Sources: Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for Young Adult and School Librarians

Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for Young Adult and School Librarians. Edited by Kristin Fletcher-Spear and Kelly Tyler. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2014. 144 p. Paper $48 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1200-3).

Intellectual Freedom for Teens is a short, easy-to-read introduction to the topic of intellectual freedom (IF). The book’s raison d’être is the fact that many young adult (YA) librarians deal with unexpected book challenges because a large proportion of the titles on ALA’s annual Frequently Challenged Books list are YA books that are popular among teens, used in classrooms, or both. The book aims to introduce librarians to the issues involved in championing for teens’ intellectual freedom rights, specifically the right to read.

The book is divided into five chapters. The first covers a history of IF and YA librarianship. It stresses that a YA librarian’s main responsibility is to make sure teens’ information needs are being met. The second chapter discusses how to prepare for a book challenge before it occurs. It emphasizes the importance of materials selection policies to help justify a book’s inclusion in the teen collection and covers how to handle patron complaints, prepare front-line staff members, and avoid “self-censorship” (censorship by librarians) that can unintentionally harm teen patrons. The third chapter gives advice on what to do when a book is challenged—whether the challenge comes in the form of an indirect oral complaint, a public attack, outright censorship, or anything in between. This chapter also provides advice about remaining calm and respectful when interacting with the complainant and preparing for a hearing (if it comes to that). The fourth chapter covers how to introduce IF topics to teens and parents through programming and marketing efforts, including everything from Banned Books Week celebrations to teen involvement in educating the public about the freedom to read. The final chapter discusses often overlooked issues regarding teens’ IF rights in a digital world—equal right to digital access, online behavior guidelines, age limits for computer use, and the implementation of filtering software. The book ends with many appendixes.

The overall strength of this book is related to its overall weakness. The book is very straightforward and simple to follow. It would be a wonderful choice for students in IF classes or for new YA librarians to read. The corollary to this is that most of the information discussed will be old news to seasoned YA librarians who might be looking for more real-life examples and case studies than a general introduction to the topic.—Lindsey Tomsu, Teen Coordinator, La Vista Public Library, La Vista, Nebraska