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The Scopes Monkey Trial is a landmark court case in American history and has often been referred to as “The Trial of the Century.” It provides a curricular platform for understanding changes in American society, populace tensions with shifting social and moral views, gaps in economic prosperity, and the outcomes of urbanization. Studying this pivotal and historical trial – along with the context surrounding it – offers readers a dynamic lens to view powerful social and cultural insights at the beginning of the twentieth century. Additionally, academic freedom issues, which have a history in our nation's courts, (Patterson & Chandler, 2008) as well as current dialogue among educators (see the November/December issue of Social Education), and are at the very center of the Scopes Trial, require critical examination. Most importantly, it exemplifies the type of interdisciplinary content social studies educators should be promoting, a goal of 21^st Century Teaching and Learning and Common Core Standards. In this article, we provide a brief historical context setting the stage for the Scopes Monkey Trial, a daily synopsis of significant points in the trial, a rationale for teaching the Scopes Trial, and instructional teaching resources with particular emphasis on books, DVD/media, and web-based materials.

State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes tested the legality of the Butler Act which made it unlawful for public school teachers “to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.” The media event became known as the “Monkey Trial” and brought a flood of publicity to rural Dayton, Tennessee, turning the creation vs. evolution debate into a national conversation. This dialog and debate caused Americans to consider the powerful influence of traditional religious beliefs and to examine how ideology fares when challenged by modernism and the advancement of scientific theory. Accordingly, the Scopes Trail is included in national curriculum standards for middle grades to foster historical inquiry and encourage students’ contemplation of concepts and factors associated with human thinking, feeling, and behavior. The historical fiction in Monkey Town presents the trial and related hysteria through the observations of a 15-year-old local girl trying to discover what she believes. This lesson encourages learners to critically analyze the relationships between ideas and practices. It enables students’ cursory exploration into issues and conflicts, allowing them to develop discussion and critical thinking skills by considering different perspectives in a historical setting.

This study seeks to investigate the availability of creationist and intelligent design (ID) books in UK public libraries, whether any materials held are obtained as a result of donation or purchase, and whether such materials, if available, are classified as religion or science.

A Freedom of Information Request (FOI) was sent to a subset of all the public library authorities in the UK. The FOI requests took the form of three queries/questions asked of the library service of each local authority. From a list of 218 library authorities, 68 were contacted either by email or by online contact form.

There was a relatively low level of reported donations of creationist and ID materials in UK public libraries. However, a high number of library authorities did have creationist and intelligent design materials on their catalogues via their own procurement mechanisms. There was no consistent nationwide pattern with regards to how these materials were classified and there was a wide geographic variation reported, with difficulties evidenced in whether to present creationist and intelligent design texts to the public as religious texts or science texts.

The paper presents results from a subset of local authorities in the UK, thus cannot claim to be anything more than indicative of the sample.

The paper suggests that library authorities may need to be more consistent in how they present controversial materials to users.

The paper is the first to examine the issue of creationist materials in UK public libraries and how they are processed.

To examine the strategies of the intelligent design (ID) movement and their impact on the selection policies for high school libraries and the science curriculum.

Examines the process four public high school libraries in the US took to determine whether to accept a gift offer by a parent of two books, dealing with ID. This article deals with the importance of applying selection criteria to all materials, whether gifts or recommendations.

School libraries are not immune to the tactics used by the ID movement to influence curriculum and collection development decisions.

While this article is a case history of the ID movement's strategy to influence school curriculum, its implications and possible impact on other schools and their libraries.

Provides advice to practicing school librarians on what criteria to use when selecting materials and poses the question of who should be involved in selecting materials for the school library.

This article explores the critical aspects and the differences between selection and censorship. Emphasizes the importance of having and following board‐approved policies that deal with gifts and the selection of library and instructional materials.

In a recent article in The New Yorker, Nicholson Baker laments the demise of the paper card catalogue as a ‘paroxysm of shortsightedness and anti‐intellectualism’ on the part of over‐zealous librarians, wrecking destruction ‘in a class with the burning of the library at Alexandria.’ Baker's poignant plea on behalf of the venerable catalogue fails to acknowledge or even mention the numerous benefits and advantages gained by libraries with online catalogues. In this article, Brian Helstien responds to Baker's piece focusing on four issues not discussed by Baker — authority control, collection preservation, collection access and collection costs. Vastly improved authority control is a major benefit of library automation, allowing library staff members to create and maintain large bibliographic databases efficiently and effectively, with more ease and accuracy than was possible with paper catalogues. Technology and automation are providing essential methods to fighting the ongoing deterioration of acidic collections and preserving the very scholarly materials indexed in catalogues. Without such technology, libraries (and scholars) can expect to lose large parts of their collections over relatively short periods of time. Rising collection costs faced by libraries is another issue not addressed by Baker. The use of technology such as online catalogues by libraries is one way libraries are fighting the rising costs of acquiring materials and providing access to these materials; without the technology, libraries and the scholars that use them will acquire fewer materials at a higher cost. Baker's viewpoint evokes nostalgia, but ultimately fails to recognise the real issues faced by libraries of today.

Purpose – This chapter makes sense of the volume and suggests avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach – This chapter reflects upon some of the challenges facing biology and politics; it offers two case studies of areas calling for more research and discussion.

Findings – Some evolutionary theorists criticize religion. In the process, they undermine the ability to reach out to religious people about the value of evolutionary theory. Two case studies – group selection and genetic bases of political behavior – are examined to illustrate ongoing issues that call for further attention