Running head: LIBRARIAN ROLES

Librarian Roles in Book Banning Jera Jackson Professor Lori Rogers ENG210 7 November 2011

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING Abstract Using the observations and research from M. Pound, C. Moody, and P. Scales, I observed and realized books are being banned from schools every year and parents are uninformed as to how to help their children understand why topics are deemed inappropriate for their age group. B.

Wilkins, J. Tamney, and Y. Talmazan also provided me with excellent examples of which books are being banned and why their subject matter is viewed as inappropriate. Last, with studying ideas and communications by N. DiBlasio and A. Flood, I believe an important job for every librarian should be to provide parents with material and groups to assist parents with ways to interact with their children. If both parent and child understood which topics are controversial and what causes public dispute, youth all over the country would be less likely to feel the impulse to read books banned within their school.

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING Librarian Roles in Book Banning Republic Missouris school district is known all over the country for its repeated challenges of books to be banned in the school library. On the nineteenth of August, 2011, USA Today published an article discussing how Republic High School removed two books, Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five and Sarah Ockers Twenty Boy Summer. Both books were believed to have shocking material, according to Alison Floodguardian (2011) with Guardian Unlimited (para. 1). Vonneguts novel, telling of WWII experiences through the eyes of a soldier, apparently contains too much profane language. Ockers novel was said to be banned due to the focus on sensationalizing sexual promiscuity (para. 4).

Natalie DiBlasio, with USA Today, interviewed the two authors to understand their point of view with both of their books being taken off of the High Schools shelves. Ockler (2011) called the ban extremely disheartening (para. 9). To express her disappointment, Ockler travelled to Republic Missouri to host a conference, answering the publics questions as to why she believed Twenty Boy Summer should not be forced out of the library. After much consideration on behalf of the Republic School Board, Mike Pound (2011) of the Joplin Globe announced they will soon take a second look at its decision on the books (para. 4). Vonnegut, instead of expressing his dissatisfaction with the decision to ban his book, decided to give free copies of his book to any student of Republic High School who requested one; students are still able to read his novel even though it is off the shelf. Along with Slaughterhouse-Five and Twenty Boy Summer, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl has also been taken off of Joplins, and other schools, library list. This diary is an important artifact collection from World War Two which gives the reader an accurate idea of what a typical Jewish family during this time would have gone through. The notion that there are

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING people in this country who wish to prohibit the youth to read such a work of history is

astonishing. Chasity Moody (2006), with Parenthetical Views, believes people strive to ban Anne Frank because the ending is a real downer (para. 1). Teachers who are able to keep Anne Frank in curriculum use her story to teach the hardships Jewish people faced during an important time in not only European history but also American history. A book as important in revealing truth should not be taken away due to a bad ending; however, another aspect of Anne Frank being banned is from sexually explicit passages (Talmazan, 2010, para. 1). Anne Franks father was the only survivor from their family so when Annes diary was found, her father decided which parts of her diary should be published. He decided to leave out passages which contained Annes growing sexuality and this book became Diary of Anne Frank. Years later another version was released, the version many schools are banning from their libraries: Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, which adopted the sections of the original diary Annes father removed (Talmazan, 2010, para. 2). Although the older edition is still being banned from few schools, the newest edition is the cause for most uproar, due to explicit sexual content. Subject Matter: Ignorant Curiosity Book banning has been popular for as long as books have been around. The act of banning any book is caused by either offensive or inappropriate subject matter within the material. Joseph B. Tamney and Stephen D. Johnson (1997), researchers at Ball State University, believe that specific moral issues are more salient than theological matters and support for book banning results from a fear of moral decay (para. 1). In Republic schools, banning is very popular among parents because they are uneducated in subject matter and lack the resources to understand the importance of knowing why books are banned and how they can communicate with their children about why select subject matter is inappropriate for certain age groups. The

