Are Public School Libraries Accomplishing Their Mission? Public School Libraries Do Not Appear to Stock a Balance of Views. Policy Analysis No. 962

Over the past couple of years, school districts nationwide have seen a wave of challenges to books in libraries and on reading lists, as well as rising demands to know what titles are in schools. These challenges and demands have put public school libraries under significant scrutiny and raised fundamental questions about their purpose and operation. This policy analysis discusses the country's public school library situation, including who is supposed to control holdings and how acquisition works. Then it reports on a small experiment to address three questions: (1) Can the public see which books are in libraries; (2) do libraries contain potentially controversial books; and (3) can students access diverse views?