One of the reasons I am apparently "blacklisted" from working in school libraries in the area where I live is due to the repeated conflicts I had with various school administrators over trying to have books like It's Perfectly Normal in collections. Those repeated conflicts have left me with the reputation of being insubordinate and a troublemaker. One thing I've noticed over the years is that administrators like to make pre-emptive attacks on nonfiction books like these. It's not as easy do it with fiction. Someone usually has to make a complaint before they become a target. The reason for these pre-emptive attacks is to prevent "controversy." A parent might complain about the book so the library should not have it. The administrator does not want to waste his time on dealing with such a trivial matter as defending a library book. The educational value or literary quality of the book is never considered. What experts in the field or reviewers write about it is irrelevant. It's always about the content, and it never seems to matter how innocuous it is. I had an elementary school principal have a conniption over Hair in Funny Places by Babette Cole. One concern administrators express about having such books in the library is that they cause a "disruption." In other words, a group of kids might get together and giggle over what they see and read as if that's a bad or abnormal thing for kids to do. I am speaking mainly from working in elementary and middle schools. It may not be quite so bad in high schools but I would not be at all surprised if it weren't. What I've noticed many public libraries do is put books like these in "parenting collections" so that they are inaccessible to children who might come across them browsing or seek them out directly.

 

It's all indicative of the twisted view American society in particular has toward all things related to sexuality, especially when it comes to young people learning or reading about it. This week the University of Tennessee is holding "Sex Week" http://sexweekut.org/about/, which received a resolution of condemnation from the Tennessee State Legislature http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/108/Bill/HJR0661.pdf. It's even bad for university students to talk about sex. We live in a society with truly fucked up priorities.

 

Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian

http://www.sully-writer.com 

http://sullywriter.wordpress.com