A book challenge enables your diverse voice to express an opinion on literary works more freely. You may choose to fill out a book challenge for various reasons, such as concerns about a particular book and a social justice issue that may have an impact on your child. Ultimately, your decision to fill out a book challenge reflects your deep commitment to nurture your child's intellectual and emotional growth in an environment that aligns with your family's unique values and beliefs.
To address these challenges effectively, it is crucial to foster open dialogue, respect diverse opinions, and ensure that individuals have the right to make their own choices about the books they read, the information they seek, and the ideas they embrace, promoting a culture of open-mindedness, tolerance, and respect for differing perspectives so we can uphold intellectual freedom as a foundation of our democracy.
Any resident of Lakewood or parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the Lakewood District may formally challenge an instructional and resource material. A separate form must be completed for each resource that is being challenged. The work in question will remain on library shelves and in circulation until a formal decision is made.
If you would like fill out a Request for Instructional and Resource Materials Reconsideration Form , please email: Mrs. Cardia-Media Specialist @ (email come September) and the Committee will be formed within 7 working days of the receipt of the form.
Committee Members Include:
Curriculum Supervisor
Teacher
School Media Specialist
Board Member
Administrator of the school
(reconsideration of instructional & resource materials)
The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association directs library professionals to “uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.”
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.
Censorship is a change in the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.
Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.
(American Library Association. (n.d.). American Library Association Code of Ethics. Retrieved 07-15-2023, from https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics)