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Dear School Librarian,
Sometimes it feels like there are so many restrictions on my life . . . where I can go, what I’m allowed to do and see. At those times books become my place; I am free to escape and explore. But it’s not easy. My parents, my teachers—and even you, the school librarian—try to control what I’m allowed to read. Even when some books have won awards and gotten great reviews, I can’t find a copy in the school library. You tell me it’s “too controversial” for teenagers. Yes, and when I try to borrow certain books that have been written for my age group, you refuse to check it out, saying that it’s not “suitable.”
I know that books can be really powerful. That books can open your mind. They help me understand how other people think and why they act in certain ways. When I read a book, I often walk away with a different opinion from the one I had at first. Or, I realize what I take for granted—makes me think again about my own life. It’s just those very books, the ones with an important message just for me, that get labelled “controversial.”
You may not know this, but there isn’t always a lot of discussion of drugs and sex at school. And, for the most part, my parents and I really do a lot of talking around these topics. Reading about someone who gets involved in drugs, for instance, helps me understand how it can happen and what the effects might be. I feel the devastating impact of drug use or casual sex because I can see it through the eyes of someone my age. I get to understand that character’s life, and it affects me much more than a book that just has a list of facts. I think about how I would deal with a friend with a similar problem. And, sometimes, actually, a book like this helps me start talking about a tough issue with my parents.
I understand that you want to protect childhood, but it’s important that even younger children aren’t completely shielded. There are bullies in every schoolyard. Some of my friends say that the Holocaust is upsetting and hard to read about, but I’m thinking that we’ve got to learn about it, too. Adults worry that I’ll grow up too soon, but when I was younger, if I picked up a book that was too difficult, I’d simply give up trying to read it. I don’t remember being really upset by anything I read. It’s different with films—they’re way more graphic than something I imagine. When I read a book I’m in control of the images that the author describes.
My friend has a younger sister and her school library has separate collections for junior and senior students. Younger kids aren’t allowed to pick up a book that is “advanced.” I’d have hated that because, when I was younger, I was a good reader, and it would feel like I was being limited. It’s hard for someone else to try to judge where the cut-off point should be. I know some thirteen-year-olds who are mature enough to read certain things while some of my sixteen-year old friends might not be. Whether a book is suitable doesn’t just depend on your age.
I have to say that I’ve seen that censoring books or restricting access actually backfires, because it just makes kids want to read them. Remember when you were a teenager? Didn’t you want to challenge authority? Just put those warning stickers on books—it’s like saying “Read me, read me!”
Actually, if I had my wish, our school library would have a wide range of books. Sometimes I want a book that helps me stretch toward adulthood, and sometimes I’d like to read children’s books again. To tell the truth, I think most adult books are pretty boring. They aren’t about things that I find interesting, and the characters are much older than me. That’s not true about A Child Called It, which I did read—more than once! That’s the kind of adult book you should order for our library even though it’s labeled adult fiction.
Good books don’t talk down to me. They should be written in a way that lets me decide for myself what’s right and wrong, rather than preaching. Good books raise issues and make me start to question. Hey, if you don’t ask questions, you don’t find answers. Deciding what is right and wrong is part of growing up, I guess. Good books make me think about that.
I have another wish. I wish you picked books for our library based on whether they were well-written and told a good story, rather than deciding to choose only ones that won’t start controversy. I guess that means I’m asking you to stick your neck out for me. I want to have the right to choose whether I want to read a book. There are some books that I might not want to read, but that doesn’t mean that they should be banned. And, by the way, you won’t be contributing to teen crime. Just because I read about shoplifting in a book, doesn’t mean I’m going to start shoplifting. I’m mature enough to understand that it’s just a story.
You’re not doing me and my friends any big favors by censoring books. It doesn’t help us to move forward—not just by improving our reading skills, but also because we’re developing socially. I want my school librarian—in fact, all the other adults in my life— to help me to make better choices. That means they have to explain to me about how to make good choices, choices that are
right for me as an individual. Just forbidding me from reading certain things without explaining why isn’t going to help me grow up. If you want me to read and to take responsibility for my decisions, then talk to me about books—but don’t ban them.
Sincerely,
Your Teen Readers
For More Information:
Teenagers, Reading and Censorship: Teenagers’ Views on Censorship in Libraries, Censorship Practices and Access to Information: Interviews with School and Children’s Librarians, and Attitudes towards Intellectual Freedom and Censorship amongs School and Children’s Librarians <www. ebase.uce.ac.uk/publications.htm>.
Censorship Community of Practice <www.ebase.uce.ac.uk/projects/ censorship_resources.htm>.
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