Hit: Rolling Stone Magazine (part 2)

[Nancy Bleakley <nbleakley@YAHOO.COM>]

Here's part 2 of the Rolling Stone responses:
 We used to start out each fall with each
magazine in its place in the lovely slanted shelving
for displaying current magazines. By Halloween the
magazines that were stolen and vandalized were moved
to the Periodical Room. After many years of the same
titles achieving the same status, we just stopped
giving them a chance. The titles we are currently
handling in this manner are: Car and Driver, Hotrod,
Glamour, GQ, Mademoiselle, Psychology Today, Readers'
Digest, Rolling Stone, Sporting news, Sports
Illustrated.

 We get it. No challenges. Issues with
questionable covers are not putout but they are
available to students

 I used to get Rolling Stone, but it wasn't
the magazine I remembered from HS (I graduated in
1987)! As much as it pains me to say this, I did
cancel the magazine. We are a 7-12 building in a very
rural and conservative school district in PA. My aide
(who is a member of the community and a grandmother)
was absolutely shocked by what was in the magazines.
She is a very liberal person--so I knew it was
trouble. I subscribed to Spin for 2 years until I ran
into similar problems. The magazines seem to glorify
violence and anti-social behavior. The nudity doesn't
bother me! When we have had magazines with nudity, we
sort of make a joke out of it by coloring bathing
suits on the pictures. The kids think it's funny, and
it seems to take care of the problem. Good luck--this
is definitely a growing problem

 I don't do anything about nude covers. I've
seen plenty of nudity on the covers of art magazines,
too, over the years. We just display them as usual. I
can't remember in the 14 years I've been here that it
was ever an issue.

 I dropped Rolling stone last year because I
was finally fed up with the message it was delivering
to young women, in particular. We do get it online,
through Proquest, and I think this is full image. I
have no problem with anyone reading it, and would
happily defend that. I did feel that displaying its
raunchy covers was at variance with my mission as an
educator. Part of what I am supposed to be about is to
strengthen the self-esteem of young people, and
somehow I feel that Heroin Chic does not add to that.
I expected insurrection in the ranks, but I have not
had one single complaint from students!

 Both schools I've worked at subscribe to
Rolling Stone. I haven't had challenges from students
or parents regarding it, but I have had "well meaning"
aides pass it on to "well meaning" administrators who
have asked me not to put out the current issue if the
cover was blatantly suggestive. I follow that
directive when given, but I did still allow students
to use the magazine after I received my new issue.
Kids see these images all over the place...the grocery
store, Wal-Mart, television, the movies--they're
probably not offended or affected by it because it's a
part of the culture they've grown up with. Generally,
the covers don't show much more than the kids can see
at the local swimming pool or beach, so, I'd say...if
you're worried, leave the previous issue up and "fib"
about having received the new one until another comes.
I've done it with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit
issue. The kids just need to ask for it after the new
one comes...then it seems that it is less of a big
deal.

 Ours is kept at the desk (must be requested).
The interesting part is that mail is normally
delivered by the secretaries. Today, THAT magazine was
personally delivered by my administrator...

 I had to cancel my subscription to Rolling
Stone because of the nudity--I am librarian at a
Catholic boys' school and was tired of tearing off
covers--I like many of the articles in R.S. and now
have R.S. on microfiche if the kids need the articles
for research

 None of the RS are circulating. We make
copies of any articles students request for research.

 From a nearby colleague, I receive Rolling
Stone in a6-12 building. It is heavily used and on
occasion it have a cover that has high interest. The
cover to which you refer has not caused any real stir
here. I think we should not look to censor materials
but rather foster responsible use of material.

 I am in a Junior/Senior HS. Prior to my
coming here 5years ago, Rolling Stone was removed from
the shelf by the Superintendent when he was here for a
meeting. I ran across a copy of a letter he wrote to
the magazine stating that their content was
inappropriate for students on this level, which was
why he wanted to cancel the subscription. I tend to
agree with him since the seventh and eighth graders
especially cannot tolerate any suggestiveness to their
already raging hormones.

