Date of Award
Spring 2026
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Educational Studies
First Advisor
Elizabeth Currin
Abstract
This action research self-study examines the growing threat of book challenges and bans and their potential influence on school library practice, with particular attention to librarian self-censorship and student access to reading materials. Increasing state and national challenges to library materials have created professional uncertainty for school librarians, constituting a problem of practice for the author’s work as a middle school librarian. The purpose of this study was to strengthen the researcher’s ability to recognize and avoid self- censorship while developing practical tools to support intellectual freedom and students’ ability to choose what they read. Using action research methodology, the researcher served as the primary participant in this self-study. In culmination with data from surveys and interviews with secondary participants, the researcher addressed how censorship and self-censorship affect school libraries, how school librarians in multiple U.S. states are responding to challenges and bans, and what strategies can help practitioners identify and address self- censorship in their own work.
Rights
© 2026, Sarah Beth Jorgenson
Recommended Citation
Jorgenson, S. B.(2026). Supporting School Librarians and Students Amid the Book Ban Epidemic. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8849