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Legitimately banned books?
Yesterday a group of conservative Christian teens and their parents organized by Focus on the Family demonstrated outside a high school library in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post.
Their complaint: the librarians had banned their collection of books against homosexuality. While the teens argued this was intolerance of their views of homosexuality, the librarians said the books did not meet their standards for donated books which require recommendations from two positive reviews from professional journals. Most of the books were released by smaller church publications.
As an amusing side note, the name of head librarian is Susan Thornily – and she did show some spikes towards Christian writing in the discussion. Thornily said the books were heavy on Scripture and light on research, and would make gay students “feel inferior.” But she says their staff is searching for books on homosexuality that represent the religious viewpoint and meet their academic standards.
For all the teens’ fervor for the books, none of them could say they had read anything from the collection when the Post reporter asked.
back to top45 Comments to “Legitimately banned books?”
You mean they were fighting for inclusio of books whose content they had never read?
I am sure they did this from the purist of ideological and principled grounds!
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Musing,
Have you read “Are Gay Rights Right?”
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Bob buckles post 2,
no. And what does this discuss?
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I have to agree with Musing. If you’re going to take up a cause, you ought to know what you’re defending.
I do hope that they follow up with this librarian to see to it that books on this subject get on the shelves, though I don’t know how one would write a Christian book without scriptural references.
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If this were the town library, my sense is this is a lay down: the books need to, and probably would, go in.
School libraries play by different games, and this will be interesting to watch play out. Schools are playing under the government support of religion challenges (c.f. Of Pandas and People book issue in Dover) where in general, general libraries are not.
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Robert Gagnon has some excellent writings on homosexuality from a Christian perspective–especially his book The Bible and Homosexual Practice.
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David L post 6,
I tend to get my homosexuality from a Christian perspective from what are perhaps best described as liberal Christian sources.
I personally find neither the liberal nor conservatvie Christian argument compelling.
I prefer a civil rights construct, and under this construct, the situation is clear: if there are preferential rights given to married heterosexual couples (e.g. visitation, tax, joint custody) then these should be extnded to gay couples.
Religion has not part in this form of the discussion.
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OK Musing, let me rephrase that:
Gagnon has some excellent writings on homosexuality from a Biblical perspective.
What you prefer, personally, doesn’t change the reality that all our behavior, including sex, occurs under the eye of God.
Sounds to me like you’re trying to avoid having to read Gagnon and deal with his arguments.
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David L post 98,
my sense from what you are writing is that it is from a strict inerrancy Biblical perspectvie.
As I have noted many times neither I nor the majority of Christians accept the strict inerrancy model: this is a minority position among Christians (there is a crisp wording for this statement but this will do for now).
And I find neither Christian perspectvie interesting, since I suggest that the laws treatment of homsexuality is a legal issue and the Bible is of secondary importance in establishing legal issues in a pluralistic religiously neutral political system.
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Back to the subject of the post, and setting aside the “feeling inferior” comment and the other PC stuff from librarians quoted in the article, the requirement for two positive reviews in professional journals sounds reasonable.
Of course, we don’t know which journals the librarians have in mind (these publications may have their own biases affecting which books will be reviewed, to say nothing of which will receive positive reviews). Nor do we know if these standards have been applied throughout FCHS’ collections, but still I can hardly blame them for their suspicions about unknown and unreviewed works.
Nevertheless, as protests go, this one would be a hoot if it wasn’t so sad. Certainly not the first to feature ill-informed protesters (cf. “Take Back the Night” marches and Acts 19:32) but FotF should know better.
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I simply mentioned Gagnon and his book because the school said they were looking for reputable books on homosexuality from a Christian perspective. Gagnon is a very respected theologian.
Feel free to dismiss him without having read him if it allows your prejudices to go unquestioned. It’s much more comfortable that way, I realize.
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This is what drives me crazy about those who listen to Focus on the Family but don’t do their own research. There may be legitimate reasons to add books, or even to ban some books, but when you show up waving papers and talking about resources you’ve never examined, you look silly and you do damage.
