You know when they lead with 'anecdotal evidence' the actual evidence doesn't support the clanging headline. And so it proves here:
Alison Hicks, an associate professor in library and information studies at UCL, interviewed 10 UK-based school librarians who had experienced book challenges.
No, Reader, 'book challenges' doesn't mean grappling with a too-large tome on a too-high shelf. The concern here is book banning. And the US is blamed for it, of course.
One “spoke of finding propaganda from one of these groups left on her desk”, while another “was directly targeted by one of these groups”. Respondents “also spoke of being trolled by US pressure groups on social media, for example when responding to free book giveaways”.
'Trolled'? In other words, people responded to their posts on social media, as social media was designed to allow. Gosh, I always thought these were books, but maybe they are something else, if librarians have never heard of them!
Hey, librarians! These are great, you can look up the meanings of words in them, and never embarsass yourselves again!
This supports the findings of an Index on Censorship survey last year, in which 28 of 53 librarians polled reported that they had been asked to remove books from library shelves, many of which were LGBTQ+ titles. In more than half of those cases, books were taken off shelves.
Maybe investigate why less than half weren't?
One cause for concern in the UK is the “lack of robust evidence” about how widespread censorship is, said Coiffait-Gunn. “It’s hard to evidence what doesn’t happen and which books are not available.” The government does not tally how many school libraries or librarians there are, “let alone track book bans”.
A government that doesn't track librarians?! Perish the thought!
Most UK libraries follow the Cilip ethical framework, which states that published materials should not be restricted on any grounds but the law, said Jewell.
“That gives them the confidence and assurance to reject demands” for censorship.
“What we must guard against is a climate where libraries avoid stocking certain books – or holding talks or activities – for fear of negative publicity, threats or intimidation,” he added.
Given most modern libraries stock anything but books, I doubt it'll have much effect.
2 comments:
They have the confidence and assurance to reject demands for censorship for anything except the law. Then, in more than half of the complaints, they had illegal books on the shelves?
So it would appear...
Post a Comment