Is there a time to remove a book from the shelves in order to be sensitive to the desires of a small group or is that always censorship? It has recently come to my attention that a school library was asked to remove Julie Burtinshaw's YA novel "The Perfect Cut" because a student at the school had used the book to discover new places to cut herself. This student's parents have asked that the book be removed from the shelves. The librarian has removed the book, but I'm really uncomfortable with that idea.
I understand wanting to be sensitive to this family who have just discovered that their child is still cutting and has been hiding it, and the novel serves as a useful focus for blame. Is it the right thing to do, though? Does removing the book really solve the problem, or does it create a bigger problem? At what point does trying to be sensitive turn into sanitizing or Bowdlerizing the library?
If we remove "The Perfect Cut", what else needs to be removed? Should we remove "Looking for Alaska" because of the suicide? The fact is, teens are dealing with a lot of stuff. They are dealing with feeling out of control which can lead to eating disorders (Gravity Journal) and cutting (Fishtailing, The Perfect Cut), bullying and harassment which can lead to suicide (Looking for Alaska and Thirteen Reasons Why), coming to terms with sexuality (Will Grayson, Will Grayson and After River). Do we take all these books out of the library?
I know that in this particular situation that started this discussion, the student in question actually stated that the novel was part of the reasons that she changed her cutting location. Does this make a difference? Should removing a book be a reactive move? I don't know. That doesn't seem right to me. It seems to me that if a book is deserving of being on the shelf in the first place, should anything take it off? I know, books are challenged (evidently "Ender's Game" is pornographic in South Carolina), but I have a problem with challenges as well.
My personal belief is that the teacher-librarian, if s/he is to be trusted as the teacher-librarian, should be trusted to know what should go on the shelves. Students need to see themselves in literature. This gives a voice that they may be lacking in real life. If they can see characters struggling with the same issues that they have, they can know that they are not alone. If they can see characters overcoming these issues, they can have hope that they can overcome it as well.
My heart breaks for the parents who are dealing with their daughter's cutting. I can't imagine the pain they must be feeling. I hope that they can find healing, but I still don't believe that removing a novel from a high school library is the answer.
Any other thoughts?