I sat on a “controversial book committee” for our Washington state school district for three years. During my tenure a series of textbooks were being considered. The meeting to discuss the books was noisy and loud with plenty of well meaning folks waving faxes from Focus on the Family. Unfortunately, they hadn’t looked at the books and were immediately shot down.
I, however, had read the textbooks and could cite pages that I found disturbing–do second graders really need to read a story about Vasilly the younger that includes descriptions of bloody decapitated heads on fence posts? Second graders?
The teacher recommending the text books, unfortunately, hadn’t read the books either. I found other things about this series problematic–the first most often cited job for a woman was mother, no problems there. But the second most common occupation was witch. Does that sound unbalanced to you?
I only had to point out facts. The textbooks were not used in our school district. The fact kids in this story were used to protest without provided with information is very unfortunate. And yes, the school should have books arguing both sides. That’s what a liberal education truly is about.
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David L post 11,
I dismiss a number of books which are not on a trajectory which I am puursuing. I don’t for ewxaple read up on astrology or Marxist theory: neither is germane to my present interests.
An inerrant Biblical argument against homosexuality is equally of little interest to me at this time.
A more interesting question which does interest me and bears on this question is the status of the Mosaic law to modern Christians.
And without that resolved the Biblical perspective on homosexulaity typically becomees very muddled.
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I do find it a little hard to believe that a high school limits its library to books reviewed in two professional journals….
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I don’t really know why I’m wading into this mess, but these remarks deserve response. (Altho I’m sure David L. will come along shortly and do just fine with them)
An inerrant Biblical argument against homosexuality is equally of little interest to me at this time.
If this is supposed to be an answer to David’s post 11, it fails. It is merely a repetition of the same dismissal.
A more interesting question which does interest me and bears on this question is the status of the Mosaic law to modern Christians.
If the Bible is errant (a rough anthology of the religious writings of a people over 1,500-odd years, with perhaps some of God’s words in there but we can’t tell which are which) then we are free to dispense with any segment that we find inconvenient and/or unconvincing. The Mosaic law would have no status to modern Christians that we don’t wish it to have. If, however, what the Bible says, God says, then the Mosaic law will have some authority over Christians, and the question will become how to apply it. It will not be a question of whether it has relevance at all.
And without that resolved the Biblical perspective on homosexulaity typically becomees very muddled.
Not hardly. The NT, in (unsurprising) harmony with the Pentateuch, is brief, but clear.
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When we addressed the issue of a book last year with our school librarian, she acknowledged that no adult read the books, they just got them based on some award. The book was very disturbing and had our troubled fourteen year old very disturbed. I found it alarming and when we told the superintendent, and others in power, of the content, they too were alarmed. Though apparently not enough to do anything about it based on the books our fifth grader has brought home.
Frustrating that we work so hard to instill a love of reading in the kids, provide them with a plethora of good quality books which they read, only to be undermined by the public school classroom and school libraries. I have no problem with older kids reading challenging books once the foundation is built, but not when they are just getting started. Or if they are having significant issues that we are working on getting them through. Books like that need to be talked through with a responsible adult (he knew that which is why he brought it to us). Seems the school should know that as well.
As far as trying to get a book into the system, it makes sense to have read it first to make certain you know what you are talking about.
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I’m not sure if there is another version of this article, but the one I read has the following quote:
“Focus on the Family selected and supplied the books. The teenagers assembled yesterday did not say they had read any of them.”
That is a bit different than the quote at the top of this thread:
“For all the teens’ fervor for the books, none of them could say they had read anything from the collection when the Post reporter asked.”
From what I read, it is not clear if the students read the books or not; all that is clear is that they did not say they had read any of them.
There is no mention of whether or not any librarians had read the books, either.
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RR post 15,
bingo here:
“The Mosaic law would have no status to modern Christians that we don’t wish it to have.”
and of course the question is should we want to or feel it necessary.
This is a complex question and arguably worthy of more than passing consideration.
Hence my comment.
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RR: If, however, what the Bible says, God says, then the Mosaic law will have some authority over Christians, and the question will become how to apply it. It will not be a question of whether it has relevance at all.
