Censorship

Analyse a peer-reviewed journal article

Does Labelling Children’s Books Constitute Censorship

Lisa Hunt, a School Library Media Specialist (Apple Creek Elementary School, Moore, Oklahoma) and Melanie Wachsmann, a Reference/Teen Librarian (Lone Star College, Texas), debate whether the placing of stickers or dots on the spines of books in school libraries could be considered a form of censorship. Reading programs such as Accelerated Reading (AR), Read 180 (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.90) and Lexile Framework for Reading (Lexile, 2013) require students to read books that have been chosen as appropriate for their reading levels. Labels or stickers in some form are used by libraries to assist students with the selection process especially when they, the students, can be confronted by thousands of books from which to choose. “Such labels, their proponents argue, enhance access and improve convenience for readers.” (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.90). Opponents to labelling argue that “… labeling (sic) practices can lead readers to prejudge books by their labels rather than by their content.” (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.90). The American Library Association (ALA) agrees with the latter view and opposes labelling because it can predispose people’s attitude to library resources. Censorship can be overt - students are restricted as to the books that they can borrow or covert - students may not consider books outside of a particular level so a form of self-censorship develops.

In the article, Lisa Hunt and Melanie Wachsmann, discuss labelling as a censorship issue from both viewpoints. Lisa Hunt contends that books are already labelled in many ways such as awards, young-adult content level, graphic novel format (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.90) and that the additional labelling is a necessary tool to be used by students as part of the school reading curriculum program as well as an enhancement to reading “… pleasure and confidence”. (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.90-91).

Melanie Wachsmann on the other hand, while being sympathetic to the labelling argument, believes that the opportunity for censorship to occur far outweighs all other considerations. She believes that students will hone their browsing skills over time anyway without the use of labelling and not miss out on experiencing “… the original joy of discovering new books to read.” (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.91). Wachsmann also discusses other negative impacts of labelling, for example, is a book with no label not worth reading or will students with a higher or lower reading level than their cohort be embarrassed when borrowing material or where a library shelves books according to the label code, will students the not have the opportunity learn how to use the Dewey Decimal System? (Hunt & Wachsmann, 2012, p.91) 

Certainly the American Library Association vehemently opposes labelling and believes it contravenes the American Bill of Rights but only if it is an attempt “… to prejudice or discourage users or restrict their access to materials.” (ALA, 2009, para.2), however, it appears that if “Labels on library materials … (are) viewpoint-neutral directional aids designed to save the time of users” then the use of labels is acceptable. 

After searching the ALIA website (ALIA, n.d.) there doesn’t appear to be a corresponding policy document. This may be because the ALIA website is currently being redeveloped and not everything is available for viewing at the moment.

This is an issue that I really hadn't thought about previously and certainly all school libraries that I have been associated with over the years do have some sort of labelling system in place. Sometimes it is dot stickers used in conjunction with a reading program and sometimes it is labels that simply display general reading content such as Junior or Senior Fiction. On balance, I appreciate the many reasons for using a labelling or rating system, and it appears the main objection to labelling is not so much the labelling itself but rather the restrictions that can linked with the labels. Teacher-Librarians do have a responsibility to students to provide choice and "School libraries are concerned with generating understanding of freedom and the preservation of this freedom through the development of informed and responsible citizens." (Boyko & Davey, 2008, p.16) so in some schools it maybe time for the Teacher-Librarian to re-evaluate the use of the sticker. This will mean meeting with Reading curriculum leaders and proposing a more open approach to students choosing material if the current borrowing process is tightly controlled. So does labelling constitute censorship? Yes, it appears it can in certain circumstances, and Teacher-Librarians have an obligation to ensure that the stickers are there as a guide or a tool only and try and keep labels as viewpoint-neutral as possible.

Boyko, D. & Davey S. (2008). Managing priorities when you're 'it' in a primary school library. Retrieved from  http://www.slav.schools.net.au/downloads/08pastpapers/21building/daveyboyko.pdf.

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (n.d.). Policy and guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-and-guidelines.

American Library Association (ALA). (2009) Labeling and Rating Systems. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/labelingrating.

Hunt, L., & Wachsmann, M. (2012). Does labeling children's book constitute censorship? Reference & User Services Quarterly, Winter, 52(2), 90-92 [Peer Reviewed Journal]. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ef669895-17b9-46e1-9bb8-bb15b0768e1e%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=108. 

Lexile, (2013, 05, 18), Lexile overview video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/lexile-video/.

Counting Coconuts. (2011) Our School Library [Image] Retrived from http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/our-school-library.html

Amazon.com. (2013). The Dot [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/James-Excellence-Childrens-Literature-Awards/dp/0763619612.

University of Waterloo. (2013). Find fiction in the stacks [image]. Retrived from http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/newsatlib/130509/findfiction.html.