priorities for the School Libraries Group under my leadership, alongside continued support for its committee members and our invaluable voluntary work.
A message from ‘Emily’: “At first I was unable to talk about the actions of the school. I was isolated in my role as librarian, forbidden from speaking to other staff members about the situ- ation, and felt like I was drowning. The school were able to quietly perpetuate one of the worst cases of Censorship in the UK to date. But when I was able to contact CILIP and the SLG, suddenly I didn’t just have a voice: I had the voices of every library professional at CILIP. “When my voice wavered, they spoke for me; when the school tried to make me feel small and keep me quiet, the support of CILIP helped me shout louder. When I spoke to Katie at Index, she gave me a voice that reached thousands. Now my voice is loud and clear: we cannot allow this to happen again. When they act in the shadows and pass judgement with a whis- per, it is up to us to shout and be heard. We have a moral duty to be heard.”
We strongly advise: 1. Union membership.
2. If you find yourself in ‘Emily’s’ situ- ation, you are not alone, please contact
4. Ovenden, R. (2020) Burning the Books: attacks on knowledge. John Murray.
5. Dancey-Downs, K. (20 March 2026) School book Ban- ning Escalates in the UK as greater Manchester Secondary School Censors Scores of Books. Index on Censorship.
www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/school-book-banning-escalates- in-the-uk-as-greater-manchester-secondary-school-censors-scores- of-books/
6. Band, B. (2023) Managing Safe and Inclusive Library Spaces: CILIP Guidelines Make Sense for School Libraries Too. Library Stuff blog.
https://barbara567band.blogspot. com/2023/
CILIP School Libraries Group:
chair.slg@
cilip.org.uk or CILIP direct by visiting www.
cilip.org.uk/contact_us
3. Develop a robust collection develop- ment policy in conjunction with your school leadership team, see webinar guid- ance at
https://cilipslg.com/past-webinars/ 4.
4. For all librarians please support the Banned Books UK Week in October 2026, see
www.indexoncensorship.org/banned- booksweek/ IP
References 1. Leggatt, A. (January 2024) Censorship Concerns: the vulnerability of UK School Libraries to Book Restriction. Information Professional.
2. Brian, A. and Goodwin, K. (8 Feb 2026) Books Are Being Challenged in Scottish Schools. Librarians Fear a ‘chilling effiect’ on Freedom of Speech. The Ferret.
www.theferret.scot/ books-scottish-schools-librarians/
3. Hicks, A. (16 April 2025) Trump-style Book Censorship is Spreading – Just Ask British Librarians. The Guardian www.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/16/donald-trump-book-cen- sorship-british-librarians-schools
7. CILIP, School Libraries Group and School Library Association (2023) Censorship and Intellectual Freedom in School Libraries.
www.sla.org.uk/Services/Public/News/Arti- cles/2022/
censorship-statement.aspx
8. Sherwood, H. and Adams, R. (9 March 2022) Catholic Church Bans Visit by Gay Author to London School. The Guardian.
www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/09/catholic-church- bans-visit-by-gay-author-to-london-school
9. See footnote 6
10. McMenemy, D. (2023) Ethics and Values – Driven Advo- cacy and Libraries: exploring key concepts. CILIPS. www.
cilips.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/REVEAL-final-v2.pdf
11. Reddit user (2026) School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books. Reddit. Available at:
www.reddit.com/r/ unitedkingdom/comments/1rzocbn/school_book_banning_escalates_ in_the_uk_as/ (Accessed: 31 March 2026).
‘‘
Censorship is most effective when nobody talks about it.”
– James Larue
40 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
April-May 2026
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