This time a library system in Missisippi has placed Jon Stewart's book America in limbo. Unable to be checked out by anyone.

Oh for crying out loud! *waits for Rae to join me on the gripe*

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Yipppeee! A vote for the good guys. In a 5-2 vote, the library board voted to return the book. One major factor was the publicity they received.

One board member wants parents to sign for every book their children check-out.

Just to play devil's advocate here....really, every library and bookstore censors, becauae they can't buy every book. The person in charge of buying chooses which books fit the nature of their library, or which they consider appropriate. A reviewer suggested that my book was old-fashioned ( a polite term for sexist in this case) because I said most children are homeschooled by their mothers, and those mothers do most of the housework. (I didn't say that was right, just true.) That doesn't bother me, because my book overall will appeal more to conservative readers than liberals, so her recommendation that the book only be placed in libraries in conservative communities is probably true. However, if a library says, "Well, we aren't buying that book--it's sexist."...isn't that censorship? But how can it be avoided? They have to choose what they think their readers want. It would probably be a waste of money to put my book in a very liberal neighborhood.

Where do you feel the dividing line is between censorship and selection? How does a library decide whether it is censoring or choosing? This has always been an interesting question to me. It sometimes seem we call it censorship if we like the book, and choosing if we don't. (Presuming, of course, it isn't accompanied by a book burning. Then the answer is pretty obvious.)

A good point Terrie. Some librarians 'self-censor' more than others. Each library is different. In my K-8 Catholic school library I don't purchase books that are anti-Catholic. I might at a university level library.

The odd thing about this situation is, the library system had already purchased the book. It was catalogued into the system. They also had requests from adult patrons to check it out.

That does make a difference. If it's there and people are reading it, there isn't much sense in removing it. I wasn't actually asking if censorship was okay, just what makes a difference in whether it's censorship or selection. I suspect I'd make a bad librarian because I'd have a hard time buying books I don't approve of--I wouldn't say no one should read them...I'd just have trouble buying them. So I was curious how others do make those choices and how they decide if their own feelings are involved in the choice.

I remember this when it came out; in those years the right were the crazy ones and now it is the left who are actually worst!