Hey, everybody! This is right off the transom. I just got home to find this e-mail from Ninja Librarian Susan Hunt . . . and I’m basically just copying it direct to here (I’ve only removed some of the names). My comments follow. I don’t need to preface this with much, as Susan says it all . . .

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I received a letter today giving the reconsideration committee’s decision. Since I don’t have a scanner available to me, I will type the letter as it appears. I do believe, Maureen, that without our intervention the book would have been pulled from the shelves. I’m not so sure that the decision is much better, however. While it avoids “banning” the book, it restricts the book’s availability. I would not have been happy to live under a rule that demanded a ‘reserve shelf’ for certain books, or that demanded that I keep track of which students had parental permission to read which books. It is just the kind of nightmare my early retirement avoided. Thank you again.

The letter begins.

Bermudez Triangle
District Committee Report
June 6, 2007

The library book review committee met several times to discuss and review the book entitled, The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson. The first meeting was set to establish protocol and gather materials for review. A copy of the complaint was given to each member present. Each member of the committee had an opportunity to give his/her view of the complaint. The district library media department chair presented additional materials and discussed her opinion of the book. Members were asked to read the book, the reviews or research any additional information which would be relevant for further discussion at the next meeting.

Committee members met again on April 26th. The complainant met with the committee to express her view of the book and its inappropriateness for her 14 year old daughter. Members of the committee also met with the Mid-High librarian and principal. The librarian explained she had ordered the book for students who had to write papers for the English class. Each year, students have to write a paper on social issues and often students have had to go to the public library to get materials. She was trying to have a well rounded selection of materials to address the possible needs for the class.

Written comments from the community, regarding their views of the book, were solicited via the Bartlesville Public School website. A parent and the librarian of the Bartlesville Public Library responded in favor of keeping the book in circulation. The teacher at Mid-High who gives the social issues assignment sent a summary of the assignment to the committee for review. Yet, we must acknowledge, the book was checked out to the compainant’s daughter who was not in this particular teacher’s class.

The committee would like to make the following recommendations:

–In order to allow students to have access to the book for curriculum review or reports, the books would sit on the ‘reserve shelf’ and be checked out for classroom use with a parent’s permission.

–Proactive communication with parents regarding materials in the library is important. An invitation to parents to visit the library should be extended each year. Listed media materials located on the website need to be communicated to parents. The committee would like to suggest the review of the district’s current school library policy. Up to date revisions and procedures will be paramount in establishing a framework for future library media concerns.

The is the end of the letter.

Thank you again, Maureen. We succeeded.

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Thanks to Susan, we did . . . if only partially.

Friends, what do you make of this?

Me, personally, I’m disgusted that a book requires parental consent just because it contains homosexual content. As Susan says, this is almost as bad . . . if not worse!

And that second point gives me a case of the wobblies. Why do I feel like other materials in this school library are going to end up on the “scary shelf” with Bermudez?

As for the rest of the letter . . . like I said before, the book was banned on April 26th, when only one committee member (the one who supported it) had actually taken the time to read it. Without your letters, your support, your links . . . the book would have been banned. You turned it around. Thank you, guys. I can’t tell you how much your support meant.

But what do you make of this “solution”? Is limiting access to a book really a good idea? What should I do next, if anything?

If you want to hear a really eloquent take on why self-censorship is a disaster, and why books with homosexual content belong on the shelf, listen to this podcast. This is David Levithan speaking at the Reading Matters conference in Australia. David lays it all out. (Note to anyone playing this out loud—he does drop the F-bomb once, but to great effect. This conference was for a group of librarians.) It’s fantastic. (And shows that these problems are not limited to American shores.)

Posted: Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 @ 3:20 am
Categories: Bartlesville, book banning.
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