What do school librarians fear most? Hands down, their biggest fear is a formal challenge to a resource in the school library. There are no accurate statistics about the number of challenges to school library resources. The staff of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom estimates that only about 20 percent are reported to ALA annually. For the…

Intellectual freedom is a core value of librarianship, but fighting to keep controversial materials on the shelves can sometimes feel like a lonely battle. And not all censorship controversies involve the public objecting to a book in the collection--libraries are venues for displays and meetings, and sometimes library staff themselves are tempted…

Discusses possible responses to the situation that arises when online searches by high school students result in references to materials that do not meet selection criteria for the school library. Responses to the article from six readers are also presented. (CLB)

This document contains 12 brief discussions of library-related topics with emphasis on school library media centers, which were originally published by the Iowa Department of Public Instruction (DPI) or the Iowa Department of Education (DE). These "Quick Notes" appear under the following headings: (1) "A Bill of Rights for the…