GAV - Protect Children In Our Libraries

Protect Children In Our Libraries

In reference of Jody Bowman's letter of July 15, I agree with her: Parents, not big brother, should take care of their children. Parents: Do not allow your library to seduce you into believing their Children and Young Adult areas are safe environments! Be sure to accompany your children at all times. Otherwise they can encounter such books as "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Due to the extremely graphic nature of the excerpt, the editor of this paper would not publish it. On page 31 of the 1999 edition a boy forces a girl to perform fellatio on him.

This masterpiece is in the Teen Reading List of the Coshocton Public Library and is recommended as YA [Young Adult] books your YA librarian has read (www.coshoctonlibrary.org/teens/readinglist.htm). (Young Adult = children under 18) I wonder if the "same-sex families" mentioned by Mrs. Bowman who have "many children" would advocate the promotion of fellatio to their children.

She seems to believe we can no longer raise our "children in the innocence that we had as children." But advocating a culture of degradation for the sake of a "realistic view of a man and woman's body" is definitely not a solution. And since taxpayers face a compulsorily contribution of 5.7 percent of our income taxes (among many other hidden taxes) to all Ohio libraries, we have the right to ask that controversial materials be kept in the adult areas.

People like me, who are concerned with the abundance of controversial materials for minor children in children areas of libraries, do not hate libraries or librarians. We are not supported by the American Library Association, a multi-million lobbying group. We do not "resort to book burning" as Chris Livengood (Virginia) suggested in his letter of Aug. 9. We are regular Americans, parents and grandparents, who want libraries to revert to the safe havens they used to be. Mr. Livengood suggested we reach "some middle ground." We tried, but by requesting the kind of filth cited above be moved to the adult area of libraries, we are called names "with all due respect" - "book burners" being the mildest.

He suggested the use of some "rating system" to help guide parents. The CLEVNET Consortium of Libraries (http://www.cpl.org/clevnet-library-consortium.asp) rates "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" as "Adult." But it is available in the YA area of most libraries of the consortium. What about a simpler solution: Offering children's books for children?

We are talking about child safety. This should not be addressed lightly or equated to trying to find "an innocuous way to tell your boss his new toupee looks like a dead animal on his head." Either Ohio public libraries make the public aware their Children and YA areas are unsafe and require parents to be present at all times, or start moving filthy literature to the Adult area. Compromise anyone?

Milla Kette
Grassroots American Values, President
Huron

Originally published August 14, 2006