Hillsborough To Protect School Librarians, Books From Banishment Despite Pushback

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The Hillsborough School District is standing with its librarians to protect them and its library materials from being banned in its public school libraries.

The Board of Education voted on at its Jan. 29 meeting to approve policy 2535 titled Library Material, but not without pushback from some board members.

The policy follows the passage of the bill the “Freedom to Read Act,” S2421 spearheaded by Senators Andrew Swicker (NJ-16) and Teresa Ruiz (NJ-29). The bill requires school and public library boards to create policies regarding which books should be in school libraries and how books may be removed, as well as prohibit dissenters from suing librarians over the reading options made available in accordance with those policies.

Board President Joel Davis raised concerns with several aspects of the policy, including that the Board is allowed to approve materials to be added to the library, but the Board can not remove materials.

"So we can say yes or no at the gate, but we can not make a comment on materials that are already preexisting. Some of that is because part of the intent of this policy and legislation is in essence to protect certain materials that are in the library that other groups or other people might object," said Davis.

He also said the part of the policy he found "disturbing" was giving immunity to school library staff.

The policy reads that "A school library staff member who engages in activities as required... shall be immune from civil and criminal liability arising from good faith actions."

"And what that means is that there are groups of people who are disturbed by some of the materials that are available in the library. Young kids with graphic illustrations, some have described them as borderline pornographic or obscene or whatever word you want to attach," said Davis.

Superintendent Michael Volpe clarified that Davis was speaking in general and not specifically about the Hillsborough School Library.

Board member Jane Staats noted that "everyone in our district are professionals and they have expertise in this field and they use that expertise and they care for children to make sure they pick material that is appropriate for them."

"For them to be protected from legal liability, I think that’s really important so that they’re not in fear of with their good intentions placing material in their library," said Staats. "Otherwise we will have everything vanilla in the library because out of fear, they will avoid anything that could possibly be controversial."

Board member Elaine Jackson raised concerns on who is making the decision on whether a book is pornographic or not.

"That's where the line is blurred. Who is making the judgment call as to what is pornographic and what isn’t? And that’s the concern with a lot of families," said Jackson.

Board member Cynthia Nurse, who also serves as a fourth-grade teacher in Bridgewater, spoke passionately about the topic and shared that many educators are fearful of the current times.

"The times have changed where a lot of things are taken and twisted, and it makes teachers, at least I’m speaking for myself, but I know I have colleagues who are worried about an outlash because you are doing something good for kids, which you think will benefit kids. And because one parent or one member of the community doesn’t like it... Fear is the exact word," said Nurse.

"I am sorry if I offended anybody, but it is something I’m very sad about in this education field that I have to worry about as a teacher and as a professional who wants to do nothing but good for my fourth graders," said Nurse. "Like Ms. Staats said we don’t want bookshelves full of vanilla because it does not give us an opportunity to help our kids think critically and think for themselves."

Volpe jumped into the conversation to praise the school library staff.

"I know we are having conversations about laws and policies and whatifs, but I just don't want it to get lost in here that our librarians are doing wonderful work to make students lifelong readers," said Volpe.

Davis noted that "these are the kinds of philosophical questions that are swirling around coast to coast. And how one views these issues can be quite different from well-intended to well-informed points of view."

Staats disagreed with Davis, saying that "it can be interesting and entertaining if it's only on a philosophical basis. But we are talking about real people here, and it really concerns me that there’s any question of granting immunity to library staff when they are acting in good faith."

"I go back to the expertise of the library staff. And I think they need that protection of immunity. Otherwise, I fear for them as well as the content of our libraries," said Staats.

The Board ultimately approved the policy with the exception of Davis and Jackson.

Policy 2535 states that the Board of Education must:

• Recognize that library material should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all students and should present diverse points of view in the collection as a whole
• Acknowledge that library material shall not be removed from a school library because of the origin, background, or views of the library material or those contributing to its creation
  Recognize the importance of school libraries as centers for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas
• Promote the free expression and free access to ideas by students by prohibiting the censorship of library material
• Acknowledge that a school library media specialist is professionally trained to curate and develop the school library collection that provides students with access to the widest array of developmentally appropriate library material available to schools

As far as cencorship, the policy states that:

• The Board of Education shall not remove library material from a school library in the district because of the origin, background, or views of the library material or those contributing to its creation, and shall not engage in censorship of library material.
• The Board of Education shall allow a student to reserve or check out any developmentally appropriate library material, including diverse and inclusive material, regardless of the origin, background, or views of the library material or those contributing to its creation.

If someone does want to remove a book a procedure has been set up under the policy stating, "Any request by an individual with a vested interest to have library material removed from a school library in the district shall follow the grievance procedure outlined in Regulation 2535 in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:34A-5."

See the full policy below:

Policy 2535 New by Alexis Tarrazi