Dearborn Public Schools Announce New Library Book Review Process

DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn Public School officials released Wednesday the district's new criteria for how books in school libraries will be evaluated and how parents can address concerns they have about specific titles.

First, the district will give parents the opportunity to block certain titles their child may access to by completing the new "Parent Opt Out for Media Materials" form, which is on the district’s website under the Parent/Community Member Portal page, according to the district.

The district also said officials are undergoing a two pronged approach to review their collections: First, employees are reviewing the catalog to make sure what books are actually on the shelves and that missing titles are removed from the list, according to the district.

Secondly, the district’s media specialists are reviewing their schools’ collections, removing books that students are no longer using, that are out-of-date, or that are not age appropriate for that school level, according to the district.

The media specialists have numerous resources they can use to help determine age appropriateness including the publisher’s recommended age level and a number of organizations that specifically review books for students, according to the district.

With almost 500,000 physical books, representing more than 300,000 unique titles in its library catalog system, the review is not expected to be completed this year, school officials said.

Students and parents can find their child’s library book catalog on the district’s website under the Parent/Community Member Portal page.

"We realize our families have a wide variety of viewpoints on any number of issues, and it’s unrealistic to think our school libraries can meet every individual need,"Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said. "We encourage parents who are concerned about specific titles to use the Opt-Out form. And of course we encourage all parents to help their children use the wonderful Dearborn Public Library to find reading material they deem appropriate for their child."

Parents that are concerned about having a specific book in a school can challenge it by contacting a media specialist, who will then reexamine the age appropriateness of that book and consider the parents’ specific concern, according to the district.

If a parent is unsatisfied with the result of the review, they can ask for a Book Reconsideration, in which a small committee of district staff and parents will read the book and evaluate it based on the district’s age-appropriateness criteria, according to the district.

The committee can opt to allow the book to remain, limit it to a higher grade level, or have the book removed from the school libraries, according to the district. The committee will consist of a rotating group of staff and parents or community members with a moderator provided by the district, officials said.

Parents interested in serving on the committee can ask to be added through the Book Reconsideration Member Volunteer form. In order to serve on a committee, a volunteer must agree to read the book in question in its entirety, review information on why the media specialists deemed it appropriate and to participate in a civil discussion about whether the book is appropriate at that grade level.

The community can also learn more about the district’s book review guidelines and media materials in general with a new School Matters podcast.

Six books that were already submitted to the district for a book challenge will be the first to go through the initial review process. The district is also working with Wayne RESA on options to limit certain titles through their digital school library program for parents who request that and hopes to soon be offering digital books again to students.

"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."