostwilightapos_books.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 431643@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Aconservative Christian organization recently rallied outside a Fairfax County high schoolin Virginia to protest the decision by high school librarians to reject donated books, some of which argued against same-sex marriage.'This was simply about freedom ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859881-341/va_school_librarians_reject_donated.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 431606@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 From LibraryJournal.com: Given the controversy over the gay-themed titles that allegedly raised the ire of some Wasilla, AK, residents, and the inquiries by then-Mayor Sarah Palin about the library's procedure for banning books, LJ decided to ask a vetera... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859868-341/veteran_ak_childrenaposs_librariantalks_aboutbookbanning.html.csp Norman Oder Censorship 431541@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Mary Ellen Baker, the librarian at the center of the Sarah Palin book-banning controversy, may not be talking to the press, but librarians around the country are voicing their concerns about having an alleged censor on the Republican ticket-through a blog... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859703-341/library_blog_blasts_palin.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 430714@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The city of Lewiston, ME, has decided not to pursue further prosecution of a woman who refused to return a library book on sex education she calls obscene.JoAn Karkos still has to pay a fine of $100 and is barred from the Lewiston Public Library, but she ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859702-341/no_jail_for_me_woman.html.csp Norman Oder Censorship 430710@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Interested in finding out what other librarians and bookstores are doing during Banned Books Week? You're in luck.The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the American Library Association (ALA) have just launched a Web siteto he... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859619-341/new_banned_books_week_web.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 430294@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) has been struck down again. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has upheld a lower court ban on the controversial law, which would criminalize constitutionally protected speech on the Internet.In ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859477-341/federal_court_rules_copa_unconstitutional.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 429585@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 J. K. Rowling added her name to the long electronic petition on NoToAgeBanding.org, alongside other heavyweights in the business such as Anthony Horowitz, Terry Pratchett, and Alan Garner. Illustrators of children's literature, including Quentin Blake, An... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859467-341/harry_potter_for_all_ages.html.csp Amrisa Niranjan Censorship 429535@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Fighting Ground (Lippincott, 1984) by Newbery Award-winning author Avi was banned from all elementary library shelves at Florida's Bay District Schools in Panama City.The school board voted 3 to 2 to remove the book, even though a review committee dis... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859389-341/avi_book_banned.html.csp Censorship 429144@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Every year, the PTA sponsors a book fair at our middle school. Lately they haven't been pleased with the selections they've received from the book-fair company. Although I'm the school librarian, I'm never included in the selection process. But when the b... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859374-341/scales_on_censorship_the_good.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 429069@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Fighting Ground (Lippincott, 1984) by Newbery Award-winning author Avi was banned last week from all elementary library shelves at Florida's Bay District Schools in Panama City.The school board voted 3-2 to remove the book, despite a review committee'... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859323-341/florida_school_district_bans_avi.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 428814@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Menasha Board of Ed in Wisconsin recently decided that a profanity-laced book documenting hip-hop culture will remain in a limited-access area of the Maplewood Middle School library.The board decision was in response to a request by parent Guy Hegg, w... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859253-341/menasha_wi_school_library_can.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 428465@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Toronto District School Board recently withdrew author and lecturer Barbara Coloroso's Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide (Penguin, 2007) from a high school curriculum after it was deemed inappropriate.The book, which details genocide in ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859198-341/genocide_book_removed_from_toronto.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 428190@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A Missouri mother who allegedly created a MySpace account and used it to cyber-bully a 13-year-old girl who later committed suicide should not have been indicted by the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, says an Internet public interest group.Calling ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859183-341/cdt_balks_at_myspace_mom.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 428115@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 For the second year in a row, And Tango Makes Three tops the American Library Association's "10 Most Challenged Books" annual list.The 2007 list, which tracks challenges made to school and public libraries, then filed with the ALA, includes three new entr... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859132-341/apostangoapos_tops_most_challenged_list.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 427859@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 I've written books for young readers for more than two decades, and I once ran an imprint that published edgy titles, like Gary Nash's Forbidden Love (1999), which is about America's secret history of race relations, and Judd Winick's Pedro and Me (2000, ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859041-341/consider_the_source_star_power.html.csp Marc Aronson Censorship 427404@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 When I was in high school, I don't remember anyone ever challenging the books we read in English class. Why has there been a sudden increase in the number of challenges? And what do I tell our English teachers who've become 'gun-shy'; about selecting book... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/859039-341/scales_on_censorship_whataposs_going.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 427395@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 If you're a librarian in Oklahoma, Internet safety organizations need your help. The reason: Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has placed a "hold" on a Senate bill that would authorize $50 million over a five-year period for Internet Safety crime prevention educa... