This presentation will explore the ethics of age-appropriate selection and censorship regarding children’s literature primarily in public libraries. We will discuss the history of censorship, child development, issues in public libraries, and apply ethical theories to examples of controversial books in today’s libraries.
Engaging in censorship is suppressing the ideas of others. Censors take the morals and values of everyone around them into their own hands by acting as the judge and jury to other’s ideas.
There is a distinct difference between censoring ideas and withholding information because it is not age appropriate. Webster’s dictionary defines appropriate as “something especially suitable or compatible (Merriam-Webster 1971). Certain ideas are not suitable for every age. When determining age appropriateness you are not arguing for suppressing the ideas of others, but rather for withholding those ideas until they become more suitable for the child. This is often done because the child wouldn’t be able to understand the ideas being expressed.
When trying to determine what is age-appropriate, controversy often arises over appropriateness and censorship. Controversy is “a discussion marked especially by expression of opposing views” (Merriam-Webster).
The
American Library Association’s
Freedom to Read Statement
explains that censorship is contrary to democratic ideals. Under the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, each citizen has the right to read,
view, listen to, and disseminate constitutionally protected ideas, even if
others find those ideas offensive.
IRLS 520, Ethics For Information Professionals
Fall 2003, Group Presentation
Tara Summus
Robin Shoup
Shawn Nelson
Jane Marie Bergmayer
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