I approached this assignment as an opportunity
to expand my information, and my experience with challenged materials; because
of that, I intentionally chose to research an author whose works I had never
read. I wanted to get a good feel for Lauren Myracle, as an author, with the
fresh perspective of championing intellectual freedom. Having read all four
books in the Internet Girls series, as well as Kissing Kate, I
have to admit, I am not sure what the concern is; sure, these books deal with
teen sexuality, peer pressure, and bullying, but that is the reality of the
world into which we send our teens each day.
One of the most surprising things about this
assignment was, despite the fact that Myracle has appeared on, and topped, the
American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged lists, it was rather
difficult to find specific instances of challenges to her books being made
public knowledge. This indicates that librarians are reporting challenges to
the Office of Intellectual Freedom that are not really making news. That is a
bit dismaying; any time freedom of expression or the freedom to read is
challenged in a library, and no one knows, it makes one wonder what else is not
know. In fact, when it comes to censorship, many instances are indeed unknown.
Often, materials challenges put library staff in the difficult position of
fearing for their jobs. Alternatively, sometimes the censorship occurs within
the library itself, in the form of self censorship. What is a librarian to do
when a colleague or an institutional policy is the source of the censorship?
I believe Lauren Myracle is correct when she
discusses censorship being based in fear. Certainly parents want to protect and
shield their children from things they deem “scary”. The reality is, parents
cannot remove the scary things from their children’s world, so they seek to
remove them from their children’s books. Little do they know, those scary
things in those books actually help prepare them for life in a sometimes scary
world.
Photo Reference:
Tamara Evans [screen name]. (2010, June 11). Banned books bumper sticker. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/89APhH
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