New Jersey School District Omits Librarians from Review of Several LGBTQ+ Library Books

North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District in New Jersey neglected to appoint any librarians to the committee reviewing a challenge to several award-winning LGBTQ-themed library books, including Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Jonathan Evison’s Lawn Boy, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, and This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson. NCAC, along with the Authors Guild, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, PEN Children’s and Young Adult Book Committee and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, are deeply concerned by this violation of the board’s own policy.

Board Regulation 9130 requires that each such committee must include a library staff member. Strict adherence to book review procedures is necessary to ensure that the public has confidence that, when library books are challenged, “the principles of intellectual freedom, the right to access of materials and the integrity of the certificated library/media personnel [are] defended rather than the materials.” (Board Regulation 2530).