Q: Recently, my district received a series of reconsideration requests consisting of information copied from websites featuring book reviews from sources intended to cast the books in a negative light. It seems like these requests are not motivated by parental concerns for their child but rather an agenda to remove certain types of books from the library. Is there anything we can do to make sure reconsideration requests are authentic?
We understand there are national and local groups that have promoted the removal of books with specific types of content in recent years, and some requests for reconsideration are or may be motivated or informed by them. This is a reality of the current library and education landscapes. We also know it’s frustrating to see a reconsideration request form completed with information copied and pasted from a website.
Rather than looking for ways to invalidate requests for reconsideration–which opens the door to criticism that a district is pre-judging concerns rather than acknowledging and responding to them–we encourage you to consider ways your district might strengthen its process for handling all materials concerns. Policies and procedures incorporating best practices recognize that valuing intellectual freedom means also valuing the right to question. They outline a thorough process to be followed by those bringing the concern and by the district in responding.
Opportunities for Engagement
Before we briefly dive into a few of the best practices particularly relevant to your question, we want to encourage you to also think about ways you can incorporate transparency into discussing your school library collection. Practice talking in an informed, conversational manner about the collection without using jargon or insider terminology. You should be comfortable sharing how materials are selected for the collection following the board-approved policy and related procedures to support student learning and engagement, providing them with choices to meet their wide-ranging literacy needs and interests.
This is information that administrators and board members should know, and parents, guardians and others should, too. Work collaboratively with administrators to find ways to communicate with parents and families to help everyone understand school libraries and their important role in the education of our students.
Transparency should also extend to the process to follow if someone has a concern about library materials. The reconsideration process should be accessible and clear, and districts need to be sure it is being followed before any request proceeds. Library media specialists need to be available to answer questions, which means providing pathways for communication. Forms should be easy to understand and complete.
Diving into a Few Best Practice Dos and Don’ts
Do Codify an Attempt at Informal Resolution: Transparency, advocacy, and the ability to engage in an informed, conversational manner about the school library collection comes full circle in one of the best practices we outline: “provide language to seek informal resolution of a concern before a formal challenge can be filed (e.g., “library media specialist will meet with concerned individual to listen, as well as share how and why materials are selected; the importance of choice in the library media program.”).
Codifying a conversation with the appropriate point person (by title–e.g., school or district library media specialist) in policies and procedures assures the concerned individual has been listened to and provided specific information related to their concerns and personalized potential solutions before they decide to proceed with a formal complaint. The district point person can also provide information about the reconsideration process if needed. These conversations should be required for each book in question, since each book should require a separate request for reconsideration form. If this step of the reconsideration process is documented in policy and inadvertently or otherwise skipped, the person who submitted the reconsideration form should be contacted. The process should not move forward until the informal resolution process has been completed.
Do Establish Pragmatic Parameters: It is also reasonable for the district to build parameters into board policies and procedures acknowledging the impact of multiple requests on the district’s ability to respond in a specified timeframe. This might include language establishing the number of requests a single individual can submit in a given period and setting a desired but not required timeframe for the district to respond to a single request (e.g., “the district will make every effort to provide a decision in XX days; when there are multiple pending requests, this timeframe is likely to be extended”).
Don’t Set Requirements Designed to Invalidate the Request for Reconsideration: We don’t suggest adding language to your policies and procedures prohibiting the copying of information from review sites or elsewhere when making the request for reconsideration, or demanding that the book be read in its entirety*. Librarians rely on professional reviews for their work; they are used in selection and are likely to be used in defense of material during a concern or challenge. (You may already find yourself defending what constitutes a professional review –see Claims That Reviews Reflect “Liberal” Bias.) We suggest instead asking that the individual’s personal thoughts and ideas about the material be shared. You can also make space on the form for a citation or link to the information they are using to support their request.
There are many other points in the best practices that will also help district’s carry out their responsibility to support the rights of everyone in the school community and to take the concerns they receive seriously. We understand how overwhelming one book challenge can be, and when the experience includes massive quantities of titles, it is exponentially greater, but do not let overwhelm interfere with best practice. Helping everyone better understand our school libraries and the important role they play in the education of our students will lead to the best outcomes.
April 2025
*We do encourage including a question about whether a book was read in its entirety as part of the reconsideration form, and making clear the book will be evaluated as a whole during the reconsideration process to determine whether it continues to meet the guidelines and criteria outlined in policies and procedures for selection.
Thank you to Monica Treptow for co-authoring this response.