Library Review Committee wraps up evaluation of controversial high school titles

By Heather Michon
Correspondent

The Learning Resources Review Committee (LRRC) finished its work on Thursday (Nov. 14) with a lengthy meeting at the Fluvanna County High School Library.

Since early spring, five educators and five citizen representatives have evaluated a wide range of books flagged by a Fluvanna County resident in October 2023. 

The complainant submitted a list of 24 titles in the FCHS library catalog that she said contained material inappropriate for children. The School Board tasked the LRRC with reading each book and deciding if it should be removed from library shelves. 

Many of the titles on the complaint list were not in the FCHS Library collection, but that still left 16 books for evaluation.

It was not always an easy task. Young Adult books, geared towards readers aged 12-18, often tackle tough subjects like sexuality, self-discovery, and substance abuse. Many book challenges are based on depictions of sexual behavior that critics say are too graphic for teens. 

Before beginning the evaluation process, members developed a set of criteria that drew on best practices used by school librarians in developing collections and input from Mental Health Services Coordinator Kaitlin Harlow-Burner and FCHS counseling staff. The goal was to look at each book for its overall merit rather than focus on isolated paragraphs.  

The final two books, Dime by E.R. Frank and What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold, proved to be the most challenging to evaluate. At its September meeting, the subcommittee assigned to read and make recommendations on the two titles found themselves unable to decide, so they asked the entire committee to weigh in. 

The full LRRC collectively agreed that Dime, a grim story about grooming and sexual slavery, did not meet the criteria for being graphic, prurient, or vulgar. While they all agreed it was a tough read, they believed the depictions of grooming alone could have value for young adults who may not realize they are being led down a dangerous path. 

What Girls Are Made Of, a story about a young woman navigating the physical and emotional fallout of her first sexual relationship, did have one graphic passage on self-pleasure that several evaluators felt may have crossed a line. However, most of the members felt the book provided valuable insights into what young women face at that stage of life. After nearly an hour of deliberations, they recommended it be moved from the library collection to the Counselor’s Office.

FCHS librarian Shannon Taylor said the book, purchased in 2018, had never been checked out and would likely have been culled from the collection within the next 4-5 years due to low circulation.

No new challenges have been submitted to the schools since October 2023. This follows a national trend. In 2023, the American Library Association reported a record 4,240 unique titles challenged nationwide, compared to 1,128 titles this year.

With evaluations done for the time being, the committee plans to collaborate on recommendations to the School Board to guide any future challenges. 

Members would like to see rules requiring complainants to demonstrate that they have read the entire book themselves rather than just pulling individual passages from online databases. They would also like to see limits on how frequently books can be submitted for challenges.

At least one member believed complainants should be required to buy enough copies of the books to give to the ten-member committee.

Chair Gemma Soares said she would compile the suggestions into a report to be presented to the School Board in the coming months.