Difference Between Selection And Censorship

Improved Essays
The question is how will a school librarian differentiate between selection and censorship? Working in an elementary school I see that a school librarian may find this really hard due to ensuring that the collection is part of the school mission and goals of the school and district. Asheim states, “The major characteristic which makes for the all-important difference seems to me to be this: that the selector’s approach is positive, while that of the censor is negative” (p. ).
Keeping this in mind when school librarians look at selecting and building their collections one should evaluate the collection for the benefits it could have on the current collection and not finding only the negatives that the source has.
I can see how a school librarian

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The definition of censorship is using superior strengths to condemn the reading of a particular book. These definitions go hand in hand to exemplify the point of banning books or censorship being just another form of bullying. In an instance, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green is a banned book. In summary, there is an adolescent…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wesley Scroggins said in an article,”Scroggins: Filthy books demeaning to Republic Schools education”, from Springfield News- Leader, that “In high school English classes, children are required to read and view material that should be classified as soft pornography”. He then goes on to say that Speak is an example of soft pornography, and shouldn’t be allowed in english curriculum. He believes that this book should be censored in school districts. Laurie Halse Anderson wrote an essay, “A Comment about Censorship”, replying to his, and many other people’s opinions that Speak should be censored from the english curriculum. Although some parents believe that some books are inappropriate for school, they actually teach values from one generation to the next.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Society should have the freedom to do things they wanted People should be allowed to think for themselves. People should not feel so overwhelmed over censorship. In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, demonstrates what happens when censorship takes over society. For example, they do not let people listen to what they want to hear.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The banning and challenging of a book is typically decided by parents, school staff, and district officials. For a book to be challenged it has to be attempted to be removed or restricted. It is, again, based upon the objections or parents and school officials. Unlike a challenge a banning of a book is the removal of material that is getting challenged. Most of the time challenges and banning’s are motivated by the desire to protect the children from what people think may be inappropriate content, typically sexual or against a religion or sometimes because it promotes a certain religion.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The use of censorship in society over time has become overused and the factors that should be used to determine censorship have become overlooked. Censoring has multiple benefits and is a great concept, however it is often taken to the extremes by the government, teachers, school boards and parents. Censorship should be based on possible issues, content and maturity of the audience. In the novel F451, Ray Bradbury composes a futuristic society where censorship is key and the government as well as society censors the idea of books and the knowledge within them. The factors that should be used to evaluate whether or not censorship should be used are not “Montag, take my word for it, I’ve had to read a few in my time, to know what I was about,…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Giver: Banned Books

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Avoiding Dystopia According to the American Library Association, over 11,300 books have been challenged since the origin of banned books began 33 years ago. Parents most often challenge these books rather than organizations, teachers or religious groups, and the majority of books banned are within schools and their libraries. When books are banned, it reveals a disapproval of the censors to look at the world with open eyes, to close their eyes just like they closed the banned books. Prohibiting a book means uncovering more about the sensor than the book or the author brought into the center stage.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Prohibiting the choice of selecting a preferred book puts a restraint on children's rights and awareness. In the article called "Intellectual Freedom, Censorship..." the authors wrote, "The court conceded that school boards are responsible for monitoring the education of their students... that is educationally unsuitable...; however, they cannot stifle students' rights just because they object to a certain viewpoint or idea" (Mclaughlin and Hendricks 9). Removing the freedom to choose what one likes is against the First Amendment which includes the freedom of speech. Without a way of choice to express oneself then everyone would be restricted to making any decisions for themselves and standing…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although book banning happens all over the world, the most common challenges occur in school libraries. Most of these battles are fought at the school board level, but on occasions, some do make it to the supreme court. In one of the most famous court cases, in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in the Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico. The case however has been regarded as one of the most important decisions concerning the First Amendment rights and school libraries. With this, the Supreme Court set strict parameters under which the board of educators could consider banning a book from it’s selves.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Book Banning is Misguided. Book banning refers to the restriction of access to a book through assertion of processes initiated by a ruling organization or individual. Targeted books mostly those in schools, libraries or book stores are challenged by individuals in any particular society due to kind of content illustrated in them. Generally, the content is normally categorized as immoral by the challengers who believe that the said content can pollute or adversely influence a young readers mind.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The problem with censoring books in schools is very simple if you think about it. It is literally the process of not allowing books into a school. The problem is not that we want to read these really old, boring books, it is the idea of it. Banning a book is not allowing us to read material that we wish to (Book banning reaching).…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Charjully Goff Ms. Lippay English 9th September 23rd, 2014 Banned Books “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame”- Oscar Wilde, an Irish writer and poet. Banned books are books that people can’t have access to. This is considered also as book censorship, sometimes due to religious, political and moral purposes. The main books that have been banned are usually because they contain religion purposes that might offend, sex scenes, drugs, prostitution, crimes ,and racism that are found “influential” to teens. In other words they are mostly books that contain inappropriate content.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the dawn of the pen and pencil, literature has existed to communicate the human experience. There are countless numbers of books in the world, all of which drastically vary in content, size and quality. Despite all of the disparate traits between them, this drive to relay another’s view on life is shared among all literature. However, there are many individuals that seek to suppress these views by banning books from libraries and schools. This desire to ban and suppress an author’s interpretation could arise from a variety of factors: differing ideological viewpoints, aversion to graphic content, or a distaste of a book’s “offensive” subject matter to name a few.…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents gave me. “ -Judy Blume. As you grow into an adult your parents teach you how to make choices on your own so you can learn right from wrong and how to survive in the adult world on your own for the first time. Some people believe books should be banned because of inappropriate language or actions taking place in the book that the parent is not comfortable with their child reading. There will come a time in a child’s life where they are not children anymore and they would like to start making their own decisions.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Research of “Censorship: Should Language be censored?” Censorship in America is an ongoing debate in today’s society. Many argue there is too much taking place, while others argue we don’t do enough to control it. In this essay we will examine censorship from four different perspectives.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Such things as spreading your religion in school can be censored because it’s not accepted by all people. Also in school their textbooks can be censored by the context of the book that could harm the children’s knowledge. Our school district limits our technology rights within our chromebooks. We are limited with our chromebooks by the websites that we can access that are deemed appropriate. Along with the context that could harm our children in our textbook’s the content could be irrelevant now and could be taken out of our…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays