Banned Books, Chapter 2-Conservative Group Urges Libraries to Accept Collection

[tannybogus]

During a week that librarians nationwide are highlighting banned books, conservative Christian students and parents showcased their own collection outside a Fairfax County high school yesterday -- a collection they say was banned by the librarians themselves

More than 40 students, many wearing black T-shirts stamped with the words "Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas," said they tried to donate more than 100 books about homosexuality to more than a dozen high school libraries in the past year. The initiative, organized by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, was intended to add a conservative Christian perspective to shelves that the students said are stocked with "pro-gay" books.

Most of the books were turned down after school librarians said they did not meet school system standards. Titles include "Marriage on Trial: The Case Against Same-Sex Marriage and Parenting" and "Someone I Love Is Gay," which argues that homosexuality is not "a hopeless condition."

"We put ourselves out there . . . and got rejected," said Elizabeth Bognanno, 17, a senior at West Springfield High School, standing before a semicircle of television cameras outside her school. "Censoring books is not a good thing. . . . We believe our personal rights have been violated."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100203644.html?referrer=reddit

Flanking maneuver!

[SmokingJacket]

1. The point is that LIBRARIANS should be allowed to do their

jobs, and choose books that THEY think are appropriate without pressure from groups with agendas.

Unfortunately, the whole censorship question has been flattened into the black and white "banned books" thing...

[wtmusic]

9. Devil's advocate

What if a library (for whatever reasons) ends up with a fundie librarian, who pulls nothing off the shelf, but adds thousands of pro-Christian, anti-gay books? :shrug:

[SmokingJacket]

11. Fire him!

Someone has to choose what books go in the library -- that person is the librarian.

If he stinks, get a new librarian.

[yurbud]

2. I thought it was going to be THE TURNER DIARIES.

[YOY]

3. I don't think their books should be omitted...as hateful and evil as they are.

Sorry. I dislike them as much as anyone but that's not the solution.

[wtmusic]

7. If the goal is to snow libraries with stone-age religious dogma

a line has to be drawn somewhere.

[YOY]

8. Not too sure if this is the way...

There has to be a just and right way to stop them.

[tanyev]

10. Libraries have established criteria for the books they put on their shelves.

For example, a quick google search found this from a public library in Kansas:

II. Criteria and Review Sources
A. General Selection Criteria

The Library attempts to provide a general collection of reliable materials embracing the broader fields of knowledge, with due regard for variations in educational level, reading ability, and reading interest. Materials to satisfy highly specialized interests are purchased if real or potential demand exists.

While a single standard cannot be applied to each work, the following general criteria are used in selecting materials for purchase by the Lawrence Public Library:

Relationship to the existing materials in the collection on the same subject
Reputation of the author, artist, publisher, or producer
Suitability of subject, style, and reading level for the intended audience
Current appeal and popular demand
Cost and availability of materials on the subject
Present and potential relevance to community needs
Value of material in relation to its cost
Level of difficulty and specialization
Reviews, summaries, and descriptions of materials
Availability and accessibility of the same materials in the geographical area
Format suitability
Technical characteristics, such as physical quality of the item and level of durability

http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/policies/materials.html#purpose


The library I work at gets a lot of books donated by the public. The vast majority of them go on to the annual book sale which benefits the library. Very few of the donated books end up in the library collection.

[wtmusic]

12. Thank you for the background

very helpful. :thumbsup:

[zbdent]

4. Jeez, I should have thought of that with my books ...

"George W. Bush is a total f*cking idiot" and

"Why the Religious Right are total a**hole fascists" ...

[Aristus]

5. I think librarians should allow them. I love pulling books like those off the shelf, opening them

and finding their one single check-out stamp from three years before... B-)

[davsand]

6. The Library has $_____ amount to spend on books.

Do you buy something that promotes one world view over another or do you simply order another copy of Pride and Prejudice so nobody is chewing on your ass?




Seems to me that if I was gonna have somebody chewing my ass, I probably would error in favor of needing to order it.




Laura

[Rob H.]

13. Here are two telling details, buried on the second page

Focus on the Family selected and supplied the books. The teenagers assembled yesterday did not say they had read any of them.

Focus on the Family is a bunch of right-wing religious wackaloons, so any books they think are okay to donate should be suspect. And the teens donating them hadn't even read them? Sounds as if they were given the books and told to give them to the library so that when the library rejected them, they could all grandstand with the usual,"Waah! Waah! We're being oppressed!" response they usually trot out.

Edit: spelling.