Library Censorship

West Bend, Wisconsin has been undergoing a major book challenge over the past several months. In February, a couple from the town petitioned that certain books dealing with G.LBT issues as well as other s.exually explicit issues be labeled as such and moved from the Young Adult to the Adult section. This couple formed a group called West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries with other members of the community to support their cause. To further the controversy, the Christian Civil Liberties Union demanded that one book in particular, Baby Be-bop by Francesca Lia Block, be publicly burned. They also requested monetary damages as members of this group had been “injured” by it. In response, another group called West Bend Parents for Free Speech was formed to counter these petitions and requests. Ultimately, the library board voted to make no changes in the location or labeling of these books.

It seems that the main allegation coming from the WBSCL is that the West Bend Library is no longer safe for their children because of the types of books they are making available to children. Because of this, they requested the books to be labeled and moved. The WBPFS argues that it is up to the parent to do the parenting and that by moving these books, they are taking away their right to parent as well as restricting access to books that could be beneficial to other children.

To be honest, I don’t know exactly what I would do if this were happening in my community or library. I’ve never given much thought to the banning or censoring of books before this class. It is a particularly tough subject for me, because I am coming at it from the viewpoint of a school librarian with responsibilities to fulfill. At the same time, I am a conservative to moderate thinker who would (in a perfect world) not want my children exposed to s.exually explicit material before the appropriate time- regardless of the orientation. How can one be true to their profession and their beliefs at the same time? I think if I were in this situation, I would try to meet both parties somewhere in the middle.

As far as the WBSCL goes, I completely understand where they are coming from. It seems to make sense that books they consider to be age inappropriate should be on the adult shelves rather than the young adult shelves. One might consider these YA books to be appropriate for that age level, but who is the YA category really aimed at? I searched for Baby Be-bop on amazon.com to find out more about it and found that Publishers Weekly deemed it appropriate for ages 12 and up, while School Library Journal felt it would be appropriate for grade 10 and up, which is 15-16 year old students. So who decides what is the appropriate age to be perusing the YA section? I certainly wouldn’t want my 12 year-old reading about a g.ay teen being violently beaten nearly to the point of death. I simply don’t believe it’s appropriate. However, if my 18 year-old child (legally an adult) wanted to read this, I think they would be able to handle it just fine.

As librarians know, children like to read about people their same age or older than them. Because of this, younger students- say middle school age- often check out books from the Young Adult section while true young adults are already reading books from the Adult section. Therein lies my problem and where I agree with the WBSCL. I believe that s.exually explicit YA books will probably be read by students for whom they are not age appropriate. For this reason, I can see them being moved to the Adult section. I do not, however, think they should be labeled as s.exually explicit.

At the same time, I agree with the WBPFS that it is up to the individual parent to parent their own children. Parents should be guiding their children through life, offering love, help, encouragement, and support as well as monitoring. The hole in the WBPFS’s argument is that there are MANY parents who aren’t monitoring their children. As a teen, my mother always checked my stack of books before we left the library to make sure my choices at least appeared to be appropriate. This was her right as a parent. She was parenting me. The problem is that today many parents either aren’t around to monitor their children, think they are too busy to monitor their children, or they don’t even stop to think about what their children might be getting into when they open a book. I agree it’s the parents’ job to parent, but the reality is that there are many parents who don’t. Should we let their children be exposed to inappropriate topics simply because they aren’t doing their parental duty? For someone who is not around these non-parented children, it would be easy to negate this idea. As a public school educator, though, I work with these children every day.

There is a fine line between censoring and advocating. I won’t go into the details of the demands from the Christian Civil Liberties Union, because I feel they are going over the top by demanding that the book Baby Be-bop be removed from the library. This is certainly censorship. However, by moving age inappropriate books to a more age appropriate setting, we may actually be advocating for children whose parents aren’t parenting them by monitoring their choices. Books are strong tools and when children read inappropriate material, it is forever ingrained in their minds. Children are impressionable and I’d hate to think that a child is scarred by something I could have prevented. While I understand that I can’t protect every child, I can at least try to protect the ones in my immediate community. I don’t think I would be falling down on my duty as a librarian to move these titles to the Adult section. If a student wants a particular title or subject matter, he or she can locate it by finding it on the OPAC or by asking a librarian for help.

I’m not sure how much the West Bend Library Board really entertained the petitions given by the WBSCL, but from the footage we watched and the ultimate decision that was made- that nothing would be labeled or moved- I kind of doubt they gave much thought to the request. I think the SBSCL was fighting a losing battle from the beginning, but I do admire them for having the courage to speak up about something they felt was inappropriate for their children.