Warning: Strong opinions shared here!
In her article “Clean Books, Please” on School Library Journal’s Blog A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy, Liz B gives her reaction to the question “I need a list of clean books!” This is a question that all librarians are most likely going to face at some point or another in their career. I will apologize now, because I’m sure my views on this are not going to be “popular”. I respectfully, utterly and completely disagree with her rant. Just because someone comes to you and asks for a list of clean books does not necessarily mean they consider all other books to be dirty! Since when is wanting to read a “certain kind” of book a bad thing? She certainly has no problem defending the reverse side. We should all read and make available everything that is out there just because it’s there? Why? Where does the line get drawn? I’m not saying people shouldn’t read what they want to read, because I will never try to make choices for another person because I believe that to be wrong, but I also believe that sometimes things go just a little too far, and that is my right.
Some people are trying to get back to traditional family values, and as a patron of your library shouldn’t they garner the same amount of respect as the person asking for “questionable” materials? In her case, she immediately has a negative view or outlook towards this patron because they do not subscribe to her beliefs in literature, though she may say differently. Haven’t we consistently been warned against that as librarians? Isn’t that censorship in reverse? We tend to rabidly defend a book that is challenged even if we do not like it just because we believe in “freedom of access”, but when someone wants something a little less controversial we seem to look down on them for it. Why? Isn’t that their right to choose not to read certain books? From what she was saying it doesn’t sound like the patron is trying to stop someone else from reading those materials, just that they want something different.
If a teen came to me and asked for “clean” books I would most likely ask some clarifying questions about what they considered “clean” and then proceed to do the best I could to find them exactly what they were looking for. Likewise, if a teen were to come to me and ask me to find them books of a more controversial nature I would do the same thing and find them exactly what they were looking for, not because I agree with whatever they want, or because I think it’s right or wrong, but because I have taken an oath, if you will, to provide people with the best level of customer service and access to information that I can.
After reading her article or post (whichever you want to call it) I begin to wonder if she has any values at all, if she can so cavalierly mock others beliefs, values and choices. If you want tolerance for your literature choices then, for heaven’s sake, have some tolerance for other’s choices as well, or cease you griping.
B., L. (2010). Clean books, please. A chair, a fireplace and a tea cozy blog on School Library Journal. Retrieved September 29, 2010 from http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/teacozy/2010/09/21/clean-books-please/
Hi Kat,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you and your post. I don't know if you ever read Annoyed Librarian on LJ but she is currently against banned books week. She says the ALA can't distinguish between freedom to read and porn for children. Let others think for themselves but if someone wants to have some sort of moral compass then they are uninformed and naive. I think asking for a clean book is just like asking for a mystery or something without vampires or any other genre. This clean book issue comes up every couple of months on the Yalsa-bk listserv and everyone gets their panties in a bunch about it.
It's your blog and your reflection--don't feel bad about having a strong opinion.
Lynde
Its funny, I had such a different reaction I had to go back and re-read her post, and well, I still have a different reaction. I see why it came across as a rant against people who ask for clean books but really it was a rant against the label clean. This is something I can get behind - as Liz B. suggested there is a suggestion that if you label some books "clean" than others are "dirty" and while clean isn't, dirty is pejorative. In the comments someone suggested that 'gentle reads' was a better term, and I prefer that myself. One of my problems is that a) I forget to pay attention to things like bad language because it just doesn't bother me (mostly see this: http://librarygrl.wordpress.com/2006/06/06/f-im-a-prude/) and b) I think Liz is right what is clean to someone isn't to someone else. Which makes you right too - you have to do a reader's advisory interview, without bias, in order to find the right book for the right reader. But if you are making a list - why not a Gentle Reads; or like the Popular Paperbacks a few years back - Books that Don't Make You Blush? Whatever we call it I do think the list is important to have.
ReplyDeleteAs for BBW - I always think shedding light on challenges is a good idea (notice I say challenges not banned, often the challenge isn't successful) but sometimes I get annoyed with the propaganda as well. The problem of course with a challenge isn't that you are restricting you/your children's access - you are restricting other people/other children's access. And to paint with a broad brush this is where people get strident. If a parent walks into a library and asks that you don't let his/her child read books with X this just isn't a problem in the way "take X of the shelf" is. But we get caught up in the idealism of it all with BBW.
Nice post, thought provoking to challenge unexamined values. I like it (even if I had a diff. take)!