Thanks for bringing up the fact that some schools don't have professional librarians Kathy. I'm in the UP and we have many public/school libraries that are under the authority of the school superintendent and not the librarian, most of which do not have a library degree. I haven't looked yet but I hope the ALA and MLA come out with a statement of support and also additional guidance for librarians that face this specific anti-first amendment/Freedom to Read movement. Oh my goodness about giving out student/patron information on who was reading a specific book, they must not have even been trained properly. We recently changed our LMS to Ex Libris/Alma and I am beyond perplexed as to why the system keeps historical records of what someone checked out, except that they are a worldwide company that is 'one size fits all'.
This current wave of anti-intellectualism and aggression against school libraries certainly strengthens the case for the necessity of professional librarians in all schools and public/school libraries.
We are in this together!
Take care, Rebecca

On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 3:28 PM Lester, Kathy via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:
Yes.  I also have had school librarians reach out to me as well.
Unfortunately, there have been cases where the parents are requesting for the school librarian to be arrested.
This is not happening in all school districts in Michigan -- but it has been stressful in cases where it has been happening.

I also can't help but wonder -- what is happening in the districts without certified school librarians?
As Klaudia has mentioned -- there is the possibility that books are just being pulled off the shelves without following a policy (or even knowing if there is a policy?)
In one case, there was a paraprofessional who gave information to the parent groups about which students had checked out the books in question.
{This was wrong for so many reasons.}
As always, I am most concerned about our students  -- our students deserve the freedom to read diverse books that have been selected by a certified school librarian for their age range and school community.  They also deserve to have equitable access to certified school librarians who will support them.

Here is the latest biweekly OIF Newsletter --
https://membership.informz.net/informzdataservice/onlineversion/ind/bWFpbGluZ2luc3RhbmNlaWQ9MTAzMjY3OTImc3Vic2NyaWJlcmlkPTExMjAwMDY5NDg=
Look at how lengthy this Censorship item is (and this is just the last 2 weeks).
BTW.  There is a link to subscribe to the newsletter is at the bottom of the newsletter.

--Kathy

Kathy Lester, MLIS, MA
Advocacy Co-Chair, Past-President 2014, 
Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME)
President-Elect, 2021-2022
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
Councilor At Large
American Library Association (ALA)
School Library Media Specialist / Technology Coach, 
East Middle School, Plymouth-Canton Schools
SL21 Model Library, 2017-2018
SL21 Exemplary Ranking - Michigan School Libraries for the 21st Century 2019-2022
ISTE Making IT Happen Award Winner
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"Every school librarian is a leader; every learner has a school librarian"


On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 12:41 PM Klaudia Janek via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:
It is happening here in Michigan.  There are several groups and the one that seems to be most prominent is called Moms for Liberty.  They are passing around lists of books to bring up at board meetings.  Some of the people are the same people who came into board meetings about masking, then CRT, now school library books.  I think next on the list will be misunderstandings about SEL (social, emotional, learning programs).  There is a lot of language about how schools are brainwashing students with leftist, communist propaganda and pornography.  I have a few school librarian friends who are currently going through this.  I just don't want to name them in a public forum without their consent.  They can jump in if they want.

I think that there are some school libraries that have been operating without librarians and budgets for years....they do not have the newer books listed on the "sheet".  I also think that if the books are somehow in an unstaffed library, an administrator can just walk in and take anything off the shelf.  No one would ever know.

But we are already at breaking points in schools.  Everyone is subbing or schools are going virtual because of staff shortages.  To add book challenges to this list that consist of not just one book, but hundreds, is completely overwhelming to have to think about or deal with.  :(  It's not good.

Klaudia

Klaudia Janek, MLIS

School Librarian

IB Extended Essay Coordinator

Michigan Association for Media in Education - 2018 Past President

2019-2020 AASL Presidential Task Force - Equity, Diversity & Inclusion


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On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 11:52 AM Maria Williams via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:
Jim & TLN-

There was also a brief article in TIME earlier this week that addressed increasingly frequent challenges at school libraries:


M.

Maria Williams
Assistant Director
Northville District Library
212 W. Cady Street
Northville,  MI 48167
248-349-3020, ext. 208
mwilliams@northvillelibrary.org

Book Cover

From: "Jim Flury" <jflury@tln.lib.mi.us>
To: "all-tln" <all-tln@lists.tln.org>, "directors" <directors@lists.tln.org>, "partnerscda" <partnerscda@lists.tln.org>, "michlib-l" <michlib-l@mcls.org>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2021 8:50:51 AM
Subject: [all-tln] Challenged/Banned Books

Good Morning,

Thought I would share this PW article that discusses what appears to be an increasingly organized, possibly national trend to challenge and/or ban books. I am not on the "front lines" as nearly all of you are, so just wondering if we are seeing this trend in Michigan as well. If not, then the increased number of challenges/ban efforts that are taking place in other states might be something to keep in mind.


Jim

Jim Flury
Technical Services Manager
The Library Network
41365 Vincenti Court
Novi, MI 48375
248-536-3100, ext 133
Fax 248-536-3098
jflury@tln.lib.mi.us

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