Dear LM_NETters:
I have been following the thread on the “Lucky” controversy for several days
As professional librarians I think that most of us agree that we do not
condone censorship of any kind at any time, except…
It is like those spelling rules, i before e except after c and in words like
…
There are always exceptions to the rule and special circumstances to
consider for each of us and the particular library we serve.
The elementary librarian in our district and I read the NYTimes article this
morning and discussed its implications. Neither of us has read the book yet.
She has had more experience with censorship than I have.
Her principal asked her to remove a book that described a she-wolf as a
bitch.
The part of the article that intrigued us most was the last paragraph where
the Ms. Nilsson states, “But you won’t find men’s genitalia in quality
literature.” Either she has not read or does not consider the works of
Shakespeare, Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, Madame
Bovary by Flaubert, or Catcher in the Rye by Salinger as classic literature.
TV characters have progressed to saying son of a bitch and bastard;
TV ads have progressed to KY Warming Lotion, drugs for ED and genital herpes
Communication has progressed to unlimited and uncensored information on the
Internet. Video games have progressed to allow us to blast Men rather than
PacMen.
Music has progressed to portable gansta rap music in your ears.
But the language of books must not progress.
Are we still Puritans at heart?
Kay Goss
Director, Library Media Services
Mansfield Secondary Library
316 West Ohio Ave. Mansfield, MO. 65704
Home of Laura Ingalls Wilder
417-924-3236 Ext. 311
klg@tnp.more.net
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel,
must be intolerably stupid." Jane Austen
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