For most in the YA book community, when we talk about censorship, we talk about books in children’s libraries that have been challenged by parents on the grounds of age-inappropriate material. 

The American Library Association (ALA) holds the following position: “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment.”

 

But clarifying the definition of censorship can be difficult, as Lester Asheim–Dean of the University of Chicago Graduate Library School, and former director of the ALA’s International Relations Office–pointed out. In his 2004 article, “Not Censorship But Selection,” posted on the ALA’s website, he says, “When librarians discuss the matter among themselves, they are quite satisfied with the distinction between censorship and selection, and are in smug agreement that the librarian practices the latter, not the former.”

 

The jab at his colleagues aside, Asheim’s piece is a worthy primer on why librarians act as curators and not censors. But first, he presents the counterpoint. How do we differentiate between what librarians do, and what pressure groups demand that they do…cull books from the archives? 

I often recommend The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau as a case study in immigration. I’d like to mention it here, because it’s not an obvious choice, given that it doesn’t have many of the BISAC Codes we look for in diversity-friendly books.

 

I won’t speak to whether or not you will love the story….In words of the great LeVar Burton, you don’t have to take my word for it. 

I will, however, say that the book understands the dynamic of immigration in a way that I rarely see in MG or YA literature, and I was exceedingly grateful to Ms. DuPrau for writing it. The story follows Lina and Doon shortly after they defeat Bill Murray and lead the people of Ember out into the daylight. The Emberites have been inside an elaborate bomb shelter until then, and represent—more or less—a roving population of refugees. The plot centers on their discovery of a settlement called Sparks, and the tensions that arise when the settlers reluctantly take the Emberites into their camp.