Throw-It Thursday - Culturally Inapprorpriate Material

Ashley Borman is the Technical Services Librarian at the Clintonville (WI) Public Library

Culturally inappropriate materials have been a hot topic in the library world in recent years. Many
people think that there are many books that should not be available, even if they are considered
classics, due to the way they portray thoughts and ideas about people of color. Other people see
nothing wrong with these same titles, and cite the historical importance of those same materials. 

I will admit that I have not paid as much attention to this as I should have until somewhat more recently. I will not try to tell you what is the right or wrong thing to do. I am still trying to learn and understand the thoughts and reasonings behind some of the claims and statements I have seen and heard. 

I do hope that you consider what is best for your library and your patrons, before doing anything drastic. 

There are many articles out there that talk about racist and culturally inappropriate materials on both sides of this issue. I have included several of the articles I have read that may be of interest if you are trying to learn more about either side of the issue. These are by no means the best or most informative articles on the topic, but they do provide a bit of variety in people’s thoughts and ideas on the subject.

Resource Articles

• Cooperative Children’s Book Center  - Weeding or Censorship

• Don’t You Shush Me (Blog of a high school librarian) - Addressing Problematic/Harmful Books in the School Library

• Horn Book  - Beyond the Pluto Problem

• National Coalition Against Censorship  - Statement on Removal of Dr. Seuss Books From Publication

• School Library Journal  - Weeding Out Racis's Invisible Roots: Rethinking Children's Classics