The hill you die on in your career

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They will tell you which ones to remove. It's not on you to read them and make the decision.

They may give me a list, but every school library has books it in that are not in others. That means, I need to read most of them.
But, I will be the one physically removing them, and that's the sucky part.

Your removal process is going to involve making a big pile at the front of the library where you ordinarily have book displays and putting signage on the pile that says “For removal/deaccession, required by [citation to law].” I mean, the books have to go somewhere while you figure all of this out!

Then find the biggest On Social Media people you know in your area and make sure they see it.

And/or, if you have a sufficiently anonymous Twitter acct yourself, tweet it and tag in the ALA and its current President (who is very online).

this is great! And the empty shelves will refer to why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do the books have to go? Do you need to turn them in? Can you donate to a youth organization or create your own community book exchange type thing? Create a tik tok of you doing book reviews on each banned book?

great idea. I'm keeping them for when the law changes.. back closets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm being legislated to do this. I have to have certain (and I'm not sure which ones, I'll have to read them all) books removed from my 11,000 book library by Jan 1 or I face disciplinary action.
Censorship is something I signed up to fight for, yet, I have no choice but to quit, and then someone else would just do it and I'd lose my pension.
Not sure I can do it.

You don't even know the books to be removed.

Honestly, when I look back at some of the trash books I read in high school, involving historical romance novels bodice rippers, with rape, I would have better off NOT reading those.

There have to be some rating system in place for children and young adults to not be exposed to harmful content in the library, just like anywhere else.

How do you know the books aren't actually inappropriate material?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm being legislated to do this. I have to have certain (and I'm not sure which ones, I'll have to read them all) books removed from my 11,000 book library by Jan 1 or I face disciplinary action.
Censorship is something I signed up to fight for, yet, I have no choice but to quit, and then someone else would just do it and I'd lose my pension.
Not sure I can do it.

You don't even know the books to be removed.

Honestly, when I look back at some of the trash books I read in high school, involving historical romance novels bodice rippers, with rape, I would have better off NOT reading those.

There have to be some rating system in place for children and young adults to not be exposed to harmful content in the library, just like anywhere else.

How do you know the books aren't actually inappropriate material?

I know they aren't. I wouldn't have ordered them. I was hired to put what I felt as appropriate books in the library. Pretty sure no one has been corrupted by what they read here. Nor were my own children, who could read anything they wanted.
But, there are books that have a sentence of sex in them - a rape for instance - and the rest of the book is about how the victim recovers from that. THOSE BOOKS are important. Classics have a sentence or two of sex in them. I will have to remove some of them as well! But I certainly don't remember every single book with a sex scene in it FFS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm being legislated to do this. I have to have certain (and I'm not sure which ones, I'll have to read them all) books removed from my 11,000 book library by Jan 1 or I face disciplinary action.
Censorship is something I signed up to fight for, yet, I have no choice but to quit, and then someone else would just do it and I'd lose my pension.
Not sure I can do it.

You don't even know the books to be removed.

Honestly, when I look back at some of the trash books I read in high school, involving historical romance novels bodice rippers, with rape, I would have better off NOT reading those.

There have to be some rating system in place for children and young adults to not be exposed to harmful content in the library, just like anywhere else.

How do you know the books aren't actually inappropriate material?

I know they aren't. I wouldn't have ordered them. I was hired to put what I felt as appropriate books in the library. Pretty sure no one has been corrupted by what they read here. Nor were my own children, who could read anything they wanted.
But, there are books that have a sentence of sex in them - a rape for instance - and the rest of the book is about how the victim recovers from that. THOSE BOOKS are important. Classics have a sentence or two of sex in them. I will have to remove some of them as well! But I certainly don't remember every single book with a sex scene in it FFS.

The people "checking" to make sure you've done have haven't read nearly as many books as you. Plead ignorance. You didn't know that one was a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm being legislated to do this. I have to have certain (and I'm not sure which ones, I'll have to read them all) books removed from my 11,000 book library by Jan 1 or I face disciplinary action.
Censorship is something I signed up to fight for, yet, I have no choice but to quit, and then someone else would just do it and I'd lose my pension.
Not sure I can do it.

You don't even know the books to be removed.

