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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

What Should I Do about Students Upset By a Condom Ad in a Magazine?

Posted on October 27, 2006

Q: I am a librarian in a small, rural school district in a conservative community. We have two school libraries: one is K-5 and the other is 6-12. In the high school library some eighth …

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

How Much Weight Should I Give Individual Scenes/Elements When Selecting Novels for the Curriculum?

Posted on September 27, 2006

Q: I’m a middle school teacher working as part of a group to select novels for the curriculum. Some of us are struggling with books we love that are strong overall but that have individual scenes …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, policies

What If My Administrator Says to Remove Book?

Posted on March 4, 2006

Q: I’m studying to be a school librarian. I’m concerned about what I should do if my administrator tells me to remove a book because it is stirring up controversy and we have a policy …

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

Library Doesn’t Have Policy on Gifts to Collection

Posted on December 12, 2005

Q: I’ve seen the issue of gifts to a library mentioned in a couple of the responses in this forum, and you’ve indicated that it’s important to follow whatever a library’s policy says about accepting gifts …

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

Could I Lose my Job Because of a Challenge?

Posted on November 29, 2005

Q: I’m studying to become a school librarian. In one of my classes, we’ve been learning about materials selection, challenges, and the Library Bill of Rights. Is it possible that I could lose my job someday …

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

How Can I Avoid Selecting “Wrong” or Controversial Books?

Posted on November 29, 2005

Q: I’m worried about selecting the “wrong” book for my school library–one that someone might find controversial and result in a challenge. How can I avoid doing this? We know that challenges are scary to contemplate. …

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

Defusing a Confrontational Situation

Posted on October 9, 2005

Q: Can you provide some tips on how to defuse a confrontational situation with someone who has a concern about materials in a library or classroom? First, take a deep breath. Extend a hand to …

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

How Can I Avoid Complaints about Books I Teach?

Posted on October 8, 2005

Q: I’m a new teacher. What can I do to avoid complaints about the books I teach? Because we never know what book might be upsetting to someone, it’s all but impossible to avoid complaints …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged advocacy, classrooms

Where Can I Find Out about Banned Books Week?

Posted on October 5, 2005

Q: I’m a high school librarian. My principal just asked me to talk about Banned Books week at our next high school faculty meeting. Where can I get information on such short notice? The Banned Books …

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

Am I Censoring if I Return a Book I Ordered after Seeing It?

Posted on October 2, 2005

Q: I ordered a book for my school library and when I received it and saw it firsthand, I determined that the content was too mature for our book collection, so I didn’t add it. …

Posted in What IF ... ForumTagged classrooms, public libraries, school libraries
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  • Cooperative Children’s Book Center
    401 Teacher Education Building
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    Madison, WI 53706, USA
  • Email: ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu
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