Comments on: “Graphical sex” books will return to library shelves in Nampa, Idaho

By: Tim Carter

Tim Carter — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:45:02 +0000

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/08/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt

By: Tim Carter

Tim Carter — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:43:54 +0000

Cameron, I think this is what you are pointing me to, #40 on the list:

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/08/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt

By: Aaron Orgill

Aaron Orgill — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:20:52 +0000

Tyler, I think about everybody on this blog who knows me would say I’m open-minded and a pretty live and let live guy. But FF and Jess are 100 percent right, it is completely appropriate to have restricted access to certain books. Not many parents would want their 10-year-old to have access to something so obviously “adult”. If they were burning the books, or getting rid of them altogether, that would be a different story.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:02:35 +0000

Tim, perhaps you haven't seen this list yet.

By: Tim Carter

Tim Carter — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:43:31 +0000

I think Sarah Palin would ban the books:

‘[Former mayor] John Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.’

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html

By: jess

jess — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:33:07 +0000

i don’t have a problem with the books being placed a spot where an adult has to ask for them. at least they are available. there’s no shame in asking – at least no additional shame to take the extra step to ask as opposed to just checking the book out.

well said, ff. while i don’t think the books should be openly available for children, i think adults should have the right to check the book out.

By: Federal Farmer

Federal Farmer — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:04:46 +0000

Tyler, I am going to have to disagree with you here. The ACLU seem to think that this is a “civil rights,” issue, which would make it more convenient in the end. Yet “The Joy of Gay Sex,” was removed alongside “The New Joy of Sex,” which indicates that these books were both deemed inappropriate for general readers for other reasons not mentioned. Most of these “Joy of Sex” books have illustrations which are quite graphic. Therefore, why is it wrong for a public library to restrict the use of such materials for some readers, particularly children? We have ratings on films and have “parental advisory” notes on music, what restrictions are placed on publicly-funded books? Society has developed standards of decency and have more-or-less defined obcenity, and when it comes to children, I don’t at all think that my kid needs to be perousing “The Joy of Sex,” and I would hope that the public library would assist in that department.

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:14:43 +0000

We’re definitely not talking “Huckleberry Finn” here with these two particular books.

By: David

David — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:12:53 +0000

I’m not trying to make assumptions about Logan here, but there is one flaw in your argument. Libraries have limited budgets and must choose what to stock. There is no reason to add books to the library collection that are very likely to be unused.