We are lucky in the UK in that official book banning is relatively rare. However, there are growing concerns that the trend which is prevalent in America may slip across the pond to infect our own schools and public libraries. In April 2023, The Guardian reported that Librarians were increasingly being asked to censor or remove books prompting the Chartered Institue of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) to update their professional guidance.

 

Book banners are concerned that children will be harmed by having access to books with content which they deem inappropriate or disturbing.  Research conducted by literacy professors Gay Ivy and Peter Johnston has found that, on the contrary, teenagers actually benefit from having unrestricted access to reading material of this nature. The results are discussed in more detail here, https://theconversation.com/how-teens-benefit-from-being-able-to-read-disturbing-books-that-some-want-to-ban-223533, 

and in Ivy and Johnston’s 2023 book, Teens Choosing To Read. In summary, the research found the following effects in the teens studied:

 

 

Many of the books challenged in America contain LGBTQ+ themes which are opposed to due to extreme religious views and bigotry. Other books are banned to due to sexual content. If teens are prevented from accessing information about sex, sexual health and romantic relationships from providers such as schools and public libraries, they will resort to finding that information on the internet, putting them at risk of being exposed to dangerous misinformation and truly disturbing imagery (much more disturbing than anything they may find in a sensitively written John Green novel for example).  

N.B. Adult fiction writers do not bare the same responsibility when it comes to writing about such subjects so it’s always a good idea to check the intended audience of the book your child is reading.

 

Our school library is managed by a qualified Librarian in accordance with the policies and best practice guidelines laid out  by CILIP. Therefore, parents and students can be confident that there will be no book banning or censorship on our watch!

 

‘Librarians and library staff have a core and ongoing commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of access to information. A library is not a place in which to hide from difficult ideas, but to equip our users with the critical literacy to engage productively with difficult ideas in their proper context. In this context, librarians have both an ongoing duty to oppose censorship in all its forms and a proactive duty to develop collections, activities and services which properly reflect and celebrate the diversity of lived experience and identities in the communities we serve. These professional commitments are central to the trusted role that libraries hold in our society and they should not be curtailed by any governing body or third party for any reason other than that they are expressly proscribed by law.’