I had this sent to me. I thought it was sad.
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book and sleepless nights in Arkansas
I thought you might be interested in this story about a library
controversy in Arkansas. Seems a father is threatening to sue the city
of Bentonville, Arkansas, after his two sons, aged 14 and 16, found The
Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman on a library shelf while
(allegedly) looking for books on military academies. The father’s
complaint: ”[They were] greatly disturbed. [We had] many sleepless
nights in our house.”
I’ll bet.
Hes saying those sleepless nights are worth $20,000. Thats how much
hes wants from the city of Bentonville. And he wants the book removed
from the library.
Library Journal, which the Bentonville library uses to select materials,
characterizes The Whole Lesbian Sex Book as suitable for all public
libraries.
Here’s the story:
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/04/19/news/042007bzsuterfolo.txt
Felice Newman, author of The Whole Lesbian Sex Book says Boys have been
pouring over sexually explicit materials in libraries since - well,
since there have been libraries. Why was a copy of my book in the
military section? Well, sometimes young people browsing the library
shelves will tuck away a favorite book where they can find it later.
These two young guys are the very reason libraries must be uncensored,
and librarians must be free to order the books they feel will benefit
the public.
If you’d like to send the librarians a supportive note, here’s the link:
http://www.youseemore.com/bentonville/email/emailthelibrarian.asp
