Description of the Activity Undertaken.
For a post on censorship, I created a plan for handling a challenge to a library item, display or event. The blog post (see "Won't You Think of the Children?") contextualises this plan by briefly looking at challenges in American libraries and censorship phrasing in Australian public library policy.
What Did You Learn?
At the outset of this activity, I was unaware of the prevalence of censorship of programming, of displays (ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 2018a). Nor was I aware of impact the blanket statement by ALIA in regards censorship has on Australian libraries. I think I learned something about myself in writing this, more than learning about the industry. On some level I support challenges as an opportunity for learning communication and understanding, that was something I didn’t acknowledge within my own library self.
How was the Activity Relevant to Your Professional Practice Working with Children and/or Young Adults?
The top ten books challenged in American libraries in 2017 (ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 2018a) can be summarised by one popular culture quote “Won't you think of the children?”(Cohen, 1996), all ten have young people as their intended audience. A challenge in an Australian library is seemingly most likely to come in the guise of protecting the youth’s innocence. Creating these guides allowed me to think through what I would do in the instance of a challenge of complaint against an item, display or program.
What Gaps in Your Knowledge Were Revealed and How Might You Fill Those Gaps?
Realistically I have created something, but I don’t know if it could be implemented in a practical sense, this is at best a first draft requiring work, guidance and structure from an established organisation system. Role play is one thing, but it is quite another to have a frustrated but well-meaning patron in front of you asking why Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is on the shelf. Australian libraries will only purchase items within their selection criteria, I do wonder if some of the challenges in American libraries come from a difference in the way selection criterion are written. Do Australian libraries self-censor more than their American counterparts? Filling this knowledge gap requires more research comparing selection criteria in American and Australian libraries.
Discussion of Censorship in Relation to Your Chosen Activity.
Due to the factors established in my post (ALIA stance on freedom of information (Australian Library and Information Association, 2015a) and Australian libraries lock step following them) it is possible to see why one could consider censorship an American issue. The ALA is vocal in their defence of the freedom to read and their education of library staff in challenge and reconsideration actions (ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 2018b). But I am not convinced it is an American issue as demonstrated by the hyperbole surrounding the release of King, Meehl, and Priest (2018) which raised issues of banning of books in libraries, but only by the media and the public the topic is not suggested by the work (O'Brien, 2018; Sunrise, 2018). As we as a nation move forward more issues are being raised that are making texts problematic such as gender roles, sexuality, mental health and cultural perception. The discussion surrounding King et al. (2018) likely won’t be the last and the next may not be hyperbole.
These plans are commonly in place in American organisations and how those organisations fight censorship. With the addition of support and community outreach (Rauch, 2011) it allows the libraries to fulfil the role of the library inclusive and informative environment (Australian Library and Information Association, 2015b).
References
ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. (2018a). American Library Association field report 2017: Banned and challenged books. Retrieved from https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/field-report-2017-download
ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. (2018b). Selection & reconsideration policy toolkit for public, school, & academic libraries. In American Library Association. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from http://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/selectionpolicytoolkit
Australian Library and Information Association. (2015a). Statement on free access to information. In Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-free-access-information
Australian Library and Information Association. (2015b). Statement on public library services. In Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-public-library-services
Cohen, D. S. (Writer). (1996). Much Apu about nothing [Television series episode]. In J. L. Brooks, M. Groening, J. Josh Weinstein, & B. Oakley (Executive Producer), The Simpsons. United States: 20th Television.
King, T., Meehl, A., & Priest, N. (2018). Building children’s resilience through respectful and gender equitable relationships pilot project: A literature review. Retrieved from http://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/CSRM_WP4_2018_RESILIENCE_1.pdf
McPherson, C. (2018). Won’t you think of the children?: AKA censorship and what I would do about it. In We're all in this together. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from http://diverseya.blogspot.com.au/2018/05/wont-you-think-of-children-aka.html
O'Brien, S. (2018, May 21). Councils could ban children’s books, toys and characters for not meeting gender test. Herald Sun. Retrieved from http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/national/councils-could-ban-childrens-books-toys-and-characters-for-not-meeting-gender-test/news-story/6e8ee2ab9ff56ccbab8f20b78018d376
Rauch, E. W. (2011). GLBTQ collections are for every library serving teens! Teacher Librarian, 39(1), 13. Retrieved from: http://www.teacherlibrarian.com
Sunrise. (2018, May 21). Should libraries and kindergartens ban the terms 'boy' and 'girl'? [Facebook video]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Sunrise/videos/10155439586380887/
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. (n.d.). In Goodreads. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29844228-thirteen-reasons-why
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