CHOOSE YOUR PATH

TROUBLE AT THE LIRBARY!

An al
ectu
l
l
e
t
In edom
Fre ture!
n
Adve

Congratulations! You are a BIBLIOMANCER,

a.k.a. a public librarian. Its your job to help people
access the information they need and serve your
patrons the best you can!

Your adventure
begins! What will
you do first today:
guard the circulation
desk or journey to a
meeting?

For the DESK, go to page 3.

To go to the MEETING, go to page 5.

At the desk, a patron appears! Theyre very upset.

They tell you that their ten year old child read books
from the Young Adult section at your library that
described masturbation, oral sex and rape. Whoa!
What will you do?
REMOVE THE BOOKS: page 9
KEEP THE BOOKS WITH FULL ACCESS: page 11
CAST A COMPROMISE SPELL: page 13

After a polite but tense conversation that creates a

huge back up at the circulation desk, the patron leaves.

They stop bringing their child to the library and

tell other parents to do likewise. They also call you
a filth peddler on Twitter.
The books remain available.
Hopefully your future employers wont google you.

THE END

You arrive at the meeting! The childrens librarian has

called it to report that a young man has been using the
librarys computers to view obscene websites. Other
patrons have stated that they dont feel safe because he
sometimes shows them to younger kids or leaves them
up for other patrons to find. Whoa.

She has tried keeping

a closer eye on the
computer area, but
shes usually too busy
running activities and
helping patrons. She
thinks installing an
internet filter is the
best solution.
What do you think?
VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR A FILTER: page 7
VOICE YOUR DISSENT - INFORMATION
SHOULD BE FREE!: page 12
ASK IF THERES ANOTHER WAY: page 15

You viciously tell off the patron.

Therell be no book-banners on your watch!

A nearby patron is shocked at your behavior and

tells your boss. You lose your job.
Oops.

THE END

The staff agree that an internet filter is the best solution

to protect patrons from obscenity and harassment.

Once its installed,

complaints about harassment stop. However,
patrons have trouble
searching for what they
need because the filter is
mistakenly blocking
innocuous websites!

To CHANGE THE FILTER SETTINGS,

go to page 14.

We cant afford to station someone to guard the

computers all day, Your boss says. And that kind of
surveillance would make our patrons even more
uncomfortable than filters.

Plus, The childrens

librarian adds, Since
we offer wifi, anyone
can use our internet
connection on their
phones.
VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR A FILTER: page 7
ASK IF THERES SOME OTHER WAY: page 15

You have banished the offensive materials! No one of any

age may access the books, which were Looking for Alaska
by John Green, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and
National Book Award winner The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

When other patrons find out, they are furious.

Your library is vilified in the media.

THE END

10

We already did, She says. It didnt work.

SUGGEST BETTER ENFORCEMENT: page 8

ASK IF THERES ANYTHING TO BE DONE
BESIDES SURVEILLANCE OR INTERNET
FILTERS: page 15

11

Do you want to gently inform your

patron about intellectual freedom*, or
tell them off for trying to ban books?

To GENTLY INFORM, go to page 4.

To TELL THEM OFF, go to page 6.
* From the Canadian Library Association: All persons in Canada have
the fundamental right, as embodied in the nation's Bill of Rights and the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual activity, and to express
their thoughts publicly. This right to intellectual freedom, under the law,
is essential to the health and development of Canadian society.
Position Statement on Intellectual Freedom." Canadian Library Association /
Association canadienne des bibliothques. Canadian Library Association. Web.
24 Nov 2013.
<http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Position_Statements&Templ
ate=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3047>.

12

No way! You say. Information should be free!

The childrens librarian asks, So what do you think
we should do?

To suggest the library BAN THE PERPATRATOR

FROM THE COMPUTERS: page 10
To ASK IF THERES A COMPROMISE: page 15

13

You cast a compromise

spell! How about we
keep the books, but use
a sticker on them to let
patrons know theyre
for readers 13 years
and older? The patron
is not very happy about
it, but leaves without
argument. The books
remain available, but
are marked as being for
mature readers.

Later, a thirteen year

old girl who experienced sexual assault
wants to read Speak by
Laurie Halse Anderson,
but the sticker makes
her worried that her
parents will think she is
reading a bad, dirty
book. She doesnt
check it out.

THE END

14

Youre a wizard librarian, not a software developer.

The company that sold you the filter doesnt offer an
option to change the settings, and your library cant
afford to buy new software. This was the best filter
you can find, anyway. Sorry - you and your patrons
are kind of stuck with it.

THE END

15

Isnt there a way to protect intellectual freedom

AND protect our patrons? You ask.
Your boss replies, Well, do you have any ideas?

THE END?

16

Learn more about intellectual freedom

Canadian Library Associations Position Statement:
www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Position_Statements&Templ
ate=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3047
American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom:
www.ala.org/offices/oif
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
www.cbldf.org
Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood by Sherman Alexie
blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/06/09/why-the-best-kids-books-arewritten-in-blood/
Vancouver Public Librarys Internet Policy:
www.vpl.ca/about/details/public_internet_policy
Little Sisters, an LGBT bookstore in downtown Vancouver, was given
the Award For The Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada
by the CLA in 1998 after taking their censorship case to the Supreme
Court. Learn more at their website: littlesisters.ca/blog/about/or see
the documentary Little Sisters VS Big Brother.

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