1. More Book Challenges in TX.
- Author
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Oder, Norman
- Subjects
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GAY people in literature , *CENSORSHIP in libraries , *LIBRARY users , *COMMUNITY life , *LITERATURE & morals , *FREEDOM of information , *BANNED books , *CHILDREN'S literature , *LIBRARIANS' awards , *LIBRARIES & community - Abstract
This article looks at a citizen's group effort to remove books with gay content from the children and young adult sections of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System in Conroe, TX. It's another chapter in the ongoing controversy in this fast-growing county outside Houston, where in 2003 library director Jerilynn Williams won the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award for fighting attempts at censorship by establishing a new reconsideration committee, involving five staff members and five citizens with experience working with children or youth.The group Library Patrons of Texas debuted a web site in late July, listing and excerpting 119 children's and juvenile books it would like to see moved to the adult section or to a new adults-only section. Most requests, Williams said, have been to move books to an area with adults-only access. "We don't have that. So we go back to asking parents to be responsible and acknowledge that only the parent can make the choice for their child," she said. "Not every book is appropriate for every single person, but every person should have their book. We have an extremely diverse population, and there are some individuals who do not seem to recognize that diversity has to be addressed in the public library."
- Published
- 2004