OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS & VIEWS : Schools Urged to Develop Book Policies

School libraries remain the main battleground for book censorship attempts, according to the American Library Assn.

The association, which earlier this month observed Banned Books Week, says more than three-fourths of all censorship challenges occur in schools.

The association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom cited more than 600 reports of attempted censorship during the past year.

Don Adcock of the association’s school library division said every school library should adopt a selection policy.

That way, when challenges are raised, a panel of teachers, community representatives and an administrator can determine whether the book in question complies with selection criteria. If a book doesn’t meet the criteria and is removed, it’s less likely to set a precedent for arbitrary removals, he said.

According to the library association, some of the books challenged or banned in 1992-93 were:

* Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

* Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

* The Bible.

* Randall Cottrell’s “Wellness: Stress Management.”

* Robert Cormiers’skl “The Chocolate War.”

* William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.”

* Jacob Grimm’s and Wilhelm K. Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel.”

* “Snow White.”

* Gordon Park’s “The Learning Tree.”

* Marlene Fanta Shyer’s “Welcome Home, Jellybean.”

* Shel Silverstein’s “A Light in the Attic.”

* John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”

* J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.”

* J.P. Stamper’s “More Tales for the Midnight Hour.”

* Madonna’s “Sex.”

* Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

* Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple.”

* Michael Willhoite’s “Daddy’s Roommate.”

* Paul Zindel’s “Pigman.”