Censorship

Harris Poll: Number of Americans Who Support Book Banning Increases

Submitted by Blake on August 9, 2015 - 2:55pm

Harris Poll: Number of Americans Who Support Book Banning Increases

From The Guardian: "Are Americans Falling in Love with Censorship?

"[A] Harris poll of 2,244 US adults was released in July, revealing that, in the space of four years, the percentage of Americans believing that some books should be completely banned has increased by more than half. In 2011, 18% of those surveyed wanted some books banned; in 2015, 28% agreed with the assertion. Just under a half, 48%, said that no books should be banned, compared with 56% in 2011."

More in-depth breakdowns at The Guardian and Harris.

Topic: 
Books
Censorship

Gay-themed children's book challenged in North Carolina school

Submitted by Blake on May 19, 2015 - 11:44am

One grandparent, Lisa Baptist, said the book is inappropriate for young students. "I've been called a racist. I’ve been called a bigot, and I am none of those things," she said. "This is nothing more than bringing homosexuality into a school where it does not belong."

From Gay-themed children's book challenged in North Carolina school - LA Times

Topic: 
Censorship
School Libraries

Life Is Triggering. The Best Literature Should Be, Too.

Submitted by Blake on May 18, 2015 - 12:58pm

That’s why one of college’s most important functions is to learn how to hear and deal with challenging ideas. Cocooning oneself in a Big Safe Space for four years gets it exactly backwards. “Safety” has been transformed by colleges from “protection from physical harm” to “protection from disturbing ideas.”

From Life Is Triggering. The Best Literature Should Be, Too. | The New Republic

Topic: 
Academic Libraries
Books
Censorship

Strategic, timely censorship

Submitted by Bibliofuture on December 6, 2014 - 6:57pm

In September of last year, Chinese authorities announced an unorthodox standard to help them decide whether to punish people for posting online comments that are false, defamatory, or otherwise harmful: Was a message popular enough to attract five hundred reposts or five thousand views? It was a striking example of how sophisticated the Chinese government has become, in recent years, in restricting Internet communication—going well beyond crude measures like restricting access to particular Web sites or censoring online comments that use certain keywords. Madeline Earp, a research analyst at Freedom House, the Washington-based nongovernmental organization, suggested a phrase to describe the approach: “strategic, timely censorship.” She told me, “It’s about allowing a surprising amount of open discussion, as long as you’re not the kind of person who can really use that discussion to organize people.”

Full article - The World Cracks Down on the Internet

Topic: 
Censorship

Blog post about Amazon hiding nonfiction books

Submitted by Bibliofuture on October 21, 2014 - 4:59pm

Excerpt: The problem with Amazon’s market share isn’t just commercial, it is political. It is a legitimate topic of public concern. If Hachette chooses not to publish a book, even for political reasons, there are four other mammoth publishers and hundreds if not thousands of others that can bring it to the public. If Amazon chooses to bury a title, half the book buyers will not see it when they’re shopping for books. In my opinion, that’s not good for our democracy. I think this is a much more important question than how the pie is divided among author, publisher, and retailer.

http://www.idealog.com/blog/krugman-cites-fact-fit-posited-theory/

Side note: If you are worried about Amazon censoring books be aware they are censoring monster erotica. Link to "On the Media" radio piece about this: http://www.onthemedia.org/story/amazons-war-bigfoot-erotica/

Topic: 
Censorship

An Alleged Ban

Submitted by Bibliofuture on September 26, 2014 - 12:11am

Is it Band (sic) Books Week yet? I’m not sure, and the propaganda is so hyperbolic I don’t have the heart to read it to find the dates. Anyway, let’s see if the Band Book people mention this very odd case.

Full piece here:
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2014/09/22/an-alleged-ban/

Topic: 
Censorship

It's Banned Books Week!

Submitted by birdie on September 22, 2014 - 7:37pm

Tell us what your library is doing to celebrate.

Topic: 
Libraries
Censorship

Singapore Library Pulls Books About Gay Couples

Submitted by birdie on July 11, 2014 - 2:04pm

Where is it illegal to chew gum and/or be in a gay relationship? Singapore of course.

Story from NPR's The Two-Way Blog , interpret the name of the blog as you see fit.

The two books are And Tango Makes Three, inspired by two real male penguins who hatched an egg together, and The White Swan Express, about four couples — one of which is a lesbian couple — who travel to China to adopt baby girls. The books will be pulped, according to Time Magazine.

Topic: 
Public Libraries
International
Censorship

Message to Booker T Washington High students Pensacola, FL about Little Brother

Submitted by Bibliofuture on June 6, 2014 - 1:44pm



Post at BoingBoing: Why I'm sending 200 copies of Little Brother to a high-school in Pensacola, FL

Topic: 
Books
Authors
Censorship

Toronto Public Library Asked To Remove Hop On Pop For Encouraging Violence

Submitted by Blake on April 30, 2014 - 8:32pm

Here's [PDF] the Materials Review Committee Reconsideration of Materials Summary for 2013 from the Toronto Public Libraries... It lists a complaint against Hop on Pop... Encourages children to use violence against their fathers: Remove from collection and issue an apology to fathers in the GTA and pay for damages resulting from the book. "The children are actually told not to hop on pop. "

Topic: 
Books
Children
Censorship

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