WARNING - Explicit content below.

Viewer discretion is advised!

Public school libraries, partially due to their smaller size, cannot carry every book ever written. The idea is that the book titles in school libraries are carefully curated to include educational material of differing viewpoints to inspire both a love of learning and reading.

Most parents agree that school library material should be age-appropriate also. Hence why we don't have a section containing Playboy or Hustler magazines, and why the internet is restricted at schools to allow only age-appropriate content.

So, are we book banners?

Here's what we are NOT doing:

We are NOT telling authors to stop publishing their work
We are NOT contacting public (non-school) libraries to censor their selections
We are NOT asking retailers to stop selling these books
We are NOT concerned with classic titles that the media wants you to believe (ie Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingboard etc etc)

Here's what we ARE doing:

We ARE asking districts to have a clear review process for books with extreme content (not all do)
We ARE seeking the titles with the most explicit content (graphics with images of sex etc) to be removed from school libraries OR at least placed in a restricted area that needs parental consent
We ARE proposing that "explicit content" stickers be placed on covers so parents have more knowledge of content (like cd's)
We ARE proposing an opt-in policy that would allow parents who want their child to access these books full access
We ARE working nationally to have a book-rating system that would give parents to make educated decisions

What are we so concerned about?

The titles below have varying degrees of obscene material including but not limited to:

Graphics showing sex acts (not in a medical/educational way)
Extreme profanity
Detailed descriptions of masturbation
Oral, anal & vaginal sex
Forced oral sex
Rape & sexual assault
Incest
Pedophilia
Teaching kids how to use sex apps, and what websites to use

Orchard Park District

Per OPCSD Board Policy #8320:

A school library/library media center will be established and maintained in each school of the District. The library in each elementary and secondary school will meet the needs of the pupils, and provide an adequate complement to the instructional program in the various areas of the curriculum. The District will also employ a certified school Library Media Specialist, unless equivalent service is provided by an alternative arrangement approved by the Commissioner.

The Board agrees that the responsibility of the school library is:

To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the students served.
To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.
To provide a background of information that will enable students to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives.
To provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop, under guidance, the practice of critical reading and thinking.
To provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contribution to our American heritage.
To place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the library.

In interpreting these principles, the following will apply:

Broad and varied collections will be developed systematically by the Library Media Specialist, based on professional development tools and recommendations of the professional staff and suggestions of students and parents. Final approval will be made by the building principal.
Qualitative standards of selection involving factual accuracy, authoritativeness, artistic quality, and appeal will be applied by the Library Media Specialist before purchases are made.
Materials will not be excluded because of the race, nationality, political opinions, or religious views of the author.
Materials will be continuously re-evaluated in relation to changing curriculum and instructional needs. Worn out, outdated materials will be discarded.

Education Law § 207

8 NYCRR §§ 21.4, 91.1, 91.2

Adopted:

10/10/17

Book List for OPCSD

The following titles have been found in Orchard Park High School using the online library search tool, Go Follet. This information is accurate as of March 2023.

Clicking the title links will bring you to a page of BookLooks.org that shows the explicit content we are concerned about.

Title	Author	Year Published	Book Looks Rating
Lucky	Alice Sebold	1999	5
Red, White & Royal Blue	Casey McQuiston	2019	4
Triangles	Ellen Hopkins	2009	5
Tricks	Ellen Hopkins	2009	5
This Book is Gay	Juno Dawson	2015	4
Gender Queer	Maia Kobabe	2019	4
Sold	Patricia McCormick	2008	5
Red Hood	Elana Arnold	2020	4
The Sun & Her Flowers	Rupi Kaur	2017	4
Me & Earl & The Dying Girl	Jesse Andrews	2012	3
The Handsome Girl & The Beautiful Boy	BT Gottfred	2018	4
Ugly Love	Colleen Hoover	2014	4
All Your Perfects	Colleen Hoover	2018	4
It Ends With Us	Colleen Hoover	2016	4
Red Hood	Elana Arnold	2020	4
Burned, Crank, Smoke, Identical, People Kill People, Perfect, Tilt	Ellen Hopkins	2004-2018	3-4
Triangles, Tricks	Ellen Hopkins	2011-2012	4-5
Nineteen Minutes	Jodi Picoult	2007	4
Shine	Lauren Myracle	2011	4
Milk & Honey, The Sun & Her Flowers	Rupi Kaur	2015, 2017	4
Flamer	Mike Curato	2020	3