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858865-341/oklahoma_senator_blocks_internet_safety.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 426524@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A parent of a fourth grader recently asked if it was appropriate to have Judy Blume's Blubber in our collection. I was totally shocked. Why are people still getting riled up over that book?Blubber (Atheneum, 1982) has long been one of Judy Blume's most ch... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858746-341/scales_on_censorship_parochial_thinking.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 425931@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 "Ineffective'; and 'unconstitutional" are some of the unflattering terms two First Amendment watchdog groups use to describe a new crop of congressional bills that aim to protect children on the Internet. To make sure librarians, educators, parents, and p... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858675-341/first_amendment_groupsconcerned_about_proposed.html.csp Joan Oleck Censorship 425575@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 I was surprised to discover that my new school district doesn't have a library policy, especially since we're considering unblocking some social networking sites. I'm especially troubled that there's no Internet-use policy. After meeting with our other li... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858462-341/the_blame_game_if_a.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 424509@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A lesson on censorship took a disapproving turn after parents complained about a middle school librarian who used profanity and wrote it on a board during a lesson on controversial books.Parents complained when the school librarian at Athey Creek Middle S... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858450-341/school_librarian_takes_heat_for.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 424449@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The West Bend Community Memorial Library, located just outside of Milwaukee, WI, is makingnews again-but this time it's being honored for defending intellectual freedom in the face of a library challenge that gained national attention earlier this year.Li... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858445-341/west_bend_community_memorial_library.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 424424@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The superintendent of Kentucky's Montgomery County Schoolshas removed several controversial YA novels that were being used along with classics like Beowulf and Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in some sophomore and senior accelerated English classes.His rea... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858413-341/kyaposs_montgomery_county_removes_select.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 424265@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Following the firing of two of its circulation staffers for barring an 11-year-old access to the graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier (Wildstorm, 2008), the Jessamine County Library in Kentucky has re-catalogued and moved it... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858412-341/ky_library_relocates_graphic_novels.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 424260@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Two Sioux Falls, SD, middle schools have pulled Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age (Viking, 2007) from their general collections, giving only teachers access to the graphic novel anthology but not its intended audience: students.The Sio... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858354-341/south_dakota_middle_schools_pull.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 423969@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 School board members in Miami have won their fight to keep Vamos a Cuba (Heineman, 2001) off school library shelves because the book paints too rosy a picture of life in the communist nation.The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week declined to take up the... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858301-341/fl_school_board_wins_battle.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 423704@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Only juniors and seniors at Virginia's Roanoke County Public Schools can check out Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999), but freshman and sophomores will need parental permission to take out the often-challenged book, ruled a revi... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858281-341/roanoke_public_schools_restricts_aposthe.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 423604@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Illinois Family Institute (IFI), a conservative organization dedicated to upholding and reaffirming marriage and family life, has called for a boycott of Scholastic following the company's decision to include Lauren Myracle's controversial Luv Ya Bunc... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858264-341/conservative_group_calls_for_boycott.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 423519@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999) is in trouble again-and this time it's been removed from shelves as it goes through the review process outlined by Virginia's Roanoke County Public Schools.'At this point, the review process is... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858224-341/roanoke_schools_temporarily_removes_amplsquoperks.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 423320@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Two circulation staffersat the Jessamine County Public Library (JCPL) in Nicholasville, KY, have lost their jobs for refusing to let an 11-year-old girl check out a book in the graphic novel series "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Their reasoning?... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858221-341/ky_library_fires_circ_staffers.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 423304@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Scholastic has reversed its decision to censor Lauren Myracle's controversial Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) from school book fairs and will make a slightly sanitized version of the title available at middle schools in spring 2010. The novel, howeve... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858188-341/scholastic_to_sell_aposluv_ya.html.csp Rocco Staino and Debra Lau Whel Censorship 423139@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A parent of one of our eighth graders came into the library and began pulling books off our shelves. She ended up stacking 15 books on the circulation desk-including The Giver, The Chocolate War, Monster, and Looking for Alaska-and demanded that we perman... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858147-341/when_weeding_is_wrong_a.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 422934@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) this week celebrated 35 years of defending free speech with a gala ceremony honoring celebrated author Judy Blume.Judy Blume (left) with actress Rachel Dratch. The event brought together a host of writers, ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858135-341/national_coalition_against_censorship_honors.