The book in the photo below was withdrawn because of an "in house" challenge.
©2005 Woodworth-Roman
"When books are challenged, restricted, removed, or banned, an atmosphere of suppression exists. The author may make revisions, less for artistic reasons than to avoid controversy. The editor and publisher may alter text or elect not to publish for economic and marketing reasons. Staff in bookstores and libraries may find published works too controversial and, fearing reprisals, will choose not to purchase those materials. The fear of the consequences of censorship is as damaging as, or perhaps more damaging than, the actual censorship attempt. After all, when a published work is banned, it can usually be found elsewhere. Unexpressed ideas, unpublished works, unpurchased books are lost forever."—2000 Banned Books Week Resource Guide ( "Quotations and Links." American Library Association)
"Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored" Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A, 2005).
"Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons—individuals, groups or government officials—find objectionable or dangerous. It is no more complicated than someone saying, “Don’t let anyone read this book, or buy that magazine, or view that film, because I object to it! ” Censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like libraries, to suppress and remove from public access information they judge inappropriate or dangerous, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone" Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A, 2005).
Self-censorship is any practice that seeks to avoid a challenge or objections from certain segments of the population. The press may censor some stories. Directors may censor their film's content. Librarians may avoid selecting controversial material. When publisher allow special interest groups to influence their editorial policies, they may be practicing a form of self-censorship.
Freedom of speech is an important right guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (Bill of Rights, 1791).
Three reasons why you need one:
Promotes the educational goals of a school and helps defend a school against censorship efforts. (Reichman, 1993, 61).
"Apply your materials selection policy uniformly. Don't set up special hurdles for so-called "controversial" materials" (Reynolds, 1999).
"What should be in the selection policy? One very important component is that a professional must do the selection. Under no circumstances should individual parents or a parent group be choosing curricular supporting materials....The teacher-librarian is the staff person educated and trained in collection development" (Hutchinson, 2002).
The book in the photo above was withdrawn because of an "in house" challenge. Nothing is written on the little Post-It™ notes. One wonders what was found to be objectionable.
Making sure that the challenge is official and is in writing is important for winning a challenge (Hopkins, 1993).
Dianne McAfee Hopkins has stated that “Oral challenges = removal/restriction” (Hopkins, 1997).
"Coley." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume52002/coley.htm (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
"Diversity in Collection Development." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/work/freedom/interprt.html (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
"Free Access to Libraries for Minors." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.htm (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
"Freedom to Read Statement." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/freeread.html (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
"Intellectual Freedom." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/oif (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
"Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/intellectualfreedomandcensorship.html (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
Intellectual Freedom Manual. New York Library Association. 2003.
"Quotations and Links." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/quotationslinks.htm (Accessed 15 Oct, 2005)
Reynolds, T. (1999). Is It Worth Defending? Self-Censorship: Should We Just Accept It? Alki.15 no2 20-21. Retrieved October 14, 2005 from http://www.wla.org/publications/alki/1999iss2alki.pdf
"Workbook for Selection Policy Writing." American Library Association. 2005.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/challengesupport/dealing/workbookselection.htm (Accessed 14 Oct, 2005)
American Library Association. (2002). Intellectual Freedom Manual. (6th ed.) Chicago : American Library Association.
American Library Association. (2005). Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A. Retrieved October 14, 2005, from http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/intellectualfreedomandcensorship.html.
The Bill Of Rights. Retrieved October 14, 2005, from http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Amend.html.
Coley, K. P. (2002) Moving towards a method of test for self-censorship by school library media specialists. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume52002/coley.htm.
Hopkins, D. (1993). Put It In Writing, School Library Journal, 0362-8930, January 1, 1993 , Vol. 39, Issue 1. Retrieved August 1, 2005, from Academic Search Elite http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=9301210361
Hopkins, D. M. (1997, April). Now I know: Lessons from research in intellectual freedom. Paper presented at the national conference of the American Association of School Librarians, Portland, Oregon .
Hutchinson, C. A. (2002). Collection Development: Bordering on Dysfunction. Teacher Librarian. v. 29 no. 5 54-5. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from <a href="http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e183771395b86e5aad22d82756cb5f5ac7782ab331dbd138668ca687a182d2777&fmt=H">Hutchinson, C. A. Collection development: bordering on dysfunction. Teacher Librarian v. 29 no. 5 (June 2002) p. 54-5</a>
New York Library Association. (2003). Intellectual Freedom Manual. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from http://www.nyla.org/index.php?page_id=444
Reichman, H. (1993). Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools. Chicago : American Library Association.
American Library Association. (2002). Intellectual Freedom Manual. (6th ed.) Chicago : American Library Association.
Hopkins, D. (1993). Put It In Writing, School Library Journal, 0362-8930, January 1, 1993, Vol. 39, Issue 1. Retrieved August 1, 2005 from Academic Search Elite http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=9301210361
Hopkins, D. (1998). Toward a Conceptual Path of Support for School Library Media Specialists with Material Challenges. School Library Media Quarterly (Online). Retrieved August 1, 2005 from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e183771395b86e5aa85768cff4fe7af08a3d1b5293b1eb9d99368bd18557364e3&fmt=H
Hutchinson, C. A. (2002). Collection Development: Bordering on Dysfunction. Teacher Librarian. v. 29 no. 5 54-5. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from <a href="http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e183771395b86e5aad22d82756cb5f5ac7782ab331dbd138668ca687a182d2777&fmt=H">Hutchinson, C. A. Collection development: bordering on dysfunction. Teacher Librarian v. 29 no. 5 (June 2002) p. 54-5</a>
Reichman, H. (1993). Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools. Chicago : American Library Association.
Copyright 2005 Woodworth-Roman and Wyatt. All rights reserved.