The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board's Challenged Materials Review Committee has recommended The Golden Compass and other books in a series written by British author Philip Pullman remain in school libraries. Last fall, controversy swirled around the fantasy book just before a film adaptation was scheduled to hit movie screens in December.

The Halton District School Board had removed the book from shelves to conduct a review of the material and subsequently banned it and two others in the trilogy.

At the time, Dufferin-Peel officials said in light of the controversy program department staff and librarians were reading and analyzing the book as part of a normal course of business.

However, that business turned into to a formal review after a parent issued an official complaint, according to Program Superintendent Marianne Mazzorato.

Pullman has been called an atheist whose book contains anti-Catholic and anti-religious text.

Mazzorato said members of the board's review committee read all three books in Pullman's Dark Materials Series, which includes The Golden Compass.

The 16-member committee includes parents, trustees, principals, librarians, administrators and program and religious education staff.

Committee members concluded the books should remain in elementary school libraries for use by Grade 7 and 8 students as well as in all high school libraries.

"It was not believed totally banning them (the books) was a way to go," said Mazzorato.

The trilogy, which is comprised of The Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, should not be part of regular lesson plans in elementary school classrooms, the committee recommended.

The books would be available in libraries for use by Grade 7 and 8 students who want to sign them out.

The books would carry a sticker on the inside cover telling those readers "representations of the church in this novel are purely fictional" and not reflective of the real Roman Catholic Church or the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

High school students would freely find the books available in school libraries.

If a teacher wanted to use any of the novels in secondary school classrooms, parents must be informed, a Catholic Perspectives study guide must be used to complement lessons and students would have the option to study an alternative book.

Mazzorato pointed out the books are dense, advanced reading material that does not appeal to the majority of elementary school readers. As part of the review process, the board inventoried how many of the books were in school libraries and checked if students were signing the novels out.

"Interestingly enough, they weren't very popular books," she said.

Ironically, a board report indicated that before recent controversy surfaced in advance of the movie opening, schools were considering taking the novels off bookshelves to make room for more popular literature. "The books circulated very poorly over time due to their advanced reading level and were generally on track to be weeded," the report indicated.

The review process has been helpful in developing resources and support guide material teachers can use when presenting sensitive or controversial books in classrooms, Mazzorato said.

This review process produces clear teaching directions that reaffirm the goal of providing a Catholic education, she suggested.

Sensitive or controversial material, Mazzorato added, is not necessarily a bad thing to have in classrooms. Such material can be used as a learning tool to promote critical literary thinking, she said.

The committee recommendations were approved by trustees at their Tuesday regular public meeting.