Granse 1 Elaina Granse LIS Issue Topic Research Word Count : 16 77 The Disappearance of School Librarians and the Rise of Censorship Within the past few years, librarians in schools have begun to disappear and this has far - reaching consequences as without them, censorship is on the rise and blocking out any information that could run counter to a small vocal group’s ideas. The number of school librarians is ever dropping “In 2018 - 19, there were more than 42,000 school librarians in the U.S — almost 20% fewer than in 2009 - 10” (Lance 2021). A major part of the job of a librarian, especially one that is in a school, is to help people find the information that they are looking for. Looking after the information that is in their care, be it books, electronics, or documents, or any other format is an important jo b that is fulfilled by librarians . Libraries in schools that are left bereft of a librarian lose a vital part of their support structure and the load of excess work is taken up by teachers already stretched thin by conflicting demands or lack of funding. Te a chers will find themselves responsible for maintaining libraries in their own classrooms , with no one to maintain the condition of the material s and make requests for replacements when they become worn out or lost. With the disappearances of librarians in libraries, the strongest voice against censorship is also disappearing leaving dangerous openings for vocal groups to remove any information that runs counter to their personal beliefs. The issue of banning books is a long - contested disagreement from what content is banned to the reasoning of why it should be banned. There are groups that argue that censorship of books Granse 2 is a matter of how to best protect children and if there are books on topics that are deemed disagreeable, the children should not have access to them. “ “For every instance a parent reports to the school board or other entity, the principal or superintendent has to determine in seven days whether the material is obscene,” says Pentland, the committee’s vice chair. “Let’s say someone turns in 40 articles in one day. You have seven days to review and get back to them, and then the board has to vote on it. What if your board only meets once a month?”” (Bauld S ection 2 ) Small groups have taken advantage of a system that was designed to protect children and use it instead to filter out information that they personally disagree with The difficulty is that what makes a book unacceptable can be vague at best. In many instances , it is for social or political ideas that might be found disagreeable to one party but wanted by another. Libraries without a librarian to argue in their defense are often left to the whims of administration or community members that would rather only prov ide information to children that conforms to their individual world views, creating an unbalanced argument where the loudest groups are the only voices heard In many instances across the country, these groups use the Children’s Internet Protection Act to argue for censorship. Schools that accept federal funds are required to maintain a degree of internet screening to protect children and uphold the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), but the guidelines on what that protection entails are vague and often left up to the school’s or library’s personal discretion The guidelines are that a school that receives federal funding must filter or block pictures or information that is obscene or deemed inappropriate for minors. “Often, it is because the institutions and individuals responsible for implementing these policies misunderstand or misinterpret CIPA and the Supreme Court decision upholding the law.” ( Caldwell - Stone 2013 ). Many institutions would rather err toward more restrictive filtering rather than less , to prevent being deemed in violation of CIPA and losing their funding. This allows Granse 3 individuals or groups to put pressure on these institutions to further limit their available information , declaring that it would be considered harm ful to provide it to children. In addition to CIPA, there is a group of people that are urging for the removal of certain books and topics from their local schools and libraries because of personal , religious , or social views While the freedom of speech and freedom to find information are guaranteed by the Library Bill of Rights, small groups use concern for children to push their ideas concerning what is or is not appropriate. More often than not however, “the content targeted through databases is largely focused on topics related to LGBTQIA+ themes, race and racism, and sexual health.” (Baul d, 2023). Historically, before 2021, a book would be contested and brought to the attention of the library or school as something that should not be allowed, however with the expansion of social media, small groups can pool their resources to create organized censorship groups that target their local library to try and force the removal of any information that runs counter to their ideals. In deliberate attempts to censor information on topics such as the LGBTQ, race issues, or sexual health, gaps of information are formed as resources are destroyed by deliberate censorship. “Now, many library workers face threats to their e mployment, their personal safety, and in some cases, threats of prosecution for providing books to youth they and their parents want to read.” (ALA). When a small but highly vocal minority begins to pressure an administration, in a substantial number of cases it is deemed the best option to simply acquiesce to demands rather than risk backlash against the