 Yes we get it, it hasn't been challenged
during my two years here and not before or I'd
probably have heard about it, and I just leave the
covers alone. The millenium issue cover is quite tame
compared to some. It may have unclothed bodies, but
you can't see any genitalia or women's breasts and
many of the faces are covered or superimposed with
others. None of them is particularly provocative,
whereas others in the past could certainly be called
that. I have no problem with this cover. Life did a
similar thing a few years ago of Olympic athletes
(1996 I believe) in the nude. Again, no "privates"
were shown and they also put them on the cover. Is it
any different because the magazine was Life and not
Rolling Stone?

 I am in a 7-12 school and we get it. We keep
it behind the desk, not for content, but because it
gets stolen if we leave it out (we are in an
upper-middle class suburb!!). We put previous year’s
issues out, but they get stolen too.

 I used to get it because like Playboy, every
once in awhile it did have a great article! (No, I
don't get Playboy!) I was upset by the photos and a
few of the articles and made the executive decision to
keep it on a shelf behind the counter. When it was
needed because of a specific reference request (cited
from Ebsco, InfoTrac or the Readers Guide), I'd
photocopy the article. I no longer get it in my
library (7-12). If an article is needed, I ILL it. My
justification for no longer subscribing is that the
magazine doesn't fit in with the selection policy or
school mission OVERALL. Call it my "stitch in time"
policy.

 Nancy--Even in our tiny, isolated rural
community (7-12 school pop. 90) I still get Rolling
Stone. I had a 7th grade parent a little disgruntled
about it last year when his very innocent and sweet
daughter showed him the Marilyn Manson cover, but he
never formally challenged it. It is a hassle...I can
never keep the covers on the magazines, the old ones
are torn up constantly, I think the kids read it only
for popular appeal, not intellectual stimulation,
sometimes the pictures and ads make me cringe.... but
it IS a link to a larger and cooler world which I
think they deserve to see, so I will keep getting it
and hassling with it until someone makes me stop

 Because of the reasons you cited, I dropped
the subscription a couple years ago. I hadn't had any
formal complaints (except from disgruntled secretaries
who sorted the mail). But because this is a 7-12media
center, when a budget crunch came, it was one of the
titles I dropped. When asked, I talked dollars not
nudity. And since then I've discovered that most of
the students who read the magazine frequently had
their own subscription at home!

 We get it here! Keep it under the counter
with all the other popular magazines and hand it out
to the kids that ask for it! Haven't seen the newest
issue yet- the school secretary HATES the magazine and
often ships it to the principal instead of to us as
she thinks we shouldn't get it - we have to steal it
back!

 Long ago I vowed I would not subscribe to
this magazine because of the covers. I have written &
told Rolling Stone mag. That I would not subscribe
because of their covers. If and when students ask why
we don't have it I say, "We do have it. It is on our
subscription database of magazines." That ends the
conversation and answers the question!

 No--I do not get Rolling Stone for my
library. The other day a boy asked, "Why don't you
have Rolling Stone magazine? Too much nudity and
profanity?" and I said, "That's right." Kids know.

 We get the Rolling Stone at our school, and
it is very popular with the students. We have it on
display behind the circ. desk with other magazines
that are likely to "walk" and never return, and I try
to stick another magazine (Outdoor Life, Field &
Stream, etc.) in front of the cover so that it isn't
quite so visible. We have had many comments already
from students on this particular issue about how
unnecessary it is to make covers like this week's
issue--the students say that they would read the
magazine anyway, just because they like the articles.
I once called the magazine last year to complain and
was put on hold indefinitely and finally hung up. I
still think I should write to them. Maybe we should do
it en masse? I complained to our asst. principal once
last year about the issue, and he told me to look in
the Sports Illustrated regular magazines at some of
the Nike ads that were there, which weren't much
better (I had mentioned how sexist so many of RS's
covers are--). So, we keep the magazine, I complain
about it, the students make comments which restore my
faith in their maturity, and I cover up the magazine
cover with another one, especially during
parent-teacher conferences!

