LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

And here we go again.

An Oregon man is shocked, yes, shocked and apalled that his 12 year old son was allowed to check out adult oriented manga at the Multnomah County Library.

"If you have an adult section, you should enforce it," Rezabek said. "He's 12 years old. They say right on the cover of all these books: 'mature, ages 18 plus.'"

The library responded to his concerns that all books are available to everyone and that it's the responsibility of the parents to monitor what their child is reading.

Rezabek says he may consult an attorney on the matter. As we all know, suing is the answer to everything.

More from KPTV by way of Anime News Network by way of my friend David.

From CNN

"Believe the conspiracy theories -- out of sight and without your knowledge, governments truly are filtering what you see on the Internet. Internet users are increasingly having content blocked by governments around the world. The recent conflict between Georgia and Russia has highlighted many of the issues at play with Internet filtering, as its increasing use by governments raises serious doubts about the freedom of the Web."

The Washington Post has an article about the canceling of "The Jewel of Medina" by Sherry Jones.
"A Book Too Hot Off The Presses: Random House Feared Radical Muslim Backlash." By Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 21, 2008; Page C01.
The article says: Once upon a time, Sherry Jones was a Montana newspaper reporter who dreamed she could contribute to world peace with a novel about the prophet Muhammad and his feminist leanings. Then she wrote it. Today? She's the target of a Serbian mufti and a Middle Eastern studies professor with a lawyer.

Life has been a roller coaster lately for Jones, 46, who went from being a Book-of-the-Month Club pick to seeing her novel dropped by Random House, which said in a statement it had received "cautionary advice" that the fictionalized story of one of Muhammad's wives might "incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."

A Random House spokeswoman said she could not think of any other time the company had canceled a book because of such fears.

Jones and her novel, "The Jewel of Medina," are subjects of debate from Egypt to Italy to Serbia, where 1,000 Serbian-language copies were printed before the local publisher backed out, too.

Finger-pointing abounds. Feminist Muslims are blaming censorship; Jones and her agent are blaming the Middle Eastern studies professor; and Random House is saying that Jones -- who says she doesn't fear Islamic retaliation -- should honor a non-disclosure agreement and stop talking about their dispute.

Read more about it at:

More authors reject children's book age bands: The debate over moves to brand children's books with age bands has arisen once again, this time at the Edinburgh Book Festival, with authors saying that it is a marketing ploy that "oversteps the mark".

Harry Potter and Pinocchio are apparently not welcome in Israel, at least in their Arabic translations imported from Syria and Lebanon.

Arab-Israeli publisher Salah Abassi told Israeli public radio on Monday that authorities ordered him to stop importing Arabic-language children's books from the two longtime foes of Israel.

The ban includes translations of such books as Pinocchio and Harry Potter as well as Arabic classics.

safelibraries.blogspot.com points to tulsaworld.com where a Brigham Young University freshman (she's also an AP literature student with a kick-butt ACT reading score) is shocked and offended she had to read "Beloved" and "Catch-22". She's not not advocating censorship, she would just prefer compelling literature without the public-pleasing passages that "elevate" the book to best-selling status. Or maybe just some form of warning, a label, a rating or even hint on the outside of literature

In every other entertainment industry, producers are required to rate their product so the public can make an informed decision. Which is the greater travesty? Depriving the reader of information, judgment and free choice and calling it freedom of speech, or risking the buzzword "censorship" to facilitate knowledge and choice?

An interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal discusses the problems of writing about Muhammad and Islam. "You Still Can't Write About Muhammad" By ASRA Q. NOMANI, Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2008; Page A15.

"Starting in 2002, Spokane, Wash., journalist Sherry Jones toiled weekends on a racy historical novel about Aisha, the young wife of the prophet Muhammad. Ms. Jones learned Arabic, studied scholarly works about Aisha's life, and came to admire her protagonist as a woman of courage. When Random House bought her novel last year in a $100,000, two-book deal, she was ecstatic. This past spring, she began plans for an eight-city book tour after the Aug. 12 publication date of "The Jewel of Medina" -- a tale of lust, love and intrigue in the prophet's harem.

It's not going to happen: In May, Random House abruptly called off publication of the book. The series of events that torpedoed this novel are a window into how quickly fear stunts intelligent discourse about the Muslim world."

Read more about it at: WSJ.com

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that the government of the People's Republic of China is preparing to censor Internet access further during the games that are starting soon. Although the PRC's pitch to the International Olympic Committee said media restrictions as well as Internet restrictions would be lessened during the games, reporters on the ground have noted so far that restrictions have instead been tightened. A spokesman noted that "sufficient" access had been given. Question have arisen as to what "sufficient" means in the view of the PRC's government.

The International Olympic Committee will be lobbying the PRC government to give reporters "free" access to the Internet. Nothing was noted as to the definition of "free" that either side understands.

A janitor whom a university official had accused of racial harassment for reading a historical book about the Ku Klux Klan on his break has gotten an apology — months later — from the school.

Charles Bantz, chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, apologized to Keith John Sampson in a letter dated Friday, saying the school is committed to free expression.

"I can candidly say that we regret this situation took place," Bantz wrote.

Full story here.

A teacher is laid off for 18 months for insisting on using a book. 149 of 150 parents gave permission to use it, and it's also in the school library. But she's still laid off. CNN Video Story.