Really? Paul didn’t think so and if what Paul says, God told him to say, then God doesn’t think so either.
Galatians 5:1-6: So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
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RR post 15,
now when yo make this statement:
“Not hardly. The NT, in (unsurprising) harmony with the Pentateuch, is brief, but clear.”
I suggest you are making refernce to evidence which has not been presented and which is itself arguable.
My observation is and has been that strict Biblical inerrancy is an assumption which is neither necessary for nor held by the majority of Christians.
And logic which holds Biblical inerrancy as an underlieing assumption may not, and often is not, valid in the minds of the majority of Christians.
Which does not mean that the majority of Chirstians cavalierly dismiss the bible as you seem to be suggesting.
This is not an either/or situation but rather a possibly valid type of consideration: i.e. you appear to be making an excluded middle type of logical failure.
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and of course the question is should we want to or feel it necessary.
While I think a full-blown debate on inerrancy is beyond both (1) the scope of this blog post and (2) my education and b/g, I will nevertheless reply that if the Bible is inerrant, then we don’t get to decide things like this.
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RR post 15,
raising the class of questions whcih I suggest are worthy of consideration in looking at the import of Mosaic law on modrn Christians.
Yet you seem to cavalierly dismiss the validity of such a discussion.
My sense is you are giving less credit to the Bible than the Bible deserves.
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rr post 21,
and you are:
1) among a minority of Christians
2) are perilously close to introducing a large number of logical and objective failures in your model unless you are very very careful
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No, there’s no excluded middle when we’re talking about whether the words of the Bible are God-breathed. If we cannot with any degree of confidence identify those words in the canon which are given by Him, and which are merely of human invention, then we could just as safely conclude that none of them are His, and ignore them. (The Jesus Seminar called, and they want their marbles back)
I hope you can understand why I find your appeal to what the majority of Christians may or not believe to have little bearing here.
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Books are banned if they offend PC sensibilities.
Books are not banned if they conform to PC sensibilities.
Nothing too hard to understand there.
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RR post 24,
ah there is always a middle, but the extremeist do not want us to believe it.
Hence my commnets on fundamentalist atheists and fundamentalist Christians!
Yes I sense that you misunderstanding of the majority of Christianity leads you to some conclusions which i suggest are erroneous and not supported by the facts.
Your apparent rejection of a middle here would seem to be an example of what seems to be a funbdamental misunderstanding.
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Michelle: Was Sarah Palin by any chance in that crowd?
KRM: Haven’t you heard, “PC” is passe. Nobody knows what it means any more.
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There is no middle on this issue. RR is completely right. If you can’t see that, then your logic is failing you. Either it is God-breathed or it isn’t. If it isn’t, then you or I or Joe or whomever can pick and choose which parts to believe and which to reject.
The New Testament is VERY clear on homosexuality.
And, it doesn’t matter a whit what the “majority of Christians” believe. (Of course, you have yet to prove that assertion.) The path to eternal life is narrow and straight and few are those that find it. The path to Hell is broad and easy and many will follow it.
I suggest that you are on the wrong path.
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This isn’t about homosexuality. This is about banned books. The left has no problem banning books and speech it does not like. Talk radio is next.
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TRS post 28,
but there is always a middle: I might choosenot to care is one which always exists.
And I demur that the new Testament is very clear on homosexuality BUT this inbvolves a long discusison of the New Testament.
Without introducing strong scriptural inerrancy you now must explore validity form the gruond up.
Hard but doable and it results in less inconsistency than assuming global inerrancy of the Bible.
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xion post 29,
but of course the question is the venue.
If this were a public library it clearly should not be banned.
As a school library the issue is more complex.
That the students appeared not to have known the content of the books they were demanding is interesting.
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As I’ve said too many times, the question of what is “right” and what is “wrong” is a very difficult one. I can be persuaded that intentional harm (such as murder and rape and stealing) is bad and consequences of ignorant and careless behavior such as not washing hands or not eating properly are also wrong.
