This is from Libraries Online, the news & updates portion of ALA's website. Seriously? Are they serious? Are we still banning books? Yes, they should have a collection development policy; however, that's clearly not the real issue here. I'm officially offended on behalf of graphic novels and the Midwest.
Missouri Trustees Pull Graphic Novels, for Now
The board of the Marshall (Mo.) Public Library voted 7–1 October 11 to remove from circulation the two coming-of-age graphic novels Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and Blankets by Craig Thompson until trustees have codified a material-selection policy—a process that could take months to complete. “We will then have concrete guidelines for [the books’] appropriateness and for their placement if they are kept,” Board President Anita Wright explained to some 90 citizens who packed the meeting, according to the October 12 Marshall Democrat-News.
Explaining that trustees intended to craft “a lasting policy for any selections to be made in the future,” Wright asserted, “At no point will the policy be written with an attempt to ‘work around’ the materials in question.” Louise Mills, who made the reconsideration request, agreed, telling the Democrat-News, “The policy is definitely needed because currently anything can be brought in or taken out by [the library director].”
“Both board members and staff members will work together on the policy committee,” MPL Director Amy Crump told American Libraries, explaining that “for a variety of reasons” the 16-year-old library has never had written collection-development guidelines.
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this is the same logic that leads people to believe that not seeing nipples on the covers of magazines, or having gay sex or condoms or unmarried couples or interracial couples raising children together somehow makes the world a better, safer, less disgusting place. because anyone with children (or who has been a child or currently is one) knows, if the people in charge (gov't/parents) make it off-limits, we all just through our hands up and say, "Thank goodness it's been decided for me that i shouldn't see such things or know about them. Now i can focus on other, more important, better things... (like protecting the motherland or cleaning my room)."
Fuck this censorship shit. In the immortal words of Steve Earle "Fuck the FCC, fuck the FBI, fuck the CIA, i'm livin' in the motherfuckin' USA." --And now we can add the Missouri Trustees to the list.
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