After months of concerns by parents both in favor and against removing certain books from school libraries, Academy School District 20’s board of education Thursday night explored expanding access to the district’s entire catalog to them.
During the board’s regular meeting, D-20’s library and media specialist Carol Bramschreiber presented a draft of an online platform known as Destiny Discover, an online interface for all library materials in participating districts.
Though typically used for students and faculty, Bramschreiber presented it as an option for parents to view and access all library materials in the district available to students.
Parents with access to Wi-Fi and an internet device would be able to log into their student’s account to view all materials currently and previously checked out in addition to blocking out young adult titles or all titles from their library.
The goal is to maintain consistent communication with parents and the district in addition to increasing parental choice, Bramschreiber said.
“It can help you (the parent) talk together about what your child might read independently,” she said.
She added that the interface has been presented to various school staff and library faculty and should be accessible within the next few weeks.
Later in the evening, the board voted on whether or not to consider an appeal to a book recently challenged in a school entitled "This Book is Gay."
The nonfiction novel, written by Juno Dawson and published in the U.S. in 2015, is described as a guide for people on discovering one’s sexual identity and how to navigate through any uncomfortable conversations or scenarios. It does so by detailing the history and perspectives of members of the LGBTQIA+ to readers.
Recently, it was tied for 10th-place on the American Library Association’s 2022 list of most challenged books. According to the ALA, it was challenged 48 times for LGBTQIA+ content and providing sexual education that was claimed to be sexually explicit.
According to booklooks.org, a website that identifies and rates previously challenged books on an age-appropriateness scale of 1-5, This Book is Gay received a 4 “not for minors” rating due to “excerpts and illustrations depicting explicit nudity and sexual activities.”
The website was previously suggested to serve as the rating metric for a library review board proposed by Superintendent Jinger Haberer in January.
After a brief discussion, the board ultimately voted 3-2 to not review the book. Individual board members said that although they may not like the book’s content personally, they agreed that the decision should ultimately be left to students and their parents and urged them to make informed decisions regarding book selection.
“This feels like a massive responsibility,” board director Lauren Yanez said. “I’m a fervent believer of the First Amendment, and I know it works both ways.”
During the previous school year, the five books were formally challenged to the board, with each ultimately remaining on their library’s shelves. Last summer, several other titles were later temporarily removed without following the district’s procedure. All were returned to their libraries prior to the current school year.
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