I simply do not perceive “sin” as more than something a religious believer doesn’t like and claims God doesn’t like (because it more likely to persuade others to support him as a legitimate argument for rules and actions and laws without more tangible evidence of harm.
My granddaughter at four years old exists in a state of innocence. She has two mommies whom she perceives as loving and caring for her. She has two daddies she perceives as pleasant and fun, something like cool uncles.
When my daughter was five she realized there is no Santa Claus and no tooth fairy, which perturbed her a bit, but she took in stride. She came to agree with her mother and father (me) about their not being a God as she got a little older.
My granddaughter is going to have to learn that there are people such as most of those posting here who regard her mommies as sinners and as people who should not be doing as they are doing in raising her. I don’t know if I will still be alive when it comes time for her to start dealing with this.
Her mommies had trouble explaining that her sperm donor (whom she knows and likes–as I say–like an uncle–was her “dad.” Before they figured out how to talk about it, she figured it out. But it doesn’t mean much to her. Her best friend across the street has a dad; now she has a dad; she doesn’t know all the ramifications yet.
Her mommies don’t want me to read her the Cat in the Hat yet.
Maybe I’ll write a book called Heather and Her Two Mommies Meet World Magazine and the Evangelical Christians at Cat in the Hat Middle School and The Grinch High School Library.
By the way, last Christmas Random Granddaughter did see the original Grinch television show. First television program she was allowed to watch. (We don’t let watch children watch much television in our family.)
There’s a lot to be said for home schooling. Protects children from being exposed to the Theory of Evolution (aka “Darwinism”).
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Xion:
Yes and when talk radio goes so goes our freedom. The monopoly on information will be complete and the sheeple will be that much easier to control.
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Couldna said it better, TRS. Thank you.
As for SteveG’s #19, Paul isn’t making the point you claim he is.
If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. Paul (as I think you actually know, being a former evangelical Christian) is addressing those who place their confidence in keeping the Law as if doing so would make them right with God and deserving of eternal life. Such confidence is as misplaced as it is possible to be, considering that we are all sinners who have all fallen short of the perfection the Law itself demands. Clearly, we need something – Someone – beyond our own lawkeeping track records if we are to receive blessing and not cursing.
Paul never actually forbids circumcision in all cases (he in fact was circumcised, and led Timothy to do the same – but not Titus). It was the covenant sign under Moses, superceded by baptism, but not outlawed in all cases. (Paul himself continued to observe many features of the so-called ceremonial law, even as he strove with all his strength to prevent the same from being heaped like a burden on the Gentiles turning to Christ)
Again, I think you know all this, and I suspect that you are being disingenuous in 19. Nevertheless, if you really want to hash out moral/ceremonial/civil law distinctions, I’m sure there are many lurkers to this discussion who could help you out.
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but there is always a middle
Now that you’ve repeated this assertion several times, you might want to put some proof behind it. Of course, I would say that the assertion that there are NO either/or realities in the universe is itself a logical fallacy. Like being kind of pregnant, or both a solid and a liquid.
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There’s a lot to be said for home schooling. Protects children from being exposed to the Theory of Evolution (aka “Darwinism”).
******Every homeschooler I know has been exposed the Theory of Evolution. Every single one, and I know quite a few as a homeschooling mom myself.
It is just weird what some of you think goes on in Evangelical and homeschooling homes. Bizarre even.
My children (especially my oldest) can tell you all about Darwin and Evolutionary theory. My oldest has even been given permission to believe in it if he must, but he knows that neither of his parents do. (Although we are Old Earth creationists.)
But, even in my middle son’s Apologia General Science textbook (Young Earth Creationism all the way), there is a very thorough discussion of Darwin and Evolution. However, the arguments against it are also thoroughly discussed.
So, I wonder which kids are actually getting the fuller picture?
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TRS #36
I take your points as reasonably fair jibes at my post.
In part, I react because of my youngest sister, who was “born again” when she was about 13. She is (in my opinion, though my other siblings tend to agree with me) a fairly disturbed person.
