Censorship news and advice for librarians and educators from School Library Journal
Nintendo Magazine Pulled From Middle School Library By Rocco Staino - 03/31/2009
A magazine cover of a woman holding a gun has led a middle school principal to pull it from the media center, over the objection of the librarian. More
Katherine the Great: There couldn't be a better choice for our new kids' book ambassador than Katherine Paterson By Kathleen T. Horning - 02/01/2010
Mere days before the announcement of the new children’s book ambassador, speculation was still running wild. Who would they tap for the prestigious two-year position? And, even more to the point, who could possibly measure up to the very capable Jon Scieszka, the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, whose humor and flair would surely be a tough act to follow? As ...
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Banned Dictionary Returned to Shelves By Rocco Staino - 01/31/2010
Copies of the Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate Edition dictionary (Merriam Webster, 2000) are back on classroom and library shelves at Oak Meadows Elementary School in Riverside County, CA, after being temporarily removed.
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Little, Brown in Sticky Situation Over 'Whitewashed' Book Covers By Rocco Staino - 01/26/2010 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is changing the covers on Trenton Lee Stewart’s "Mysterious Benedict Society"series, following complaints that the character Sticky Washington, described as having light brown skin, appears on all three covers as white.More
‘And Tango Makes Three’ Challenged Again By Lauren Barack - 01/18/2010
Despite one father’s attempt to remove And Tango Makes Three (S & S, 2005) from his city’s school system, the North Kansas City Schools Board of Education recently voted 3 to 2 to keep the story of two male penguins and their baby chick on school shelves.
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The Blame Game: If a parent files a complaint, who's responsible? By Pat Scales - 01/01/2010
I was surprised to discover that my new school district doesn’t have a library policy, especially since we’re considering unblocking some social networking sites. I’m especially troubled that there’s no Internet-use policy. After meeting with our other librarians, I crafted what I thought was a good policy.
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School Librarian Takes Heat for Using Profanity in Class By Lauren Barack - 12/21/2009
A lesson on censorship took a disapproving turn after parents complained about a middle school librarian who used profanity and wrote it on a board during a lesson on controversial books.
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West Bend Community Memorial Library Wins Intellectual Freedom Award By SLJ Staff - 12/17/2009
The West Bend Community Memorial Library, located just outside of Milwaukee, WI, is making news again—but this time it's being honored for defending intellectual freedom in the face of a library challenge that gained national attention earlier this year.
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2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99.
Gr 1-5–A veteran of Noggin Channel and PBS Kids, Frezza created these eight exceptional rock ‘n roll songs for elementary grade children who are too old for Raffi, but not old enough for adult pop music.
Friends and colleagues of the late Effie Lee Morris may enjoy this photo of the children's librarian, which Nicholas Glass, founder and executive director of Teachingbooks.net, recently found on his computer. It was taken at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and features (from left) Ashley Bryan, Christopher Myers, and Morris, also an advocate for children's literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, who died of cancer on November 10, 2009.
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Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99. 
