Censorship of Young Adult Literature

Jennifer La Vine and Savannah Whitaker

Censorship of Young Adult Literature

The issue: prevention of Intellectual Freedom

“Children and young adults are often looking for images of themselves, images as they are at that moment, struggling with parent conflicts, problem acne, feelings of rejection, and raging hormones, and images of what they might become. Literature affords the distance to examine one's self or potential self in a way not otherwise possible” (Curry, 2001).

History of Censorship

Twelve changes in American society that accounts for the growth of

censorshipChanges in the literature curriculum

The paperback revolution

The increasing number of students in school

The increased amount of education which students receive

The divisive (causing disagreement) nature of education

The success of the schools

The increase in reading by Americans

The increasing cost of education

The view of education as scapegoat

The role of education to reinforce democratic values

An increased willingness to protest government actions

Mistakes made by the schools

Examples of Censored Books in the South

Censorship vs. Selection

“Are We Selecting? Or Are We Censoring.” By Christine M. Allen

Why are works selected? Not selected?

Contemporary vs. Classic Young Adult Literature and controversial topics

Censorship and unexciting collections

Censorship in Our Schools

“Censor your own child not mine!”

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

“Where is Judy Blume? Controversial Fiction for Older Children and Young Adults” By Ann Curry

Moving materials

Reasons why materials are censored

Importance of keeping challenging materials

Self-censorship

“Moving Toward a Method to Test for Self-censorship by School Library Media Specialists” By Ken P. Coley

Causes of self-censorship

Texas Schools and Media Specialists (the study)

82% practiced self-censorship

18% owned NONE of the chosen titles

Book Removal in Schools

“The Question...What Should I Do If My Principal Orders Me to Remove an Unchallenged Book?” By Gail Dickinson

Two different options: Remove it...Don’t remove it

New vs. Practiced Media Coordinators

Job preservation

Intellectual Freedom

“Championing Intellectual Freedom: A School Administrator's Guide” By Jeffrey Gibson

Two scenarios of book removal

Ways the School Media Coordinator can help

Being a “Champion for students” (preserving First Amendment rights

Addressing the Problem

Is the movement of materials an option? Or is this yet another form of censorship?

Promote parental involvement in School Media Centers

Conclusion

“No book is safe in today’s censorship climate” (Brown,

1994).

ReferencesAllen, C. M. (2007). Are we selecting? Or are we censoring. Young Adult Library Services,

5(3), 5.Brown, J. E., & National Council of Teachers of English. (1994). Preserving intellectual freedom: Fighting censorship in our schools. Urbana, Ill: National Council of Teachers of English.Burress, L. (1989). Battle of the books: Literary censorship in the public schools, 1950-1985. Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press.Coley, K. P. (2002). Moving toward a method to test for self-censorship by school library media specialists {computer file}. School Library Media Research, 5.Curry, A. (2001). Where is Judy Blume? Controversial fiction for older children and young

adults. Journal Of Youth Services In Libraries, 14(3), 28-37. Dickinson, G. (2007). The question...What should I do if my principal orders me to remove

an unchallenged book?. Knowledge Quest, 36(2), 70-71. Gibson, J. (2007). Championing intellectual freedom: A school administrator's guide. Knowledge Quest, 36(2), 46-48. Hull, M. (1999). Censorship in America: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.Riley, G. B. (1998). Censorship. New York: Facts on File.Simmons, J. S. (1994). Censorship: A threat to reading, learning, thinking. Newark, Del:

International Reading Association.