I don’t attribute this to her being a fundamentalist Christian. I think she is a rather disturbed person who became a fundamentalist Christian. She could easily have become a fairly disturbed something else. Long story.
My daughter majored in biology. At times said sister sent young earth creationist literature and video tapes to my house (without identifying it as coming from her). Apparently, her hope was that she could convert my daughter with a degree in biology to Creationism. I guess she thought that would be a coup for crationism. I overreacted and yelled at my sister on the phone when I figured out the propaganda was coming from her. Also, my daughter is a big girl and can make up her mind on these matters perfectly well. Again, I overreacted.
So when I made the snarky remark about home schooling and evolution it stems a bit from family touchiness.
Actually, I have a lot of respect for home schooling. To a considerable extend, I think public schools suffer from a lot of problems. I taught in public schools for about ten years. One of my brothers (a secular person like me) home schooled his two daughters.
I simply disagree with evangelical Christians about their religious beliefs, about the inerrancy of the Bible, and about their claims about the origin of the world and our species, and about their attitudes about homosexuality. It’s better to be polite and respectful to each other, which some of us are some of the time, but at the end of the day, these are real and serious differences of opinion and these differences have real implications for our actions and our policies.
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Speaking of homeschooling and evolution theory, I do think the schools do more banning of books than most homeschools. Just the other day my kids came home to tell me they had learned we all descended from apes. I took the time right then to explain to them a bit about the theory and it did not say we descended from apes but from a common ancestor with the apes. Sad when a young earth creationist has to explain the other guy’s theory for them so the student can make an informed decision.
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Sad when a young earth creationist has to explain the other guy’s theory for them so the student can make an informed decision.
******Amen! But it does say something about how we teach. For example, even though I’m an Old Earth Creationist, my middle son is using a YEC science book and has a YEC science teacher (we use the Potter’s School for some online classes.)
My oldest has taken theistic evolutionary classes online from *Scholar’s Online* and is presently taking chemistry from the local Christian college which also supports theistic evolution.
He, though, is one of the reasons that I want to make sure that my other children get a more balanced perspective before they hit high school. My oldest (I think) tends to lean toward theistic evolution, and so I wanted to make sure that my other two got a better grounding in YEC ond OEC beliefs than he did (although he did get some, certainly.)
At any rate, all three of my kids know more about origins and development theories than the vast majority of PS students.
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TRS,
On another note, as we prepare to begin homeschooling one of our kids as soon as the adoption is complete, she is hearing all manner of interesting speculation on the evils of homeschooling from her friends, teacher, and even bus driver! We tell her we will not begin homeschooling unless she has a positive view of public school as an option. It is possible to have a positive use for all the schooling options, none should be thrown out if possible. The music teacher has been the only positive one there. He encourages her to do her best and take advantage of the option of continuing in music class. He is a good teacher, thinking of the students as individuals.
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I am, of course, glad the books were rejected for the school library. Look, it’s tough enough being gay and in high school. There’s already enough bullying, teasing, harassment, and violence that gay students have to endure, without adding religion to the mix.
How would the conservative Christians feel if a group of people presented a package of books that treated conservative Christians the way they’re calling for gay people to be treated? What if the group presented books that said conservative Christians were mentally ill and in need of psychological help? What if they presented books that called for conservative Christians to be treated as social outcasts? What if the group presented books calling for conservative Christians to have their legal rights taken away and made second-class citizens.
While I realize that conservative Christians will never see gay people as anything other than social and legal outcasts, most Americans have gotten over their fear and hate of gay people. They don’t want books in their library denigrating gay people any more than they want books in their library denigrating black people.
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Hey, now, we don’t keep homosexuals as slaves on plantations any more.
Both my wife and I have had male homosexuals as bosses (two separate men on two separate jobs).
My boss (now retired) told me that after he retired he planned to take up a second career as an interior designer. I told him, “How cliched and stereotypical can you get?” By the way, his partner’s and his house is an epitome of good taste. My wife is an outstanding interior decorator, but they give her a good run for the money.
