SEATTLE — A Seattle librarian is raising her concerns on the recent wave of book challenges in western Washington and across the country.
Most recently, the Kent School District announced the review of two books at a middle school library after a student raised concerns about whether the books are appropriate.
"It's absolutely a slippery slope because, I as a librarian, and I was a librarian for many, many, many years and there are books that I wish we didn't have," said librarian Nancy Pearl, "But I know that those books have to be there because what a library is a place where all different experiences can be found."
Pearl worked as the executive director of Seattle Public Library’s Washington Center for the Book and was awarded Librarian of the Year in 2011 by the Library Journal.
Pearl worries challenges to books are becoming more common. The American Library Association said it tracked 155 unique censorship incidents between June 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021.
"It makes the world of the reader, the potential reader, narrower. If you're just reading books that mirror your own experiences you're not growing," said Pearl, "Partly what we want are books that let children both see themselves in the pages of a book and lose themselves in the pages of a book."
In January, Washington's Mukilteo School District announced "To Kill a Mockingbird" would be removed from the Mukilteo School District's ninth-grade English/Language Arts required reading list. Mukilteo received one request to remove the book from the district's curriculum saying the "n-word" is used more than 50 times with no context about its negative connotations. The novel remains on the district-approved list and is not banned.
The Kent School District is in the process of reviewing two books, "Jack of Hears (and Other Parts)" by Lev AC Rosen and "If I Was Your Girl" by Meredith Russo. The books cover issues surrounding sexuality and being transgender. The district said a middle school student raised concerns about sexually explicit content in the books.
Community members echoed concerns during a school board meeting on January 26th.
“While there has been media coverage and public discussion focused on the adults involved and the policy and procedure, as a district our foremost concern is for the student at the heart of the matter. A student we are so proud of for using their voice to be an agent of their own educational experience. Now we follow the process, and ultimately, I trust in my staff, our Instructional Materials Committee and our school board to see the book challenges through and follow board policies and procedures to make the decision that is in the best interest of all of our students," said Interim Superintendent Israel Vela in a statement on the district's website.
Pearl argues it's okay to feel uneasy when reading something new.
"That's great. That's what reading does. It can make you uncomfortable because it's introducing you to ideas that you might not have been introduced to anywhere else," said Pearl.
The Kent School District said the books will remain at the library during the review process and that the district strives to have an inclusive learning environment where students "can find themselves reflected in the books and materials on the shelves."
"Ideas are going to make their way into the world," said Pearl, "The [student] in Kent made uncomfortable by those books, those ideas in those books, LGBTQ ideas, are all around us and we have to learn to live with that."