Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for Young Adult and School Librarians

Year after year a majority of the titles on ALA's Banned Books list, which compiles titles threatened with censorship, are either YA books or adult booka that are frequently read by teens. It's important for YA librarians to understand the types of challenges occurring in libraries around the nation and to be ready to deal with such challenges when they occur. The Young Adult Library Services (YALSA) has tailored this book specifically for these situations, providing much-needed guidance on the highly charged topic of intellectual freedom for teens. Among the issues addressed are *How to prepare yourself and your staff for potential challenges by developing a thoughtful selection policy and response plan *Resources for help when a challenge occurs *The art of crafting a defense for a challenged book, and pointers for effectively disseminating your response through the press and social media *The latest on intellectual freedom in the digital realm, including an examination of library technology

Kristin Fletcher-Spear is the administrative librarians at the Foothills Branch Library in Glendale, Arizona. She is coauthor of the Library Collections for Teens: Manga and Graphic Novels and has written for YALSA, VOYA, and Library Media Connection. She earned her master's degree in library science at Indiana University.