You may have seen that censorship in school libraries has been making headlines recently and if you're feeling uncertain or under pressure as a result, you're not alone.
As CEO SLA Victoria Dilly wrote in Schools Week, "Many recent instances of censorship in the school library speak to societal issues with acceptance, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and a growing unwillingness to understand different perspectives. There is no better way for us to tackle these problems than to encourage our children and young people to read and give them opportunities to discuss their thoughts and opinions in a safe space."
Censorship is one of the most important issues facing school librarians right now, and it's a significant focus of our work at the SLA. School librarians care passionately about their work, the communities they support and the books they curate. They should be trusted and enabled to do the work they are trained for so that we can build truly supportive, inclusive and welcoming libraries for every single member of every school community.
We are in conversations with sector partners to develop joint advice and statements which we will share in due course, and as a member of the new Libraries Alliance we're helping to bring together and strengthen voices from across all library settings to advocate on key issues.
We also supported the Open Pages knowledge exchange workshop led by Dr Alison Hicks at UCL, which began working towards a framework of support for school librarians. Developments from this workshop will be shared in the coming months.
In the meantime, we have gathered some recent coverage on this page, which we hope will help you to feel informed and in control:
- This damning report from Index on Censorship kick-started much of the recent conversation, with reports of 140 books being removed from a school library and a school librarian losing her job. The detailed follow-up piece gives more information about this concerning case
- SLA CEO, Victoria Dilly, wrote an opinion piece for Schools Week in which she outlined the vital importance of a robust collection development policy. "A collection development policy demonstrates a clear approach and commitment to creating inclusive and supportive libraries so all stakeholders – children, young people, parents and carers, teaching staff and senior leaders – know what to expect and feel confident that the library will serve the needs of the whole community." Victoria Dilly has also been quoted in BBC News, Twinkl and a recent piece by the Runnymede Trust.
- This piece from The Bookseller outlines the pressure on librarians to censor their stock and includes quotes from Victoria Dilly on the importance of judgement and experience when building a collection: "The role of a school librarian is to build on the guidance offered by publishers by reading books themselves, knowing their school community, and making nuanced, professional judgements about their school book collection and the children who most enjoy, or would be most suited, to each title"
- The issue of censorship was raised at the recent National Education Union Annual Conference, when general secretary Daniel Kebede said: "Reading a wide variety of books, by authors from diverse backgrounds and with different points of view, is vital for developing critical thinking, curiosity and a passion for reading. Books create belonging and it is so important that the books read by children and young people in their formative years reflect the rich diversity of the society we live in. Any move to censor books in school libraries, based on misinformation and fearmongering, should ring alarm bells for all of us"
- LoveReading gives an excellent summary of the situation, pointing to the importance of clear policies and trust in the librarian's professional judgement: "When decisions are made without librarian input, there is a risk of narrowing the range of voices available, reducing representation in literature, discouraging reading for pleasure and creating a culture of caution or self-censorship."