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What IF … Forum

What IF is a question-and-answer forum for teachers, school and public librarians and others in the library and education fields. We all have questions about intellectual freedom and challenges to materials. The What IF forum is a place to turn to ask these questions before a challenge occurs, and to help think through what the principles of intellectual freedom look like in practice.

Ask us a What IF question: ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu

Complainant and Review Committee Information and Roles

Posted on March 29, 2020

Q: Do I send school policies and reviews of a book to a complainant, or just to the review committee? And how do I make sure the Review Committee understands its role? Those are great questions. …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, policies, public libraries, school libraries

Preparing in Advance for a Complaint

Posted on March 29, 2020

Q: Are there some standard practices I should follow in order to be prepared for a book complaint? It’s great you’re thinking ahead regarding how to be prepared. Some people never face formal challenges in their …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged advocacy, classrooms, policies, public libraries, school libraries

How Can I Make Sure Selection Decisions Protect Children

Posted on March 27, 2020

Q: I struggle with how to uphold intellectual freedom but still protect the students within specific age-groups at the school where I work. How much is too much when it comes to content? Where do I …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged collection development, policies, school libraries, self-censorship

Struggle with Materials That Don’t Align with Personal Beliefs

Posted on March 27, 2020

Q: I struggle with selecting materials for our school library that are not compatible with my personal beliefs. I realize that the ALA Code of Ethics VII states that we “must distinguish between our personal …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged collection development, policies, school libraries, self-censorship

Director Suggests Moving Children’s Book to Adult Collection

Posted on March 27, 2020

Q: The director of the public library where I work has been saying informally that he thinks picture books with gay/lesbian/transgender characters belong in the adult section of the library. Because he hasn’t told me I …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged policies, public libraries

Is a Selection Policy that Outlines “Acceptable” and “Unacceptable” Topics Promoting Censorship?

Posted on March 27, 2020

Q: My administrator wants to revise the policy for library selection and classroom reading choices in the middle school where I am a library media specialist. He is suggesting that we come up with very …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, collection development, policies, school libraries

Does a Classroom Library Have the Same Standards as a School Library?

Posted on March 26, 2020

Q: Does a classroom library have the same standards as the school library? A first grade teacher came to me on Friday because a parent wants her to remove a book from the classroom collection. …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, policies, school libraries

District Has No Selection/ Reconsideration Policy

Posted on March 5, 2020

Q: My district does not have a materials selection policy. Therefore, there are no official selection criteria, nor is there a process for reconsideration of challenged materials. What steps can I take to remedy this …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, policies, school libraries

Cultural Inaccuracies in Books and Intellectual Freedom

Posted on March 5, 2020

Q: I’m unsure how to balance positive professional reviews with criticism elsewhere that points out stereotypes and cultural inaccuracies. It seems important to pay attention to those concerns, but also important not to limit access …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, collection development, public libraries, school libraries

Balanced Collection

Posted on October 30, 2019

Q: I’m not sure what to do when I’m considering selecting a book that is clearly about something controversial. What does having a balanced collection mean? Do I need to always provide a book with …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged 2019 Books, collection development, public libraries, school libraries
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