Amy commented on my blog that she wondered how media specialists should handle material that has questionable language. She wondered if it should be left to the parents or if the school media center should act to protect children from foul language in books and other material. Robert G. Wengert suggests that librarians should focus more on their role as teachers as a way of solving ethical dilemmas. When a librarian acts to remove material from a young patron, he believes that the librarian is not moralizing but is instead removing material that will not be understood by the student. He states that "exposing someone to data might not provide that person with information" (p.486). He makes a good comparison between light and information, suggesting that unlike light, information does not illuminate everything that it touches.
When a student expresses concern about language used by an author, I believe that a librarian should use that as an educable moment and discuss what the author may be intending to express through the language that was selected. Now, not every book is going to be The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Ulysses. There may be times when it is appropriate to just direct the student to a book with similar themes or in the same genre that does not have language that makes the student feel uncomfortable.
I can remember my high school librarian telling me that he kept certain books out of general circulation because there were some students who were not ready for that type of material. If a mature student asked for them, he would allow them to use the books.
Image from: www.teachers.ash.org.au/ mspouwbray/lit/huck.htm
Wengwert, R. (2001, Winter). Some ethical aspects of being an information professional. Library Trends 49: 486-509.
1 comment:
I agree that the librarian should use it as a teachable moment when there is questionable language or when mature events happen in a book. As a teacher I often do that. I have some readers who I know can handle more mature novels and I lend them out, but I always make sure to discuss what they will find in the novel and make sure that they understand the purpose of the language or the mature scene. If they do not seem capable of reading the material in a mature manner, I do not lend it out. It is easier in a classroom though, because I know my students well. As a librarian, it will be harder to have that kind of knowledge of a student's maturity.
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