Taking what he describes as a preemptive action, the superintendent of the Zeeland (Mich.) Public Schools has restricted access to library copies of the Harry Potter books to students who have written parental permission. Conceding in the December 10 Holland Sentinel that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is “wonderfully written,” Gary Feenstra asserted that “there are certainly things that are red lights to other people” in the book, specifically violent incidents.
Feenstra took the action without forming a materials review committee, explaining that the reconsideration process is used when a book’s presence in the collection is challenged. “I have not had a request for total banning of the book,” he said. Parents of students at three Zeeland elementary schools had recently voiced concerns about the titles, the paper reported.
Although Feenstra said he has been open to teachers who disagree with his decision, Zeeland Education Association President Jo Bird told the paper, they are “not influencing the decision after the fact.”
Posted December 20, 1999.