Post-Gazette Editorial – 9/4/06

This page was last updated on September 4, 2006.

Banned in America / It’s no way for a modern and open society to be; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; September 4, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The Post-Gazette headline above an Associated Press story last week trumpeted the good news: ‘Banned books List Drops to Lowest Level.’ Hooray for the forces of intellectual freedom and tolerance, right? Not so fast.

“While complaints requesting the removal of certain books have declined by half since the American Library Association began its ‘Banned Books Week’ in 1981, librarians and civil libertarians are busier than ever. The ALA reported 405 challenges in 2005, with 44 actually pulled from the shelves last year. This is down from the 200 books removed from libraries in 1982.

“While statistics don’t lie, they can be misleading. Those who would purge libraries of material deemed inappropriate for children haven’t given up. If anything, they’ve learned to fight on multiple fronts, redirecting much of their protest toward the Internet.”

“Also, librarians aren’t always as diligent as they could be in reporting complaints to the ALA. Some would rather quietly remove offending books.

“In Benton, Pa., several parents complained to the school board about the books their children might read in the schools’ accelerated reader program. According to Judith Krug, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, Benton’s school superintendent ordered 383 recently arrived books to remain boxed. The ‘offending’ books include ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘Invisible Man,’ ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘A Farewell to Arms.’

“‘We’re talking about classic American authors,’ Ms. Krug said. ‘We shouldn’t be taking them off the shelves.’

“In Pennsylvania, the censorious spirit still burns bright, even if the number of complaints is down. As Banned Books Week approaches on Sept. 23-30, we should be heartened that the list isn’t as long. Still, that such a list exists is an embarrassment for democracy.”

[RWC] I don’t believe in banning books for the general population. Kids, I believe, are a different story. Even then, deciding what’s age appropriate is a tough call and I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Here are my problems with this editorial.

· The editorial doesn’t distinguish between libraries targeted to the general public from school libraries.

· Whether or not a book is written by a “classic American author,” not all books are appropriate for all children. Don’t ask me for examples, though; it only seems to make sense.

· The editorial addresses visible “censorship” but ignores the behind the scenes “censorship” that I assume takes place. Here’s what I mean. In the cases cited by the editorial, we’re talking about books already selected by someone (librarian, school board, et cetera) but that someone else wants removed. What about the censorship employed by librarians, school boards, et cetera that keeps books from even getting into the library? Are we to believe no ideological censorship occurs behind the scenes that keeps some good books off library shelves? According to the ALA, though, invisible censorship doesn’t exist.

Here’s the ALA’s view when it comes to children:

“The primary responsibility for rearing children rests with parents. If parents want to keep certain ideas or forms of expression away from their children, they must assume the responsibility for shielding those children. Governmental institutions cannot be expected to usurp or interfere with parental obligations and responsibilities when it comes to deciding what a child may read or view.

“Parents who believe that the current state of society and communications make it difficult to shield their children must nevertheless find a way to cope with what they see as that reality within the context of their own family. Libraries can be extremely helpful, providing information about parenting, open communication between parents and children, how to communicate with caregivers and the parents of your children’s friends about your rules, and the opinions of various organizations representing a wide spectrum of points of view about materials for children.

“If a child borrows something from a library which that child’s parent believes is inappropriate, the parents are encouraged to return the item and make use of the expertise of their librarian to locate materials they prefer, among the hundreds of thousands of choices most public libraries make available.”