Time for Book Ratings on YA Books, Says Dr. Sarah Coyne of Brigham Young University, While ALA Calls it Censorship

Dr. Sarah Coyne of Brigham Young University has recommended that book ratings be used to help parents make informed decisions. ?On the other hand,?Beth Yoke,?Executive Director?of the American Library?Association's [ALA]?Young Adult Library Services Association?[YALSA], says book ratings are "censorship":

• "Is It Time To Rate Young Adult Books for Mature Content? ?A New Report Finds that Nearly All Young Adult Bestsellers Contain at Least Some Profanity," by Jason Koebler, ?U.S. News & World Report, 18 May 2012:

  Coyne thinks a ratings system on book jackets would help parents decide what's appropriate for their kids to read. ?It's a subject many are afraid to touch, with the talk of censorship or restricting books conjuring up images of book burnings and infringing on First Amendment Rights. "I think we put books on a pedestal compared to other forms of media," Coyne says. ?"I thought long and hard about whether to do the study in the first place?I think banning books is a terrible idea, but a content warning on the back I think would empower parents."

  While books like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars aren't ever going to end up alongside Catcher in the Rye or Huckleberry Finn in American literary canon, those books' messages are still important, experts argue.

  "Books can be a safe way for young people to explore edgier, sensitive, or complicated topics, and they provide parents the opportunity to help their teens grow and understand these kinds of sensitive issues," says Beth Yoke, executive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association, an offshoot of the American Library Association. ?"ALA's interpretation on any rating system for books is that it's censorship."

So ALA's YALSA calls it "censorship" to use book ratings to give people/schools the notice needed to make informed decisions as to what's best for their children. ?This from the organization that says?keeping R-rated movies from children is censorship:

and that every single person who ever complains about any book is a "censor":

And the ALA is the organization that intentionally fakes its annual Top 10 List of Challenged Books to inflate the handful of cases into a national tragedy and push political or social buttons to promote its own interests:

As you decide whom to believe, Dr. Sarah Coyne/BYU or Beth Yoke/ALA, please consider:

See also:

The decision is yours. ?Is it time for book ratings? ?Comment below, if you wish.

NOTE ADDED 19 MAY 2012:

Below is the ALA's view on labeling and rating systems?basically, it is censorship. ?Keep in mind the ALA also said it was censorship to filter computers in public libraries. ?Its bluff was called on that in US v. ALA?where the Court found it is not censorship.

NOTE ADDED 20 MAY 2012:

Thanks to an excellent comment below, I am reminded that book ratings are used successfully in many places without being falsely labeled as censorship. ?I have previous written about the case in St. Louis, so I'll link those posts now:

See also these posts that illustrate how the ALA works to mislead people on book labeling to try to force its way on communities, such as St. Louis:
NOTE ADDED 25 MAY 2012:

Oh read this excellent post on the topic:

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