Hit Lists for Young Adults 2: Frequently Challenged Books

Citation

Osorio, M.A. (2003), "Hit Lists for Young Adults 2: Frequently Challenged Books", Collection Building, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 211-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950310504336

Teri Lesesne and Rosemary Chance are members of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association. Lesesne is an associate professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas; Chance is an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

When it comes to books, one size does not fit all. A book that is beneficial to one person can be deleterious to another, and therein lays the crux of the selection/censorship problem. School or public librarians must listen with respect to parents or other caring adults about the content of literature aimed at their young adults who are rightly under the supervision and guidance of the older generation. Nevertheless, librarians or administrators need to look at the community as a whole and act as caretakers for the diverse people they serve. They should not be shocked that a particular book comes under intense scrutiny by some patrons. The best course of action is to engage people in calm discussion and present well‐thought‐out arguments that have been prepared well ahead of time. Hit Lists is a tool for just such moments. One need not agree with every argument presented in Hit List, yet administrators or librarians can find here stimulating thoughts that will provide them with the best arguments for their intended audience. Patrons may not all agree on the value of each and every book a library contains, but they can come to understand the role libraries play in their community and come to support their library in a whole‐hearted manner.

Readers of the Hit List will find it divided into 20 chapters. Each chapter covers a contemporary book written for and read by young adults. In this edition one work by each of 20 different authors is presented. Every chapter begins with a detailed summary of the content of the book. Following the summary are listings of articles about the book and its author, awards and prizes the book or author have won, and other books written about the book or its author. These are followed by a listing of challenges to that book, online resources for the book or author, audiovisual resources and a list of reviews of the book. The appendices provide ways to update resources and enhance the arguments for challenged books.

This is highly recommended for school libraries, public libraries and any administrator who needs to defend a controversial book to his constituency or community. It is also of benefit to anyone who wishes to better understand the complexities that certain books pose for libraries.