 Yes Nancy we do get it and put it out MOST of
the time. If an issue seems objectionable we just omit
putting it out. The kids never seem to notice. Our
main trouble with it is that kids want to tear out
pictures. I try to warn them that if it continues we
will cancel our subscription. In the meantime we try
to stamp anything that might be too tempting.

 I dropped our subscription to Rolling Stone
two years ago. We never had a challenge; I simply
decided that the magazine no longer met our selection
policy. When six consecutive issues contain one or
more nude photos, that magazines no longer acceptable
for our school. We still have access to the text
through our online periodical database and we have
students who regularly read the articles online. I'm
still seeking a good replacement music magazine; I'm
not really happy with the ones I've tried.

 I am a public library Children's Librarian,
and had been receiving Rolling Stone in my YA section.
My periodicals person had been monitoring Rolling
Stone for the last 4-5 months, and the last issue was
the last straw. We called our vender and ask to have
our subscription canceled. The vender rep said they
had gotten many such calls recently. We replaced it
with "Spin"

 We cancelled it for two reasons1. The kids
stole so many of them there weren't many left at the
end of the year and2. The nudity was a potential
problem. Have also cancelled Jane and GQ.

 It is indexed in the Readers' Guide, which we
still get along with our electronic databases. All
magazines indexed in the RG are housed in the magazine
room behind the library checkout desk. Students must
ask for those magazines and fill out a request slip.
This process helps control access to the magazines. I
would not just have them out. I personally can't stand
the magazine, but some students use it when they
research rock stars. We have never been challenged,
but I think that is because we control access.

 public suburban high school--we've take it
for years; former principal made me cancel
subscription while here, as soon as new principal, I
resubscribed; if I notice blatant nudity, I just put
library stamp over it;

 Got tired of it and cancelled subscription

 It is on display with the others (behind
circ. desk, circ. system is to trade for ID card to
read magazines)

 We keep it in the periodical back files for
research. Hardly anyone ever asks for it just to
browse.

 We deal with the cover the same way we do
with Time, Newsweek, etc.

 When liberal teachers as well as the
principal questioned having the print copy, (because
of the nudity) I cancelled ours and not one student
asked what happened to it.

 I don't leave it out in view. Actually, I
keep it and several others in the office not because
of their covers but because they are so routinely
stolen. I've never had a challenge. Our school board
used to meet in the library and fewer magazines have
been stolen since they got their own meeting room.
Coincidence?

 We no longer get it at our media center.
While the articles used to supplement our curriculum,
we were bothered by the publication and rather than
have to defend something we would have trouble
defending, we dropped our subscription. We do get full
text of the articles through our periodical database
so we felt we were satisfying that part of the
problem.

 No challenges but a concern that the material
was getting too raunchy.  I canceled Rolling Stone
last year. I decided that I did not want to have to
defend it if it was questioned. I am still looking for
a replacement

 Anyway, we do get RS, and it's extremely
popular. No challenges as of yet, and it's shelved
just as the other magazines are, in display format.

 I keep our copy of Rolling Stone at the
circulation desk. Students have to ask to read
it--this was started by the librarian before me due to
the amount of damage being done, i.e., missing pages,
etc. The magazine is in one of those protective covers
and taped to the front is a huge sign about
vandalizing library materials. That usually covers up
all of the questionable covers. I am not thrilled with
them, but that seems to be the only magazine that many
of our students will read. If there is a really
offensive picture, I usually cover it with dark, heavy
library tape—the kind that will rip the paper before
coming off. If students question it, I tell them that
is it either that or Rolling Stone will not be
available in the library any more--most are very
understanding.


There’s a lot of food for thought here and I’ll be
making a decision when I update my periodical
subscriptions in the spring. (I do have it available
through EBSCO).




=====
Nancy Bleakley
School Library Media Specialist
James I. O'Neill High School
Highland Falls, NY
NBleakley@Yahoo.com
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