“Grand Haven’s public library will be celebrating ‘Banned Books Week’ (Sept. 18-24) and pushing back against censorship with a reading challenge and book display for the entire month.” - Tribune
The event was also featured on Wood TV 8. – Library Promoting Banned, Challenged Books
While controversy regarding the age appropriateness of sexually explicit books sweeps the country, Loutit Library is “educating the public” in a way that creates confusion. Parents across America have discovered books with sexually explicit scenes available to children in public school libraries. These parents have pleaded with school representatives to rate these types of books, inform parents of their presence, and require parental consent before their children have access to these materials. These concerned parents tend to believe in the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom to Read, but don’t believe that children should be free to make their own decisions regarding what is appropriate for themselves.
There are numerous problems with this library display.
It mixes classic books with sexually explicit books.
It fails to highlight the difference between banning books and age appropriateness of books.
It fails to recognize there is a fundamental difference between school libraries and public libraries.
It does not designate when each book created controversy or the specific controversy related to each book.
Overall, the display creates confusion and does nothing to clarify the issue parents across the country have raised.
For example, one book parents across the country are asking schools to rate and notify parents regarding it’s presence is titled, “It’s Perfectly Normal.” You can read a complete review of “It’s Perfectly Normal” at RatedBooks.org, but one image from the book has been included below for your reference. This book is placed in a display near the poetry book “A Light in the Attic”, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, and a Stephen King thriller. While there might have been past controversy surrounding these other books, the presence of these books does nothing to clarify the controversy surrounding books available to children in public school libraries, and only serves to create confusion.
When looking at the picture below, think of cartoon TV shows. Archer and South Park, two animated television shows, have a TV-MA rating. TV-MA means “may be unsuitable for children under 17”. Yet, neither shows anything any more graphic than the picture below from “It’s Perfectly Normal”, which Loutit Library is claiming should be “free to read” for all ages. Why the disconnect between books and television shows? If a parent wants to allow their child to read “It’s Perfectly Normal”, or watch Archer or South Park, that’s their parenting choice. But for those parents who do not want their minor child exposed to pornographic material, they should have that choice to consent. Far from banning books, we are arguing for parental consent.
Another example where this display creates confusion is placing the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” along side “Lawn Boy”, “Beyond Magenta” and “All Boys aren’t Blue.” Here’s a quote from the book “All Boys aren’t Blue.”
“He reached his hand down and pulled out my dick. He quickly went to giving me head. I just sat back and enjoyed it as I could tell he was, too.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The book contains much more explicit content and you can read a full review of All Boys aren’t Blue at RatedBooks.org. The point is that most people are familiar with the book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The vast majority of adults read this book in high school and have determined it is appropriate. When the library places a book people are familiar with, next to a sexually explicit book available to children in school libraries, it does nothing but create confusion.
While members of the public have a convenient chance to flip through some books making recent national news headlines, it is not clear which books meet this criteria. As a member of the public you should come to your own conclusions. Unfortunately, the book banning display does little to “educate the public” on current controversy. It is difficult for citizens to determine which books are creating controversy and they are likely to leave feeling confused.
Here’s a podcast on the same topic from The Homes Politicast which I highly recommend. He begins his discussion on Loutit Library at the 4 minute mark. (The Homes Politicast focuses on Ottawa County News.)