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 422875@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Don't expect to seeLauren Myracle's new book Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) at Scholastic school book fairs this year. It's been censored-at least for now-due to its language and homosexual content.Luv Ya Bunches, about four elementary school girls ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858129-341/scholasticcensors_myracleaposs_amplsquoluv_ya_bunchesapos.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 422844@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Seems like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005) series is a lightening rod for ire.Just in time for Banned Books Week brings word that the popular vampire series is being cast out of schools-this time in some Australian elementary schools-with... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/858020-341/apostwilightapos_catches_heat_in_time.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 422300@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Young adult author Ellen Hopkins was recently banned from speaking at Whittier Middle School in Norman, OK, following a parental complaint over one of her books, a semiautobiographical account of her daughter's battle with a crystal meth addiction.YA auth... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857974-341/ya_author_hopkins_banned_from.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 422069@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857968-341/andersonaposs_books_stir_controversy_leading.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 422039@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The recent book-banning controversy over Tintin au Congo (Little, Brown, 2005) at New York's Brooklyn Public Library is yet another reminder of the importance of Banned Books Week, an event in which thousands nationwide will read from banned or challenged... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857900-341/celebrate_banned_books_week_september.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 421699@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Tintin, the 80 year old Belgian comic book character, is in trouble again-but this time it's a book banning controversy.A public outcry of censorship began after the New York Times recently reported that the New York's Brooklyn Public Library had removed ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857846-341/tintin_in_the_hot_seat.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 421432@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 I'm about to replace an elementary school librarian who has had the job for 35 years. When I visited the school, I noticed that the picture books and fiction were shelved on the bottom three shelves, and nonfiction was shelved on the top shelves. When I i... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857828-341/high_standards_when_books_are.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 421340@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit against two Tennessee school districts for agreeing to stop using Internet filters that block access to information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues (LGBT). The Metropolitan Nashville Public Scho... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857789-341/tn_school_district_dumps_filters.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 421139@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 As part of a program for young people, we'd like to adapt a children's book for Readers' Theater. The resulting script will be presented in a school or public library. I've come across a lot of helpful tips on how to transform a book into script, but I ha... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857722-341/a_new_script_can_works.html.csp Carrie Russell Censorship 420804@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Story from Publishers Weekly: Fifteen years ago, critics accused Time magazine of racism when it darkened O.J. Simpson's mug shot. Fast forward to the latest cover-and-race controversy: bloggers are making similar charges against Bloomsbury Children's Boo... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857703-341/justine_larbalestieraposs_cover_girl.html.csp Karen Springen Censorship 420709@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Washington, DC, school district that had previously scrubbed gay-themed books from its summer reading list has restoredall of thetitles following objections from librarians and the capital's gay and lesbian community.The District of Columbia Public Sc... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857627-341/dc_school_district_restores_gay-themed.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 420329@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 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 course about it in library school. Now that I'm an elementary school librarian, I feel that my library school ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857579-341/have_no_fear_donapost_be.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 420089@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857576-341/glbt_titles_scrubbed_from_dc.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 420075@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Famed authors Toni Morrison and Fran Lebowitz gathered at a New York City cocktail party last week to talk about book banning-in libraries, schools, and stores. Joan Bertin (from left), executive director of theNational Coalition Against Censorship, Toni ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857524-341/morrison_lebowitz_blume_talk_censorship.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 419815@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Access to online information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues has been restored to dozens of Tennessee schools.The move comes just weeks after a school librarian, three high school students, and the American Civil Liberties Unio... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857520-341/tn_schools_ends_censorship_of.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 419794@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A list of sexually explicit and gay-themed titles will remain on the YA shelves of Wisconsin's West Bend Community Library following the board's unanimous vote to reject efforts by local parents to restrict access to those books.Jim and Ginny Maziarka. 'L... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857518-341/wiaposs_west_bend_library_board.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 419784@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A media specialist and several high school students are suing two school districts in Tennessee for unconstitutionally blocking access to online information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues.Librarian Karyn Stort-Brinks, students... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857440-341/tennessee_districts_sued_for_blocking.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 419395@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The four board members of Wisconsin's West Bend Community Memorial Public Library who were likely to vote against moving sexually explicit YA books to the adult section won't be reinstated-a move that the library'sdirector finds disturbing.In a vote of 5-... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857438-341/west_bend_city_council_fails.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 419384@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 'Are you there, God? It's me, the anti choice extremist who sent a death threat to Judy Blume'; is a tweet circulating on Twitter. This came after the National Planned Parenthood Organization reported that Blume, the iconic children's author, is receiving... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857376-341/judy_blumeaposs_support_for_planned.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 419067@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The library board that's supposed to determine the fate of a major book challenge at Wisconsin's West Bend Community Memorial Public Libraryis having a hard time doing its job. That's because the city's Common Council just got rid of four board members fo... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857364-341/wisconsin_library_challenge_heats_up.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 419006@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Like many of you, I became a librarian after the profession had been significantly shaped by Judith Krug. In fact, Krug, who died last month, had an influence on American librarianship that was so profound and far-reaching it was easy to take her contribu... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857299-341/the_ultimate_role_model_remembering.html.csp Brian Kenney, Editor-in-Chief Censorship 418681@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 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 school's librarian, and I'm afraid those parents may be he... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857296-341/the_parent_trap_how_to.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 418666@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 For the third year in a row, a picture book about two male penguins who care for an orphaned egg has topped the American Library Association's Top 10 list of the most frequently challenged books.Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell's award-winning And Tang... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857276-341/gay_penguins_top_alaaposs_most.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 418566@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A school librarian and two high school students from Tennessee have sought the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, saying that their school district has blocked access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issue... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857260-341/aclu_asks_tennessee_schools_to.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 418486@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 A magazine cover of a woman holding a gun has led a middle school principal to pull it from the media center, over the objection of the librarian.In September, Brian Sharosky, principal of Roxboro Middle School in Cleveland Heights, OH, confiscated the No... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/857131-341/nintendo_magazine_pulled_from_middle.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 417837@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 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. I'm a high school librarian, and I need help in dealing... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856972-341/better_safe_than_sorry_does.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 417038@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library board has agreed to restrict minors' access to four books:Sex for Busy People; The Lesbian Kama Sutra; The Joy of Sex; and The Joy of Gay Sex.The move, which came in a 5-3 vote, went against the recommendation ... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856947-341/topeka_library_board_restricts_access.html.csp Norman Oder Censorship 416914@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 People can't get enough of Neil Gaiman these days. That's why SLJ has collected a list of interesting resources on the author/graphic novelist, from our own articles and reviews of his work, as well as Gaiman's own official site, his blog, and his Twitter... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856884-341/neil_gaiman_from_the_newbery.html.csp SLJ Staff Censorship 416590@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 There's no question that kids are wild about the latest Newbery winner, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008). Public libraries across the country are reporting that all of their copies are checked out, and, at some, requests for holds ar... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856873-341/librarianaposs_dilemma_where_do_you.html.csp Debra Lau Whelan Censorship 416535@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 In my last column, I asked readers to write me if they had reversed their school's practice of putting Accelerated Reader (AR) labels on library books. I was surprised by how many librarians responded. Here's a sampling of some of the messages I received.... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856649-341/success_stories_itaposs_tough_to.html.csp Pat Scales Censorship 415414@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856636-341/texas_board_of_edaposs_mix-up.html.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 415348@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Quiet Culpeper County, VA, was thrown into a national uproar last month over allegations that the school district banned of a version of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. Now school officials say the book was never banned or removed from middles sch... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856630-341/va_school_officials_deny_banning.html.csp Shanti Menon Censorship 415319@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Copies of the Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate Edition dictionary (Merriam Webster, 2000) are back on classroom and library shelves at Oak Meadows Elementary School in Riverside County, CA, after being temporarily removed.Officials at the Manifee Union S... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856552-341/banned_dictionary_returned_to_shelves.html.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 414923@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Mere days before the announcement of the new children's book ambassador, speculation was still running wild. Who would they tap for the prestigious two-year position? And, even more to the point, who could possibly measure up to the very capable Jon Scies... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856510-341/story.csp Kathleen T. Horning Censorship 414712@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is changing the covers on Trenton Lee Stewart's "Mysterious Benedict Society" series, following complaints that the character Sticky Washington, described as having light brown skin, appears on all three covers as whi... http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856496-341/story.csp Rocco Staino Censorship 414642@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articles/censorship/856454-341/story.csp Lauren Barack Censorship 414432@eschoolibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45