library or school in question As school librarians are cut from districts with circa 20% of school librarians having left from 2015 to 2019 , they do not reappear down the line but simply disappear from the industry altogether leaving the schools to readjust to their absence “One of the things that was very disheartening to me is the statistic that once a district eliminates all school librarians, only one Granse 4 out of 10 in the time period we studied reinstated a school librarian,” (Kachel, 2021) . With the growing view of a school librarian being a luxury item, schools try to simply redistribute their labor onto other faculty and staff and remove the position altogether. In the years since, many schools adjusted to the absence of a librarian , with those in charge never having known it to be different. A librarian’s role in a public school is to help students learn, to be a support pillar for them that can help direct them to anything that they are trying to understand. Often complicated questions regarding a student’s identity will be discovered by them asking questions until they understand. Cutting off the availability of information to students will only harm them in the long run. “The results suggest that school libraries tended to have significantly fewer LGBTQ - themed books than titles with other kinds of controversial content, and that certain school - based factors such as high enrolment, racial diversity, liberal - leaning communit y locations; and presence of certified school librarians, were present in schools with more inclusive LGBTQ collections.” (Garry, 2015) With the more recent censorship groups working to remove entire topics as inappropriate for running counter to their ideas, social or political, children are left with no safe places to learn about it. Their only source of information can be the very peopl e trying to suppress any alternative point of view. This is even more important when considering the locations that are most often unsafe to ask questions, are also the ones least likely to have accessible information. Ultimately the locations that need a school librarian the most are the ones least likely to have one. The Library Bill of Rights holds a firm stance regarding censorship and the role of the librarian concerning it. In section III: “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” And in the following section it is Granse 5 noted that libraries should also be concerned with helping all people interested in resisting the loss of free ideas. The entire purpose of libraries and their keepers the librarians, therefore , is to provide access to information for people and help support their communities where ver they can. In times of unrest or natural disaster, libraries keep their doors open as long as they can to support and help their community , because it is their responsibility. Unfortunately, there has been no immediate change stopping the rise of book banning, or the dropping numbers of school librarians , however as the problem has become known, steps are being taken to hopefully counteract the groups of organized topic banning. “Polling conducted by bipartisan research firms in 2022 showed that voters across the political spectrum oppose efforts to remove books from libraries and have confidence in libraries to make good decisions about their collections. To galvanize support for libraries and respond to the surge in book challen ges and other efforts to suppress access to information, in 2022 ALA launched Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.” ( ALA ) While not solving all problems, and the futures of librarians in schools in a continuing post - Covid world remain uncertain with dropping numbers , the issue is at least known. Steps to draw accredited librarians away from the cities where they can get the requirements and into the areas that need them the most can be created to hopefully bring school librarians back. School librarians provide a crucial sanctuary of knowledge and information to students who might not have any other resources that they can access, and for whom asking the wrong questions might prove dangerous. In the phrasing of the Library Bill of Rights section VII “All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries s hould advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.” School s are supposed to be places for children to learn, both about the world and about themselves and the presence of a Granse 6 librarian is an unbelievably valuable piece in making a safe space for children to seek information without having topics censored for one group ’ s ideals. Granse 7 References Admin. (2022, September 7). Library bill of rights. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved May 2023, from https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill. Ajeyaseelan. (2022, November 24). Chapter II: Of the liberty of thought and discussion. Collection at Bartleby. Retrieved May 2023, from https://www.bartleby.com/lit - hub/on - liberty/chapter - ii - of - the - liberty - of - thought - and - discussion/. Asheim, L. (2022, September 28). Not censorship but selection. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. 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Oltmann (2016) Public Librarians' Views on Collection Development and Censorship, Collection Management, 41:1, 23 - 44, DOI: 10.1080/01462679.2015.111799 Where have all the school librarians gone? PublishersWeekly.com. (2021, December 10). Retrieved May 2023, from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by - topic/industry - news/libraries/article/88111 - where - have - all - the - school - librarians - gone.html.