Those “Silhouette Blaze” romance novels are headed in that direction!
Community and school libraries are communal, and library associations are professional organizations that discuss these matters at length. Professional, as in you have to have a Masters Degree in Library Science. They have state and national conferences, and all sorts of tools for discussing the latest thoughts on the topic, and evaluating which works should be in which section of the library.
Every public or school library has a policy for registering concerns about specific works and getting those reevaluated. There’s no free-for-all in buying books or stacking the shelves.
What has happened is that some fascists have chosen to interpret materials they disagree with as pornography, because that label is an easier sell to get attention. And they have ignored the system, some unaware and some intentionally, in order to push their agenda and fight a culture war.
To them, all of society’s ills can be blamed on liberal policies replacing traditional conservative christian control over social policy and education. They wish to reinstate that control.
I can’t speak for the whole Left , but what I want is for librarians (public and school) to buy the books appropriate for the population they serve. Which means that school librarians are not going to be buying outright pornography. They might however , buy age appropriate books about sex and reproduction. I want parents to be parents, and determine what their own kids read - maybe that means not getting the kid their own card, maybe it means checking the books they bring home , maybe it means going to the library with them. But it doesn’t mean demanding that the library not have books about a particular subject on the shelf for my kids to read because you think that subject is evil. That makes about as much sense as insisting the supermarket not carry ice cream because you don’t think it’s healthy - it’s either 1) Because you don’t want to say “no” to your kids about something other kids can do or 2) You want to decide what everyone’s kids can do , no matter what their parents think.
GREAT ANALOGY! I’m going to steal it.
A Public Library.
If a government funds a local hospital, should the untrained politicians running the place have the last call in determining what treatment a doctor should prescribe? Even if the local board gets taken over by faith healers?
This is fine for younger kids, but by the time kids hit puberty and beyond they may be concerned about things they don’t want to tell their parents about. I’d much rather have my kids be able to read books about difficult issues vetted by school librarians than try to find the information on the internet.
I’m not sure that’s a helpful answer. Most of the book banners aren’t against the library existing or being paid for by the city or giving access to anyone. They just want to control the information available within.
Also, the most contentious battleground is school libraries, which are different than public libraries. Most notably in who has access.
I only had to buy it once, but I also found it boring. DNF. However, I read his earlier book, Midnight’s Children, even though it was long and convoluted. I just devoured it. Weird how some authors can write books you love, then, write something you can’t focus your interest on for more than five minutes.
Oh, I meant Anton LaVey’s book, not Rushdie’s.
LOL. Nvm.