Ugh. I've been a bit busy lately thinking about and raging against my local library system's decision to not purchase a certain book series due to its 'pornographic' nature (yeah, yeah, the 50 Shades of Grey books). If you'd like to read my actual statement it was first published in The Dagger HERE, and later an edited version in the Baltimore Sun HERE.
Basically I called shenanigans and outright BULLSHIT on my local library (Harford County Public Library) system. The HCPL library director and board of trustees have taken a page from the books of countless corrupt politicians and corporate CEOs by lying outright to the public and the media. They've chosen to hide behind their version of a selection policy as an excuse for censorship. Their official statement, again, standing by protocol and policy as a smokescreen, is HERE.
I will never understand why people just can't be honest. HCPL may as well be saying, "We believe it is our call to extend beyond the duty of public service as public librarians to provide your desired reading materials. Rightly so, we choose to pull out this shiny halo and this lil' wooden gavel and judge what you are reading, deem it too explicit, and by God, we are just not going to buy these smutty things and dirty up our reading shelves with their presence! Ladies and gentlemen of Harford County, go spend your money at stores not supported by your tax dollars to provide your filthy filth. You ain't getting it here."
Maybe I just believe in people's right to read more than the library's role (or self-perceived role) to bestow ethical judgement on what another reads. Some of the awesome comments in support of HCPL have been about them making the "hard decision" to do "the right thing" and cheering their "moral bravery". I guess I thought professional librarians are supposed to provide materials, not deny them. Especially super-popular modern recreational reading (no matter the poorly crafted quality). Damn, girl, if you want to read that bodice-ripping love stuff: get some! You're reading, and that's awesome.
I guess HCPL has done its job. In sending a clear message to its readers to find their books elsewhere. Shoo, flies. You filthy, fucking things.
Here's another member of my community (a Board of Trustees member in Baltimore County) who wrote a piece against the censorship HERE, and an editorial from my local paper, The Aegis, HERE.
Rant over. I promise to blog about more fun things soon! I just had to get all that off my chest (but not in a dirty way, god forbid!). Lord have mercy! Heavens above! =p
