2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Censorship Litigation and School Libraries in the United States: An Overview

Research Project

Project/Area Number	14510277
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Educaion
Research Institution	KYOTO UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator	KAWASAKI Yoshitaka Kyoto University, Litigation Graduate School of Education, Professor, 大学院・教育学研究科, 教授 (80149517)
Project Period (FY)	2002 – 2003
Keywords	school library / censorship / freedom of expression / United States / U.S. Constitution
Research Abstract	1. Most of the school library censorship litigations occured in the 1970's. However, there are some tendencies to increase the number of court cases from mid 1990's. 2. In all cases the school board of education removed, restricted or censored library materials. And then students, teachers, and/or parents sued the board toinfringe their First Amendment rights (ex. freedom of expression, right to know, academic freedom etc.). 3. The conclusion of court decisions is sharply divided. Some approved board of education's statutory right and authority to select/remove library materials. Others rejected board's discretionary powers in order to protect students' rightto access to lawful materials and/or teacher's freedom to teach. This study contributes to various researches not merely for the intellectual freedom in school libraries, but also for the purpose, role and mission of the school library in general.

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