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING role of the librarian should include being familiarized with which books are controversial and

why members of society wish to remove them from public libraries. Also, with proper assistance from librarians, parents should be provided with effective resources to help them engage with their children about why books are being banned. If children are informed as to why certain subjects are deemed inappropriate for their age, fewer children will have the curiosity to get ahold of such books. The act of banning books has occurred since books started being released. Before my claim that librarians should provide material to parents to help them engage with their children on why books are being banned, children were intrigued by these books. They would want to read them once they were banned because to a child, anything worth banning should be interesting. Mike Pound (2011) from the Joplin Globe states, When you ban a book, you tend to drum up more interest in it, not less (para. 2). This belief tends to apply more directly to kids in junior high or high school because they are more aware of the subjects being banned due to maturity. Many of the books they read and enjoy are the ones librarians are taking off the shelf. Teenagers tend to discuss good books with their friends so once a book is banned, those who have read them will talk to friends about it, which sparks an interest in the youth. Numerous parents do not have any idea on how to address the topics which are banned to their children. Some parents simply tell their children not to read them without informing their children why not to read them. Several children disregard their parents when this happens and continue to read the book anyways; this is why parents need assistance in communicating effectively with their youth. With proper help, children could begin to understand their parents inclination without feeling the need to object. Incongruous Material: Why Books are Banned

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING Several students who become aware of books being banned ask the popular question of why people feel the need to disallow students to read certain material. Community members,

especially parents, feel as if the content of a book should not include material in which their child should be sheltered from: The top reasons for challenges are sexually explicit content, offensive language and violence (DiBlasio, 2011, para. 8). Offensive themes are found in numerous stories from different authors which is why many books are challenged every year. An example of a popular young adult novel is Forever by Judy Blume; this novel has been labeled as sexually explicit due to two teenagers having premarital sex described within the novel. Judy Blume tends to write about challenges teenagers face because she wants them to be able to relate to her writing. The classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an excellent example of being challenged for language that may be offensive to the reader. The term nigger was apparently used too many times and began to offend African Americans who were reading the book in school. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is still in many libraries today but nigger has been censored from the book and replaced with slave each time used. William Goldings Lord of the Flies is a book which has been banned by those who claim the violence, language, and the implication that man is little more than an animal are all reasons children should not be allowed to read it for school (Wilkins, 2011, para. 6); however, if Golding had kept the violence to a minimum, more appropriate level, the story would not have as great of an impact to his overall theme of the struggle of good and evil within oneself. Librarian Roles: Elimination and Support Librarians are responsible for taking a book off the shelf whenever the school board deems a book inappropriate for the age range in school; they are required to make sure no child is able to attain such material through the school which banned it. Once a book is off the shelf,

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING the librarian no longer has to worry about it unless questions are brought up by individual students, parents, or faculty. If librarians took more responsibility for the effect banning has on children, both parent and child would have a better understanding of controversial topics. Librarians should provide parents with a copy of the book to read with their child, especially those in the middle school and high school level. Many books are nice reads for both parent and

teenager such as Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings series; books that appeal to both child and adult are great ways to help a family bond and learn from each other (Scales, 2008, p. 27). With books that interest the whole family, they could read together controversial books and discuss which topics are inappropriate at certain ages and why schools decide to ban them. Librarians should also provide material such as questions about the book to help parents converse with their children to help them have a better understanding on how their child relates to different topics. As previously discussed, when a child hears that a book is no longer allowed to be held in the library, a number of them choose to get ahold of the book in another manner. Curiosity is not necessarily bad because a student, primarily one in junior high and high school, begins to understand what material is appropriate for them and which is not; nevertheless, knowing that the book was banned for whatever reason, the child should go to their parent and seek advice as to why the book was marked unfit to their age and what their parent feels is best for them. Naturally, several teenagers rarely see the importance in asking for their parents advice but through my experience children are more likely to communicate with their parents whenever the parent comes to them first and shows concern. This being understood, every parent should be aware of books being banned within the community and how to address the subject matter in which many feel inappropriate.

