BellaOnline Forums Career Library Sciences Homosexuality: Issues For Libraries and Librarians

A new article asks:

How should libraries deal with materials that address homosexuality? What are your views?

You know, I, as an artist, have to consider censorship very carefully. For example, there is a fine line between pornography and art.

I have several WONDERFUL books (all fiction) where the hero (or heroinne) is gay. In some books the character has other issues to deal with, since they are gay. In others it is just a facet of the character, and makes no change in the story line. I think it is important for those books to remain in the mainstream libraries. A library should be open to all ideas, religions, beliefs, etc. The books are there for those who seek to learn more.

The only time I have ever been behind library censorship was when people were using the computers next to the childrens section to access pornography. Above all else we must protect our kids from predators. But, because a person is a homosexual it does not mean that they are a predator, or wrong, or evil, etc etc, it's that kind of thinking that lead to all of those nasty statistics about suicide rates.

I hope all that made sense, I'm trying to type, paint, take care of a child, keep my cat from ripping up the couch, and keep the dog off of the couch all at the same time. can we say multitask? <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I think with gays making up 5% to 10% of our population (depending on which study you believe) that it's sad that there's still any gay bashing going on. To me that's just as bad as picking on people with darker skin or Jewish people or any other group. For some reason kids that know it's not good to harass people for skin color reasons still think it's "cool" to use gay-related slurs. It really, really bugs me.

Maybe having books like those around will help remind them that these are people just like them - they probably actually KNOW gay people and just don't know that they ARE gay.

If you take the lowest estimate (5% of the population) that still means that everyone will come in contact with, know, be related to people who are homosexual.

I think that certain groups do not understand that having information available does not promote a view or advocate a practice.

Add the books in the shelves along with the other books, that's it.