President's Column

MSLA President Jen Varney is the Librarian at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge, MA 

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Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! I have high hopes for the coming months. With one year of post-remote learning behind us, I won’t say that we can return to normal, because such a return is not possible, but I do think that routines and momentum will come a little easier.

​It is good that our work with students may get easier, too, because there are other aspects of our work that are about to get more difficult. Already we have seen more visible book challenges in Massachusetts during the first six weeks of school than there have been in the last three years, they are appearing in the news, on the MSLA listserv, and in conversations. The challengers are well organized and intent on their mission.

Your association is working on several initiatives to help those members who are experiencing a challenge. We are reaching out to our statewide colleagues in the MA Library System, the MA Board of Library Commissioners, and the MA Library Association. We know our friends at these organizations can help us with resources, but also they can facilitate communication with other stakeholders in the state, such as administrators and teachers’ unions. MLS has already responded by hosting two chats— one upcoming for new school librarians or anyone who needs an MLS refresher, and one which was held last week with tons of resources on book challenges. They are also readying responses to challenges to digital assets in SORA and the Commonwealth eBook Collection.

The MSLA Board is also in the process of revamping and adding to the Intellectual Freedom resources we have available on our website. In the near future we will be adding some draft language for you to use when responding to inquiries from citizens and administrators, as well as links to other useful information.

The most important thing I can say to our members: WE ALL NEED TO PREPARE FOR A CHALLENGE. Given the evidence, it is highly likely that at some point soon, you will need to respond to an inquiry about titles in your collection, even if that inquiry does not turn into a formal challenge. Here’s what you can and should do NOW:

• If your school / district does not have a formal Selection/Reconsideration Policy, double your efforts to get one. Some districts have expressed that they do not want to formally adopt this policy at the school committee level because such an action might be seen as too binding. In the current political and cultural climate, challenges will occur whether there is a policy or not. Advocate for one: it is much better to have one and be prepared. Create a policy for your library and spur conversations with administration about the issue.
• If you do have a formal policy, refamiliarize yourself with it. Stick to the procedures and ensure stakeholders know they need to be followed. Make sure teachers and administration are aware that there is a protocol for reviewing a book and taking it off the shelf. Consider looping in your union representatives. 
• Selection process is selection policy. Be able to articulate why you bought the books you did. Use this as an opportunity to look at what other libraries have.
• It is helpful to be aware of the most challenged books. Be an asset to people who want to discuss them. Keep the conversation on content, level, and curriculum connections, and speak to the school library’s important role in providing access to a wide variety of materials.
• Continue to use social media as a promotional and an advocacy tool but protect yourself from online harassment— librarians have experienced this. When posting, cite and connect to professional resources like MSLA and other subscriptions you use. Protect the privacy of your personal social media accounts. It is prudent to limit use of your work email when discussing some matters, especially considering the uptick in Freedom of Information Act requests. We are always professional with communication, but you can change which address you use to communicate with MSLA by following these directions if you want to keep MSLA communications to a personal address. As we continue our migration to Wild Apricot, we will be increasing our privacy on the listserv by requiring a login to write a post.
• Connect with your public library. If you're getting inquiries or challenges, there’s a chance that inquiries have been made in town too. Bridge gaps to your local assets who can be supportive in these matters and keep them in the loop.

In a reversal from previous MSLA policy, we have started tracking book challenges. This was not done previously because we were unsure of our ability to do it well and in a way that would provide help. Times have changed. This information is too important not to collect. If you receive a book challenge, please report it to MSLA AND to the American Library Association. MSLA will use this data to assist our members, to track geographic clusters of challenges, and to track which materials are most challenged. We may share this data with ALA when necessary but with no one else.

I have lost track of the number of conversations I have had about this issue with colleagues that have included tears. It is important to acknowledge that these types of challenges to our profession and to ourselves feel very stressful and take an emotional toll. Simply being here to provide support for one another at this time is one of the very best ways we can help. I ask you to stand strong on behalf of our most vulnerable students, the ones who most need to see themselves reflected in our collections. We do this for them, and for all of our students who we know benefit from windows and mirrors. Our students have the First Amendment right to select their own reading materials and to access a diversity of ideas. We will fight for them and for their rights. It is the most necessary and important work we will do all year, and our leadership welcomes the chance to help.