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING Librarians should be responsible to maintain a sense of which books are being banned nationwide and especially within their library: Parents often do not know how to begin with finding out information pertaining to book banning. With assistance from the librarian, parents would know which books to watch for to see if their children are reading them. Also librarians ought to host after school meetings where parents could come with or without their children and

learn more about the books in which are being taken out of schools. The sense of a support group would provide parents with the opportunity to give their opinions if they want their child to read books other parents find inappropriate and also to hear opposing opinions from other parents. Instead of librarians solely providing parents with material on how to engage with their children on banned material, the librarian should also teach it herself. Many elementary schools have designated library time where the librarian reads to them and allows the children to look through books and check them out for personal reading. The librarian could use this time to tell students that many books are being banned and why they are being banned. Of course, they would have to be cautious as to what they discuss because several parents might be opposed to their children still being taught inappropriate subjects in school; however, some topics are great teaching material and are already in curriculum such as grammar. Especially in the elementary level, librarians could use books that are relatable to a younger audience. The Junie B. Jones series applies with this idea because grammar is not necessarily an offensive topic to parents for their young children. The Junie B. Jones series has been banned in many elementary schools because of her bad grammar. Pat Scales (2007), spokesperson for First Amendment issues and a former member of the American Library Associations Intellectual Freedom Committee, believes parents should read aloud together one of their books and after that, read it again, but replacing Junies bad grammar with proper grammar and have the child express their thoughts on how

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changing the language affects the books tone and humor (p. 30). Doing this, children will have a better understanding about why grammar is so important, but also see that language is important in developing characteristic styles. The librarian could also have her classes discuss language, both Junies style and proper style, and come up with activities to help children better understand grammar. Involving young children to the idea of books being banned will help them in the future recognize the more mature subjects and feel more comfortable talking about banned material with their parents and librarian. Book banning does not have to be as big of a deal as often it is made out to be. With assistance from the librarian, parents can have access to information to help them relate to their children and be able to discuss subjects in literature many feel are worth banning from schools. By using books as examples of how to better oneself through grammar or overcoming internal struggles, both parents and children will be able to communicate together and learn from banned books. According to Pound (2011), what delights one person offends someone else (para. 13). When parents are given advice on how to understand the way their child considers subjects, only then will the relationship between parent and child be bonded in a way that keeps the youth from experiencing offensive subjects alone, and I believe the librarian should have the responsibility to provide the opportunity for families to have this connection.

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN BOOK BANNING References DiBlasio, N. (19 August 2011). Schools once again face bind over censorship vs. book lists; Pressure from parents, boards a rite of fall season. USA Today, p.1A. Flood, A. (29 July 2011). Slaughterhouse-Five banned by US school. The Guardian, p. 1. Moody, C. (24 January 2006). 50 banned books: Anne Frank: The diary of a young girl. Parenthetical Views. Retrieved from http://www.parentheticalviews.com/?p=49

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Pound, M. (30 August 2011). Mike Pound: Banned book month on horizon. The Joplin Globe: State and Regional News, p. 1. Scales, P. (September 2007). Aint that a shame: What to do when bad grammar happens to good characters. School Library Journal p. 30. Scales, P. (September 2008). Too much information? School Library Journal p. 27. Talmazan, Y. (1 February 2010). Anne Franks Diary banned from Virginia school for sexual content. Now Public Crowd Powered Media.. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/annefranks-diary-banned-virginia-school-sexual-content-2567740.html Tamney, J.B., Johnson, S.D. (March 1997). Christianity and public book banning. Religious Research Association. Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 263-271. Wilkins, B. (2011). 50 banned books that everyone should read. Online College Degrees. Received from http://www.onlinecollegedegrees.org/2009/05/20/50-banned-books-thateveryone-should-read/