What can we do? ALA offers some suggestions for things we could do with our students (http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/rebelreader). My grad students have to complete an assignment on censorship that requires they compile a list of 20 books (10 elementary and 10 secondary). They have to see if these books are in the school library collections where they work. Finally, they have to write rationales for two of the 20 books. A good guide for writing rationales is on the NCTE web site which also has terrific resources for dealing with challenges. Here is the guide for rationales: http://www.ncte.org/action/anti-censorship/rationales. If you have potentially sensitive materials on your won shelves, having a rationale done in advance is a good thing.

Take some time to review NCTE's resources and then send a HUGE thank you to Millie Davis who spearheaded and continues to spearhead the fight against challenges. If you are a member of NCTE, you might think about volunteering to serve on the Committee Against Censorship. You can nominate someone for an intellectual freedom award, too. Take a proactive stance. Stand up for the FREADOM TO READ.