What is with our schools and libraries?
Parents across the nation are taking action against both school districts and libraries that feature books, some of them required reading, that include sexual issues and obscenity many believe are inappropriate for school children.
In Overland Park, Kan., parents have organized to protest the inclusion of obscene books on children’s assigned reading lists in the Blue Valley School District. The parents took action after a few of them researched the books kids were being asked to read.
Complete story: X-rated ‘children’s’ books outrage students’ parents. …
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About waynem
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Being a librarian, I’d be interested in seeing the complete list.
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison, one of the books in the article you linked to is on our adult shelves, but I don’t believe in banning books.
Parents have every right to restrict their child’s reading, but this country is not about censorship and no library in this country is going to endorse censorship.
Some of the classics of literature at one time were banned books, and it’s all a matter of opinion.
If you don’t like the content, don’t read the book. Simple as that, and don’t let your kids read it. If a school suggests a book you don’t approve of, take it up with the teacher, don’t go screaming “Ban books”.
People need to take responsibility for themselves and make decisions and not impose censorship on everyone simply because of individual moral issues.
You can’t force everyone to have the same moral code or ethics. It just doesn’t work that way. That’s why this is a democracy.
It is not up to a public library to censor what kids check out. That is their parent’s responsibility.
We’re not public babysitters.
Banning books is very different from not having our government pay for them and put them on the shelves for all to access therefore encouraging their access.
I believe very strongly that we are what we read and what we encourage. We must be discerning.
Most people don’t seem to ‘get’ just how Libraries get their books. We don’t get our books paid for by the Federal government. If you think the government pays for all books in a library then you don’t know much about how a library is funded or run. I work in one.
Our book purchases comes from the monies from the city, the patrons, and the Friends of the library as well as Fines collected on overdue books. The choices on the books carried comes from a library board, the director and the patrons directly!
To restrict a library on what books they can ‘supply’ the public, is censorship no matter how you want to colour it, and that is against the very things this country was founded on… FREEDOM. You have a FREEDOM to choose not to read something, just as you have the freedom to read other things.
We can’t keep allowing this sort of thing to happen in this country where one group of morally righteous people gets a hair about something and suddenly thinks they have to save the rest of us from it, or enforce it with a law. That’s not freedom.
People too often use censorship as a way to FORCE their beliefs and opinions on others.
I’m glad this country is free and I will fight to keep it that way. Censorship is just one step closer to communism.
Really doesn’t matter what or where this conversation ‘comes from’ the jist of it screams Censorship.
My library director and entire staff agreed with me when I printed the article to show them.
Censorship is anti american.
I am not a leftist or a communist or overly liberal and I am a librarian, nor is anyone I work with.
This country was founded on freedom for all people… not just those that follow the Christian doctrine. You can’t use a Christian logic on a legal issue, on a constitutional issue because in this country church and state are seperate, like it or not.
As a writer, as a librarian and as a proud American I will not and cannot condone censorship in any form. I don’t believe Jesus would have us push our views down other people’s throats or act judgemental and self righteous.
Perhaps it’s just time we agree to disagree on this as you’ll never see my point and I am not going to concede anything on an issue of General Freedom from Censorship.
Btw Hitler started out banning books… and spouting off self righteous Christian Dogma.