Also speaking of cliches and stereotypes Gore Vidal, perhaps one of the most flamboyent homoesxuals in America, just turned 83. Not exactly Mr. Celibate or a role model of restrained behavior, doesn’t he know he is supposed to be dead by now, like people here tell us about homosexual men?
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Of course “conservative Christians” would absolutely also INSIST upon having this book available in every elementary school library in the country:
34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
34:26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.
34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
34:28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
34:29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
and this:
29:11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
29:12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
29:13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
29:14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
and this:
26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it…
…And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
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Hello,
This is Candi Cushman, the Focus on the Family representative who assisted the students and parents at the True Tolerance press conference in Fairfax County.
I would like to respond to the reports circulating that none of the students read the books. That is not true.
There were students at the event who had read the books, but who did not feel comfortable talking to the media. And the majority, if not all, of the students had looked through the books with their families to determine that the books fairly represented their faith-based viewpoint.
Did the students read every word? Since this truly was a grassroots, student-driven effort, that depended entirely on each student and their family. That is not something that Focus on the Family can or desires to control.
I would take issue with a few other claims:
1) That the books were turned down because they were “released by smaller church publications.” First of all, it’s laughable to call large Christian publishing companies such as Tyndale and InterVarsity Press “small church publications.” This reveals an attempt to marginalize an entire segment of society, which is exactly what the students were protesting.
Furthermore, the Fairfax County public schools’ library system already has Christian books in its collection published by faith-based companies much smaller than the two I just mentioned. Apparently, the Christian perspective is allowed in the library–—except when the issue happens to be homosexuality. Plus, there are several books in the Fairfax County public schools’ library system published by small homosexual-themed publishing groups. So the school system should be challenged to equally apply its standards.
2) Another charge was that the books were turned down because they did not have the requisite reviews. At least two of the books donated by the students on Thursday had reviews from the required sources. So will they be accepted? Again, the students and parents are asking for standards to be equally applied across the board. We’ve done research showing that major review agencies like Publishers Weekly only grant about 13 percent of the requests they receive for reviews. So it is doubtful that every book in the schools’ library system would meet this test.
3) And finally, I find the school district’s statement that they couldn’t allow the students’ donations because the books might make gay students “feel inferior” sadly hypocritical.
First of all, there is absolutely nothing in the donated books that would do that—-since most of the authors walked through these struggles personally and have a compassionate viewpoint on the issue.
Secondly, there is apparently no equal concern about making Christian kids—or others with faith-based viewpoints—feel inferior. Case in point: Books already in the Fairfax County school libraries openly ridicule and attack Christianity and other faith-based viewpoints, making statements like “Americans hate gays and lesbians in direct proportion to the number of times they attend their local church.” Another book in the system accuses Biblical doctrine of subverting social harmony.
Are those statements backed by research? Is the school system equally concerned with how these statements make Christian kids feel? Is their viewpoint not worthy of equal respect?
This gets back to the whole mission of the “True Tolerance” initiative—-creating equal respect for all viewpoints, including faith-based perspectives, as homosexuality is promoted more openly in public schools across the nation.
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Thank you #44 for the clarification.
I once asked that a book be removed from a library in my third graders school library. She asked me to read it after she had started to read it and discovered a lot of garbage in it. The kids in her class were all discussing it and passing it around. I read it and asked my husband to at least peruse it, which he did. We both found it disgusting, but especially for this young age. I wrote down at least ten reasons I objected to it and sent a note to the teacher, who in turn gave it to the principal. It was then sent to the librarian. She read my letter and the book and immediately pulled it from the shelf for that level. The school went through high school. She had children just a little younger than I did and said she would have been horrified for them to have read it.
The truth is that most librarians do not have time to read the books placed into libraries. They go by awards, authors, blurbs in publications etc. It never hurts to make them aware when you find something objectionable. How you go about it is another story.
School libraries are a very different story from public libraries. However, no library can purchase anything but a fraction of books published. It is up to the public to get on the boards to make sure good books are being purchased with our tax money. Good books are not the ones which only support a certain point of view. Those who purchase books, by necessity by-pass others. This can be a form of censorship in itself.
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