Kate NyhanRE: https://mastodon.scot/@peterbrown/116268527752626534
One of the books this UK school banned? Terry Pratchett's #Discworld Buddy Holly tribute, Soul Music.
... and the school's official justification for banning _Soul Music_ was:
"Adult audience content – may include sexual material, violence, abuse, substance misuse, or psychologically distressing themes."
"Adult audience content – may include sexual material, violence, abuse, substance misuse, or psychologically distressing themes."
A school rep wrote:
"Although the categorisation was generated using AI, I consider this classification to be broadly accurate."
"Although the categorisation was generated using AI, I consider this classification to be broadly accurate."
The school librarian was forced to resign, and won't be able to work in schools again because the local authority substantiated the accusations that she "failed to uphold safeguarding procedures."
How many school librarians would be left in the UK if you threw out everyone who had bought, or failed to deaccession (bc the poor woman didn't even buy all them all herself) books by Terry Pratchett, Michelle Obama (!), Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Orwell....
How many school librarians would be left in the UK if you threw out everyone who had bought, or failed to deaccession (bc the poor woman didn't even buy all them all herself) books by Terry Pratchett, Michelle Obama (!), Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Orwell....
Frankly I suspect a teenager could get a better education from reading and writing about the banned books than from attending a school whose leadership creates and relies on an LLM-generated "final List of alleged books with inappropriate content" (yes, "alleged" is modifying "books," not "inappropriate" as it ought to)
HilaryIt's appalling.
And while I understand that the librarian doesn't want the school to be named publicly...
the school should NOT be allowed to get away with such nonsense.
The head teacher and school leadership should fear retribution just as they have made this entirely innocent librarian fear for her life
Martin Vermeer FCD@regordane @nyhan She should take it up with the Good Law Project. Jo Maugham is a fighter, and this is a human rights outrage.
@nyhan Banned books lists work well as reading recommendations.
Tagomago
Tristram Brelstaff@nyhan
That's SIR Terry Pratchett. He was knighted for his services to literature.
That's SIR Terry Pratchett. He was knighted for his services to literature.
Human after all@nyhan she needs to take a case against the school