What Belongs in a High School Library?

A variety of books for the entire student body

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

With book banning fever running rampant in the U.S. right now, a much-needed question to answer is, “What kind of books belong in a high school library anyway?” 

It’s actually an easy answer. High school libraries need to contain a wide variety of books for a wide variety of reading levels—including college level books—and a wide variety of books to appeal to different ages and maturity levels. High school students typically range from 13- to 19-years-old. Kids fresh out of middle school and kids heading off to college and careers can be worlds apart maturity-wise, but they each need to be able to find books that are interesting, age-appropriate, and academically challenging. These are not the same books, which is where the professional judgment of trained high school media center specialists comes into play.

Elementary school libraries have the same problem. They have students in the building who are 5-year-old kindergarteners, and in the Marietta City Schools system, elementary schools have 5^th graders who are as old as 12. Specialists have to stock books that are age-appropriate and reading level-appropriate for the earliest of readers as well as books that are age- and reading level-appropriate for preteen students. Many of these older students are reading at a high school level already. We would never ask elementary school libraries to only stock books appropriate for the youngest students. That would mean 5^th graders would only have kindergarten level books to read. Media center specialists in elementary schools are trained to account for this maturity difference, stock their libraries accordingly, and guide students in choosing appropriate books.

High school media center specialists are no different. They, too, are responsible for stocking their libraries with a wide variety of books for differing reading levels and maturity levels, guiding students toward appropriate books. For decades, Marietta High School media center specialists have been doing just this, amassing a collection of over 20,000 titles. Only recently have the books in the library become politicized with claims that they are chock full of “pornography” and “sexually explicit materials.” Jaillene Hunter, recently elected to represent Ward 4, and Ward 2 Incumbent Jason Waters have given public statements to the MDJ and in public board meetings opposing media center titles with mature content. Doing so has unfortunately and incorrectly implied that mature content is available to elementary schoolers, but it also draws attention to partisan talking points geared at conflating age-appropriate literature for almost-adults with something most parents would agree with banning: “pornography” and “sexually explicit content.” 

The fact remains, however, that the titles already removed, and those that are vulnerable to the September 12th Directive, are anything but pornographic when read cover to cover. The high school did not suddenly start adding Hustler and Penthouse to the periodicals section. These folks are talking about books we’ve all read like The Color Purple, Atlas Shrugged, and The Bluest Eye, books many of us read as part of our high school literature classes, and books that contain college level content that our college bound students are expected by the colleges to whom they are applying to be able to engage with. Thirty-five percent of students at Marietta High School take AP classes, college level classes that they can receive college credit for after passing an end of course exam. Last year The College Board, which runs the AP program nationally, warned against censoring AP classes because students who took those classes could lose AP credit. At the same time, they sent a reminder to AP teachers of Advanced Placement’s Program Principles.

The State of Georgia deems 15-year-olds to be mature enough to drive a car under supervision and 16-year-olds are mature enough to be licensed to drive without supervision. Isn’t it odd that the MCS School Board thinks these same students too immature for the books in their high school library? These books have been carefully curated by professional media center specialists. Furthermore, no parents or students are on record as having been harmed by any reading materials in the MHS library. In fact, one of the recently banned books, Flamer, was taught as part of course curriculum in recent years with no complaints. In the absence of actual harm done, we must question whether politicization of the Board is causing alarm where none is warranted (not to mention wasting taxpayer dollars). 

Don’t believe the propaganda being spun by outside groups agitating to control our libraries and lock parents out of the decision making on what materials are available in their children’s schools. Media center specialists are responsible for stocking their libraries with age-appropriate books for all students in the building, but it’s the parent’s responsibility—and parent’s alone—to decide what they think is appropriate for their kids to read. Board Policy IFBD already respects any parent’s right “to request that his or her child not have to read a given book.” That right, however, does not extend to determining what other families have the ability to read. The policy states it best when it says “No parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for students other than their own children.”

At the same time, the 17-, 18-, and 19-year-olds at the high school are entitled to have books that are relevant and age-appropriate to them. They shouldn’t be stuck with a library full of books for 13-year-olds. They need the academic rigor of college level materials, even those that may contain mature themes. Our students at MHS can, and should, handle it.

So, what kind of books belong in a high school library? Books just like the ones we’ve had at MHS for years.