American LibrariesSearch American Libraries  |
||
Site NavigationLeft Sidebar Items |
||
Fayetteville Rethinks Restricted ReadsThe Fayetteville (Ark.) School Board voted 4–3 September 15 to reverse a May decision that had moved It’s Perfectly Normal, It’s So Amazing, and A Teenage Guy’s Guide to Survival to the parenting collections in the schools’ media centers. The three titles were ordered returned to the general circulation area; however students will continue to have limited access to the books.The decision came after school-district attorney Rudy Moore Jr. responded to a board request for a legal opinion about its action. “It will be difficult to defend the restrictions placed on the books in May,” Moore said, citing as precedent what he characterized as the “hallmark case” of a federal district judge ordering the Harry Potter series back onto the library shelves of the Cedarville (Ark.) School District. Noting that parenting libraries were established in the district as mandated in the Arkansas Parent Involvement Act of 2003, Fayetteville High School librarian Cassandra Barnett declared, “Nowhere does it say that a parent library be restricted,” according to the September 16 Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times. Two days earlier, 300 people crowded into the high school auditorium to weigh in on how to handle the challenge by parent Laurie Taylor of more than 50 books on district shelves. Calling the materials “pornographic and vile,” Taylor, who founded a group in August that backs the massive reconsideration, explained, “I’m not against librarians, reading, education, public schools. I’m not a bigot or homophobe.” She went on to say, “It’s not OK for my kids to have access to this stuff.” “I keep hearing this is not about banning books,” board member Tim Hudson said before the September 15 vote, noting that in “every piece of paper coming before us, the patron has asked that all the books be withdrawn back from all students.” The school board has appointed a committee to review the district’s reconsideration policy in light of the size of Taylor’s challenge list. The committee will also develop a mechanism for parents to review new acquisitions so they can decide on their appropriateness for their own children. Taylor characterized the latter proposal as “a genuine attempt to empower parents.” Posted September 16, 2005. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