Honestly, when I look back at some of the trash books I read in high school, involving historical romance novels bodice rippers, with rape, I would have better off NOT reading those.

There have to be some rating system in place for children and young adults to not be exposed to harmful content in the library, just like anywhere else.

How do you know the books aren't actually inappropriate material?

I know they aren't. I wouldn't have ordered them. I was hired to put what I felt as appropriate books in the library. Pretty sure no one has been corrupted by what they read here. Nor were my own children, who could read anything they wanted.
But, there are books that have a sentence of sex in them - a rape for instance - and the rest of the book is about how the victim recovers from that. THOSE BOOKS are important. Classics have a sentence or two of sex in them. I will have to remove some of them as well! But I certainly don't remember every single book with a sex scene in it FFS.

The people "checking" to make sure you've done have haven't read nearly as many books as you. Plead ignorance. You didn't know that one was a problem.

Except you get one angry parent or one lunatic from Moms for Liberty coming after you and suddenly you are going to be drawn into something that can be very ugly.

[Anonymous]

You need to comply or resign. This isn't censorship. This is protecting our children from people like you and their woke ideology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to comply or resign. This isn't censorship. This is protecting our children from people like you and their woke ideology.

You sound ridiculous! No where in the post was there a discussion that the books to be removed had anything to do with a "woke ideology" - you have no idea what criteria the librarian was given. The people behind library book challenges have their own ideologies that they are trying to push. Librarians are trying to remain neutral and provide all readers with a wide range of books

[Anonymous]

I can’t wait until these small-minded hysterics actually ban Fahrenheit 451.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to comply or resign. This isn't censorship. This is protecting our children from people like you and their woke ideology.

cen·sorship
noun
the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

It is literally the exact definition of censorship. Own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to comply or resign. This isn't censorship. This is protecting our children from people like you and their woke ideology.

cen·sorship
noun
the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

It is literally the exact definition of censorship. Own it.

DP. Exactly right! There is SO much ignorance in this country. I’m embarrassed for the first PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a librarian too, but in a liberal state. If I otherwise liked my job, I'd just do it. We influence kids and families in lots of big and small ways, and having certain books on the shelf is just one way we can have a positive impact on a community. [/quo

I have to say I agree. I just retired as an administrator for a large public library and was a librarian before that--35 years. I was in a purple area politically. We had so many challenges in the last two years. We had the will and support to fight them. It continues.

Locally, there were school districts going through this. The librarians lost. Politicians and parents are fired up and this looks good as a way to be vanquishing something.

I agree that they will replace you with a pawn who may even just be a volunteer. I feel school libraries are going to be the worst for censorship and that the libraries and librarians may be eliminated altogether as I saw they have been in some Houston schools recently.

Right now I would search for a job in a public or academic library where there is political support for freedom to read Don't quit until you find something else, but i would leave eventually.

It is not a good time right now for libraries. They are under attack and it's not going to end soon. It's going to be a fight in a lot of places and it will be public with grandstanding politicians who take pleasure in denigrating librarians.

I'm not sure why this has happened, but libraries are no longer viewed as neutral places providing a variety of viewpoints, and even the idea to provide a variety of viewpoints is suspect.

I especially don't understand it when there is the internet and all it brings, good and bad. A book, in some ways, seems rather quaint in comparison.

I don't have a huge amount of hope for the profession anymore.

[Anonymous]

Are they paying you overtime to read all these books? If not, calculate how long it will take to read and let them know. Really, they should be giving you the titles of books you have to get rid of.
Or, solicit parent volunteers to read the books.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely would not quit in protest. I'd remain and be a pill about it in every imaginable way. Don't give up your pension. Tell the school administration you absolutely can't read 11,000 books so you're beginning a student volunteer program to divide up the books and students will receive extra credit (maybe coordinate it with the English department?) and a glowing letter of recommendation for their college transcript!

Can you & likeminded teachers/ parents begin a network of "banned book little libraries"? I am in NW DC and there is at least 1 little library on every single block. If you had like minded folks within spitting distance of the school to put up a Banned Book library that would be amazing. Maybe get signs made so that it comes off as an organized countereffort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these 11,000 books? Is this censorship, or a way to reclaim space in the office?

in a school library.
Censorship.

But, remember, Republicans love Freedom!