How to Minimize Challenges to Materials

School libraries tend to be the subject of the greatest number of formal complaints about the content of books and materials available to students. But challenges to curriculum materials, such as classroom libraries, films, and assigned readings, have seen an uptick over the past several years, according to the National Council of Teachers of English.

The Urbana, Ill.-based organization tracks such challenges and reports them annually in its online newsletter. For the 2005-06 school year, 92 such complaints were filed with schools and districts.

“Lots of books still get challenged [in the classroom], … from old standbys, classics like Of Mice and Men ,to what I would term new classics, particularly multicultural works, from Rudolfo Anaya, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou,” said the NCTE’s Millie Davis,...