Challenged Materials School Review

According to the American Library Association, any materials that are challenged in any library or classroom need to be looked at in view of the Library Bill of Rights, which is adapted from the First Amendment of the Constitution. Libraries should have selection criteria based on this Bill of Rights that they use when assessing which materials to buy. When or if an item in the library or classroom collection is called into question, the librarian/teacher/school district has guidelines to show the complainant for the justification of purchasing the material. The Library Bill of Rights states,

“Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation,” and in Article II, that “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

To read the Library Bill of Rights in its entirety, click here.

This list of selection criteria should take things into account such as:

• What are the goals of the organization?
• Does the material support the school’s curriculum?
• Does it present a fair and balanced perspective for the issue or topic?
• Is it well reviewed by professional librarians or reviewers?
• Does it support many views and is it culturally relevant?
• Is the material age appropriate for the age range at a given school?

For further reading on how libraries develop a selection policy and what criteria they use, click here.

Having specific selection criteria in place as well as a plan of action for what to do when material in the library or classroom is challenged go hand in hand. Without being able to justify the decisions that went into the purchase of the material, the school district would have nothing to stand on in an dispute with a complainant. Having a standard procedure in place for banned materials ensures that each complaint will have a fair, balanced case and investigation.

I looked at 3 different school districts, Dover, Rollinsford, and North Hampton, to determine if their policies are effective for dealing with challenged materials.

All 3 of the policies were fairly similar in scope. They all included a questionnaire to be filled out by the complainant. The forms for the most part were identical, and included:

• Who the complainant represents. (whether it's an individual complaining or a group)
• The specifics of the item. (Title/Author/Date of publication)
• Asks the complainant whether they have read/viewed the work in it's entirety and to which specific parts they object.
• What is good about this book/material?
• What do you feel might be the result of reading/viewing this work?
• For what age group would you recommend this work?
• What do you believe is the theme or purpose of this work?
• Are you aware of the judgment of this work by critics?
• Are you aware of the instructional purpose for using this work?
• What would you prefer the school do about this work? (Don't assign it to my child/Withdraw it from the collection/Reevaluate it's use)
• What work of equal value would you recommend to replace the one you question?

I think that this questionnaire would be very helpful, particularly for the complainant filling it out. It allows them to be able to think through the issue at a higher level pinpointing more precisely what it is they oppose, and forces them to think about all of the criteria that went into selecting the material. Through filling out the form, they are forced to look at the book in different lights, trying to think of any good characteristics it may provide.

It seems the first line of defense for a librarian or teacher dealing with a complaint would be to listen to the complainant and note their specific concerns without offering personal opinion. If they would like the process to go further, the teacher/librarian is able to hand them the reconsideration form. The procedures for what happens after the form is fairly standard in each of the 3 districts I examined as well. If an item is challenged, the teacher/librarian in all of the districts are to report it to the principal. If the complainant fills out the reconsideration form and turns it into the principal, there is a Book Review Committee formed who schedule meetings to review the book and write a report. The committee's report is given and a decision is made by the principal and forwarded to the complainant and the Superintendent of the district. If this is not sufficient for the complainant, the final decision is made by the School Board, whose decision is final.

There are a few minor differences in the district's documents. In Dover and North Hampton, it explicitly states that the challenged material is to remain in the collection until the final decision has been made. In the Rollinsford document, the procedures are much more detailed in their scope, stating such things as how long it will take the school to compile a committee to review the work (15 days), and practical things such as how the teacher/librarian should treat the complainant (courteously). It also specifies the steps for the committee:

1. Reads, view or listens to the material.
2. Checks general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and consulting recommended lists.
3. Determines the extent to which the material supports objectives specified in courses of study and judges the material for its strength and value as a whole and not in part.

For the specificity and the way in which the procedure is spelled out, I find that the Rollinsford School District has the best policy for practical use in the library or classroom for challenged materials.