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A Page- Turning School Debate: A Controversial Children's Book About Cuba Has Raised Questions About the Screening Process for New Books in Local School Libraries

Posted on: Sunday, 7 May 2006, 06:06 CDT

By Matthew I. Pinzur, The Miami Herald

May 7--There are about 24,000 books in the Nautilus Middle School media center, including titles on Nazis and date rape and Huckleberry Finn.

Most of them were chosen based on a one-paragraph review in a library journal and placed on the shelves without any screening by a librarian, principal or other district official.

"With 500 [new] books coming in [every year], it's unrealistic," said Roberta Kaiser, who has been Nautilus' library media specialist for 38 years.

Library specialists have practically unrestricted freedom to choose books and other materials for their schools. They rely almost entirely on reviews in magazines such as Booklist and American Library Journal, which are often written by fellow school librarians.

"We look to the reviewers to guide us," said Albert Pimienta, Miami-Dade's instructional supervisor for library media services.

That system has functioned for decades without high-profile problems, but this spring's uproar over a children's book about Cuba has policymakers rethinking it.

"It leaves it to chance and it leaves it to the individual prejudices and philosophies of whoever's doing it," said School Board member Frank Bolanos, leader of the movement against one book in particular, Vamos A Cuba, which is in 36 school libraries.

The 5-year-old book has drawn attention for its rosy depiction of Cuba under Fidel Castro, which prompted the father of an elementary student to ask for its removal. His request was denied but is now under appeal within the district administration.

CONTROVERSIAL WORDS

In one oft-cited passage, author Alta Schreier writes: "The people of Cuba eat, work and study like you."

Opponents have objected to the words "like you," citing food rations, proscribed employment and forced school chants about Castro's greatness.

At least one other similar book is now under scrutiny, and Bolanos said the School Board or central administration may need to play a greater role in screening books.

"You start out by identifying and prioritizing topics that are considered the most sensitive to the community," he said. "Start out there and see how far it goes in being able to find these more objectionable books."

But librarians worry that centralization will politicize book-buying and rob them of the ability to customize their collections for a school's unique programs, curriculum and student tastes.

"You want your collection to suit the school's priorities," Pimienta said. If a school is going to build a greenhouse, for example, the library might order books on organic gardening.

Each year, media specialists consult with their school's principal and teachers, as well as sometimes talking to students and parents. But rarely does anyone review the media specialist's order, which can range from a few hundred to a few thousand books depending on the school's size and budget.

"The reality is, everyone's so busy," Pimienta said.

Thousands of books are published every year for children and young adults -- exponentially more than anyone could read or even carefully skim.

A few publishers of nonfiction books occasionally provide sample copies, but those often need to be mailed back at great expense.

A single, nine-sentence review in School Library Journal covers the controversial book, which is part of a series aimed at second- through fourth-graders.

BOOK REVIEW

"While the information is very basic and succeeds in giving only a glimpse at life in these countries, the books may be appropriate for collections needing easy titles on different nations," the review said, referring to both Vamos A Cuba and Vamos A Puerto Rico.

According to the journal's policy statement, its reviewers "evaluate books in terms of literary quality, artistic merit, clarity of presentation, and appeal to the intended audience."

But the journals do not consistently point out a book's political, sexual or other potentially controversial content. Nor do they explicitly address all of the 15 criteria that School Board rules require library books to meet, including accuracy, educational significance, appropriateness, authority and durability.

Pimienta said all those elements are part of the same spirit that the journal's reviewers consider.

"I do think we follow the letter of the rule," he said. "The reviewers and the professional journals take those elements into consideration."

Moreover, Pimienta and Kaiser both said that no individual screener could possibly anticipate every sensitivity or objection to a book.

Superintendent Rudy Crew's spokesman, Joseph Garcia, said reviewing every book is "just not feasible."

If some kind of committee began reviewing materials, Kaiser said, schools would run the risk of losing the important but controversial ideas that make libraries marketplaces of ideas.

"If people are looking for something to complain about, they're going to find it," Kaiser said. "We just have to fight book banning."

SLIPPING THROUGH

She conceded that inappropriate books sometimes creep through the system -- she recently removed a book called Vegan Virgin Valentine. It is available in numerous senior highs, but when a parent complained, Kaiser agreed that the sexual references were too strong for a middle school.

"We know nothing is perfect," Pimienta said. "That's why we have the reconsideration process."

That process, in which Vamos A Cuba is now enmeshed, has numerous levels, from the principal to the School Board.

Bolanos, however, said schools should not wait for a parent to complain.

"If those filters are not in place with the vendors, I think we owe it to our community to put them in place locally," he said.

The debate is mined with legal implications as well. The U.S. Supreme Court has explicitly barred school boards from removing books "to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion."

Bolanos has pushed his own legal interpretation, arguing that Vamos A Cuba did not meet the 15 criteria and therefore should never have been placed into the libraries to begin with. Under that logic, the book might not be subject to the same protections.

The incoming president of the Dade County Council PTA/PTSA said parents, not librarians or school officials, should screen books.

"We believe that access to information should not be denied," said President-elect Ivelisse Castro.

Children are not always closely supervised in libraries, though, and some believe the district has a responsibility to screen the books, especially for young children.

"Families and students are trusting that the school get good materials, accurate materials for them," said Lydia Usategui, a child psychiatrist and president of the Committee for the Human Rights of Children. "There's no room for error here -- you can't just get things that look good in a catalog."

BROWARD RULES

Regulation of library books is looser in Broward, where each school sets its own policy. The few district-wide criteria broadly call for books that support the curriculum, consider student diversity and "develop literary, cultural, aesthetic appreciation and ethical standards."

The process for buying books, however, is almost identical to Miami-Dade's, according to district media specialist Renee Schwartz.

"We want our media specialists involved with helping our students become effective users of ideas and information," Schwartz said. "We don't want them sitting there reading."

MIAMIHERALD.COM: To read Matthew Pinzur's blog, Miami Gradebook: Inside South Florida Education, click on Today's Extras.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

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Source: The Miami Herald

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