Dearborn Public Schools issue new library book review process
DEARBORN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - As the discussion continues about books available in Dearborn Public Schools, administrators issued new criteria for how the district will evaluate the books accessible to students.
Last week, the district said it is creating "a formal structure to review the age-appropriateness of materials, especially in regard to issues such as sexually explicit or violent content."
School officials say employees will conduct inventories to ensure the library catalog shows which books are actually on the shelves and missing titles are removed. In addition, the district's media specialists will review their schools' collections and remove books that are no longer used by students, out of date or not age-appropriate.
The district also created a digital opt-out form for parents to limit which books their children may access.
"We realize the community has many strong feelings on both sides of the issue of limiting student access to some books," Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said in a statement. "We work hard to make sure our schools are welcoming, safe spaces for all students, and our libraries will continue to reflect that as well. However, we are also aware that the vast majority of students in our care are minors, still learning about life and the world, and they are not ready emotionally or intellectually to process some content."
This comes weeks after the district temporarily removed seven books -- including "Push," "The Lovely Bones" and "This Book is Gay" -- from student access following complaints from parents.
The district has nearly 500,000 physical books, representing more than 300,000 "unique titles" in the system.
"We appreciate patience from our parents and community members as we implement this new process," Maleyko said. "Reading and critical thinking are enormously important life skills, and we are always working to find the balance between encouraging our students to explore the wonders of the written word, while ensuring they can do so with age-appropriate material."
