This thread is inspired by our local public library. It is not a new institution, it has been around for forty years. To my shock and amazement I found out that it did not have a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carrol. I maintain that no public library can call itself a library without this and other books. Which books would you make sure the library has. And before you ask, nope it has no representation from the canon of Cecil Adams, maybe I should rectify that 
Keith
Funny I should see this thread now. I’m in the middle of a tussle with the library I work with for this very reason.
Doing a search one day, I found out that The Vampire Lestat, was on the list of books the library had withdrawn and banned.
I have not read any of the Vampire Chronicles, so I don’t know exactly what part of this particular volume deems it obscene/‘bannable’.
I’ve written in to the people on the board, (and annoying the hell out of them, I bet) hoping to get some answers.
Okay, Anne Rice may not be ‘essential’ reading, but IMHO it’s really strange that they’d bring in the other titles, but not Book 2. I can’t get hold of a copy now so maybe someone on this board who’s read the series could tell me if missing Book 2 throws the story off.
Sorry for hijacking your thread Odieman. Back to your question - I’d say the complete works of Stephen Dunn. He’s not exactly canon material (yet), but one of the best contemporary poets I’ve read.
Why I should NOT post after a bad day at work -
“so I don’t know exactly what part of this particular volume deems it obscene/‘bannable’.”
should be - “I don’t know what part of this particular volume is considered obscene…”
“I’ve written in to the people on the board…”
I meant the library board of course, not this board.
[Cartman]
Arck!
[/Cartman]
To Kill a Mockingbird is the first one that comes to mind. Some others might be: Winnie the Pooh, the Chronicles of Narnia, Oliver Twist, Watership Down, The Bean Trees and pretty much anything by Mark Twain.
Everything on this list.
I just checked out the list, Daowajan. I’ve read a decent percentage of them, and at least heard of most.
But how in HELL could Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time make it onto anyone’s banned list??
ROFLMAO! I’ve read 36 of the “banned books.” Forget A Wrinkle in Time–I wanna know what’s so objectionable about Where’s Waldo.
43 here, man. A lot of them seem pretty innocuous, I wonder why SK’s books were banned? Maybe the obscenities, but then you’d think they’d all be on the list.
Speaking of SK, I think every pub. library should have at least one, if not, maybe…ten, by him. I mean, he’s written so much and everyone knows his work, and every library I’ve been to seems to have tons of them.
The works of Shakespeare.
A translation of Plato and Aristotle’s major works.
Basically the classics. If they don’t have these, I wonder what sort of priorities the library has.
Just ask your local public library why it doesn’t have a copy of “Alice in Wonderland”. It could be that they lost the copy and just never got around to replacing it.
You can also ask to see the library’s collection development policy. That should put you to sleep.
99% of public libraries will buy books that people will check out a lot because that’s the only statistic that government agencies can understand when it comes to funding.
I’ve always maintained that a library isn’t a real library unless Asimov and Heinlein combined outnumber Hemmingway and Steinbeck combined. Not that it shouldn’t have Hemmingway or Steinbeck, you understand, but it should have more Asimov and Heinlein.
And believe it or not, when my mom went to check out The Hobbit a couple of years ago, the librarian on duty had never even heard of it.
In one of the big group drawings, there’s a little female figure with–gasp–no top.
Caveat - Just because you donate a book to the library does not mean they will put it in their collection. I personally believe that something like Cecil is essential to any public library collection, but who knows if the collection development/gifts people in your library will see it that way? What might be more effective, strangely, is asking the collection development people at the library to buy a copy of “The Straight Dope.” Librarians are often known to ask patrons for requests for things they would like to see in their library, as far as I recall.
Was the book specifically on a banned list, or does it just say withdrawn? In addition, if it was on a banned list, where are these library banned lists?
I read collection development policies for fun from time to time myself, but I do tend to have odd reading habits 
As for essential books, my ideas would be that aside from the classics and perhaps also the New York Times bestseller list, much of what is essential really depends on the community demographics. I can’t imagine a library without “Alice in Wonderland” though.
As for withdrawn books, that’s library speak for removing a book from the shelves, usually because the copy is all beat to hell.
The library would rarely say a book was “banned.” Most librarians don’t like to do that. It’s usually library boards, city councils, “concerned” citizens whatnot.
Thanks, Gabe. I asked my mom–library expert extroadinaire–and her answer was, “beats the shit out of me.”
If you all ever get a chance, take a look at the book reviews in Library Journal. They contain recommmendations about whether libraries should acquire the books or not.
If you’re going to read Library Journal make sure you have a few pots of coffee with you.
ZZZZZZZ
The recommendations in that magazine are usually about whether a particular book should be purchased based on the library’s size and intended audience. LJ (as we in the biz call it) is just one of many review sources used by collection development people (aka the people who choose the books to buy.)
Jeez, I’m not saying Library Journal is scintillating or anything! But I do find it interesting to see what they say should go in which kind of library.