Update library systems to allow personalized book preferences

Banning books in schools is a horrifically bad idea. Parental involvement in their children’s education, for the most part, is a really good idea, until your beliefs of that involvement infringe onto me and my child when I don’t agree with your beliefs. With regard to melding those two points of contention there are a couple of better options than those currently being used in the State of Iowa.

Schools should have a listing of the books they have in the library and classroom, computerized in a Dewey Decimal identifier format. Parents who have concerns that there may be books they may not want their children to read can review that list and identify those books and designate those books, electronically, and send it to the librarian for each child and have them flagged and not allow them to check those books out. Your children should know those book titles as well.

I personally prefer a much simpler method of having the librarians and educators choose what they put in the library and classroom. They are professionals. Let them use their professional skills to teach children and broaden their knowledge and horizons of the world. Parents can still monitor what their children check out to read and provide direction to them, at least as well as what they are reading on the internet.

Phil Thien

Des Moines