Book Battle in Fayetteville, AR, Rages On
Schools chief Bobby C. New talks about what it’s like to face book challenges
By Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 11/1/2005
Parent Laurie Taylor’s attempt last spring to remove three books from school library shelves has been thwarted. In all, Taylor is challenging more than 50 books. The Fayetteville School Board voted September 16 to lift earlier restrictions on It’s Perfectly Normal(1994), It’s So Amazing (1999, both Candlewick), and A Teenage Guy’s Guide to Survival (Little, Brown, 1999). Shortly after the vote, SLJ talked to Fayetteville School Superintendent Bobby C. New.
What role did Fayetteville’s two school librarians play in the dispute, and how do they feel about the controversy?I’ve met with them several times and cautioned them about the emotional effect this would have. They feel less than valued by some of the public. I don’t mean this administration or school board. We think they are doing a professional job. But when you read e-mails and articles in the paper, it’s difficult to keep your emotions out of it.
How do your students feel about the book challenges?
They’re amused at this. They consider Taylor’s objections to the books to be less than a modern-day approach to dealing with sensitive issues. At the town meeting we had [about the book challenges], the kids were given the opportunity to speak. Our kids are very streetwise. There’s been a waiting list for the books that have been challenged. I’m a practicing Christian, and I’ve been really criticized in the paper for not taking books off the shelf, but I believe at the end of the day you want a process followed that is tried and true. I don’t really have any other roadmap. The law of land is there is a separation between church and state. I represent Muslim as well as Christian children.
Do you take any of the controversy personally?
I just got a pretty negative and nasty e-mail that [said] the board and I should be removed and fired because we were allowing these books in the library. I’m a 30-year veteran of public education, and the joy and greatness of seeing young people educated far outweighs the e-mail I get from patrons who don’t understand the complexity of the issues. I don’t take it personally. These are tough times. You just have to get over being most popular.
