[CASL-L] Restricting Book Checkouts for Age Appropriateness

[DOREEN LOPEZ]

I have a similar situation in that I am in a 6-12 school. There are certainly books that are appropriate for a 17-18 year old, but not so much for an 11 year old. I have a middle school section and I let students know where it is and that it exists. However, at the end of the day, I follow the ALA Bill of Rights. I do not censor. I have had conversations with parents and I politely explain that if they don't want their child reading a certain type of book, that is a conversation between them and their child. If not, where would I draw the line? There are parents who don't want their child to read Harry Potter, dystopia, romance, etc. In fact, I am in the process of creating an LGBTQ section in my library. I am not about to monitor who looks at books in that section.

In the same vein, when I was in elementary school, I would lead 1st graders to the picture books, but at the end of the day, it was their choice. I would also do lessons on picking a "just right" book. I had first graders who could (and wanted to) read early readers; second graders who could (and wanted to) read chapter books.

It is my job to foster and nurture the love of books and of reading!

Doreen Lopez
Library Media Specialist
Waterbury Arts Magnet School
16 S. Elm St. - Waterbury, CT 06706
Phone - 203-573-6301  FAX 203-573-6325
dlopez at waterbury.k12.ct.us<mailto:dlopez at waterbury.k12.ct.us>

________________________________
From: CASL-L [casl-l-bounces+dlopez=waterbury.k12.ct.us at mylist.net] on behalf of Butler, Katherine [BUTLERK at glastonburyus.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 6:53 PM
To: ljclsj at cox.net
Cc: Lauren Hunt; Casl List Serv; Emily Boisvert
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Restricting Book Checkouts for Age Appropriateness

EXTERNAL MAIL
Greg Hefley,  the main character in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is in middle school. Some of the books have boys talking about hot girls and commenting on someone’s cute butt. I believe it is reasonable to question whether to place a book featuring middle school characters and the ensuing content in the hands of a 6 or 7 year old child.
Kate Butler

On Tue, Feb 12, 2019 at 6:09 AM <ljclsj at cox.net<mailto:ljclsj at cox.net>> wrote:
I strongly agree with Lauren. Library is the place for choice of book!
Linda Marchisio

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 11, 2019, at 6:28 PM, Lauren Hunt <huntla at danbury.k12.ct.us<mailto:huntla at danbury.k12.ct.us>> wrote:

Hi Emily,

It is frequently the case that many other school employees do not fully understand the role of the library and LMS. The library should 100% be free choice for students as per the ALA bill of rights. If a parent is specifically prohibiting their child from checking out a book that is different, however I do not find it appropriate for teachers to label a series like Diary of a Wimpy kid for only 1st graders. What if a student is below grade level and wants something on their level? What if they simply love the series? What kind of message are we as librarians sending if we tell a student that they cannot have a book because they are too old for it? I firmly feel that students should be able to have free choice because at the end of the day, that’s what libraries are for.

Lauren Hunt
Library Media Specialist
Ellsworth Avenue Elementary


On Feb 11, 2019, at 5:00 PM, Emily Boisvert <ebov at sbcglobal.net<mailto:ebov at sbcglobal.net>> wrote:

Good afternoon, everyone!

I'd love the collective minds of the CASL listserv to provide some perspective on this issue......my understanding is that CASL follows the intellectual property policies of ALA/AASL since the School Library Bill of Rights and censorship links are on the advocacy page. I ask because there are some colleagues in my district that are debating the issue of "policing" student checkouts for age appropriateness (Wimpy Kid for first grade is the example) and they say that we operate 'in loco parentis' and can make decisions in lieu of parents about student book choices. My philosophy has always been for freedom of choice and everything I've learned and read professionally guides me in that direction since I was under the understanding that we are guided by the ALA/AASL policies. I did read in a few sources that 'in loco parentis' may apply to the LMS role, depending on state law. Are you aware of what that means for us in CT? Thanks so much, I'd like to bring concrete and accurate information to my PLC on this.


Emily Boisvert
Melissa Jones Elementary
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Kate

Katherine Butler
Library Media Specialist
Nayaug Elementary School<https://www.glastonburyus.org/schools/Nayaug/librarymedia/Pages/default.aspx>