An area woman wants the Pataskala Public Library to toss out a book she considers obscene.
The book in question is Eric Marlowe Garrison’s “Mastering Multiple Position Sex,” billed on its back cover as a lovemaking guide.
Pataskala resident Marti Shrigley said she saw the book on display while visiting the library and found it offensive. The cover contains seminude pictures of adults, and there are instructive illustrations inside.
“This, to me, is porn, under the guise of a learning manual,” Shrigley said.
Not censorship?
These two passages are the ones that get me:
“Shrigley has checked out the book, and she said she has no intention of giving it back to the library. Instead, she said she will pay the overdue fines.”
and
“Still, Shrigley wants Garrison’s book removed from the Pataskala library, and she said her campaign is not about censorship: She is concerned about youngsters getting their hands on the book.
‘This is not about censorship, because I believe in America we have the right to read and see whatever.'”
Bwah?
And to make things worse…
Her local library is just due east one county from the planetary headquarters of that leviathan of bibliographic services, OCLC
________________________
Stephen Michael Kellat, MSLS
PGP KeyID: DC5A625B
The Licking County Library?
What, no jokes about the mention of the Licking County Library in an article about sex books in libraries?
Here is a link to a library video about sex books:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ5U1mU9eqI
It is an Ohio county
Ohio has 88 counties. They’re all named for a strange variety of reasons. One of the most odd is Lucas County where you find Toledo. That county was named after the sitting governor in the 1830s at the time of a conflict between the State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan over disputed territory. Ashtabula is an Iroquois term meaning “river of many fish”. Cuyahoga, although associated with the fires on the Cuyahoga River in the 1970s, is a Native American term that means “crooked river”.
Counties were often named using Native American terms but some were also named after ranking officeholders in early federal administrations. Lucas County is an anomaly in its naming. As to how Licking County got its name, that’s locked away in a print resource at the local public library that I cannot access right now. Wikipedia’s sourcing on how the counties were named is not that wonderful.
________________________
Stephen Michael Kellat, MSLS
PGP KeyID: DC5A625B
Licking County
The story behind the county’s name almost certianly involves pionneers, deers, and salt.
I saw that too
I saw that too, Anonymous.
“The Licking County Library has a book titled ‘The Joy of Gay Sex.’ The book features graphic illustrations. It also carries ‘Super Hot Sex,’ which comes with pages of photos.”
The second sentence is similarly worded interestingly. Do you think the writer, Chad Klimack(s), did that intentionally?
-=-=-=-
http://www.SafeLibraries.org
http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/
idiot lady
Does she realize that the library could easily purchase another copy of the book? Maybe she should try out the positions w/ someone. It might help her get the stick out of ass.
in addition
She is stealing library property. Either she will have to pay to replace it (another moral dilemma I’m sure, especially since stealing on the list of Commandments) or be charged with theft.
The woman up in Maine who took and kept a library book (I can’t remember the title) set off a series of donations of that book to replace the one she took. The library ended up giving away additional copies to other libraries in the area.
author is a “lifetime” sexologist
did anyone visit http://www.quiverbooks.com? (the publisher) and watch the flash animation on th main page? or look deep into Eric’s (the author) Paul Newman-blue eyes?
some sex books deserve their complaints. I haven’t seen the contents of this one, but based on our selection process, the book would never make the cut.
our library buys sex books, but we buy them *after* they get some reviews, somewhere, anywhere. other than the 4 on Amazon, I could find none on this book, so I wonder how this library found it to order. WorldCat (probably not up to date on 2009 holdings) lists only one lending library owning this title.
bloggerererered here: http://effinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/12/okay-i-agree-with-this-one.html
And why do people always pick some great moral purpose when they steal library books they don’t want anyone else to read? none of our other patrons take a political stance when they steal our GED or ASVAB books. or our tattoo, urban fiction, Bibles, art books, collectibles guides, auto repair, etc, etc, books… they just take them because they’re free and nobody stops them.
What’s a better story for getting caught stealing a sex book: “the book is evil,” or “I was horny”? Horny is funnier every time.
also, I can’t seem to sign in… it seems to accept my password, but it doesn’t sign me into my account/blog/etc.
the book “is too graphic to show on tv”
http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/Graphic_Sex_Book_In_A_Local_Public_Library_Too_Risky/27691/
funny, the news can show bloody murder victims, beating victims, crimes of all kinds, but “women’s breasts” crosses the line of decency… ?
I still think they made a mistake buying that book based the selection criteria we use at our library… if we received a book and decided it didn’t fit with our collection, we’d remove it. But I think no one likes being told they screwed up, and we (people and librarians) tend to dig in and defend our decisions when the issue is forced. But if I pulled it out of the box and said, “WTF,” I would keep the book off the floor until we checked it out for ourselves.
Pilferable property
We wouldn’t include those titles in our collection simply because of the high likelihood that they’d be stolen. It’s an economic decision.
Well, whatever some people’s
Well, whatever some people’s hang ups may be (that could be a separate discussion), at the end of the day, that library selected the book, and that lady by refusing to return it, is stealing library property pure and simple. Again, the simple solution that no one seems to notice: don’t like the book? DON”T READ IT OR PICK IT UP. Just leave it there and move on. That way your moral sensibilities do not get hurt, and you can go on minding your own business instead of being a busybody and a censor.
P.S. You really need to do something about that undreadable captcha you got now.
Or better still…
…why not simply register your complaint with library management – as publicly as you wish – but refrain from committing misdemeanor (in this case) theft. Two “wrongs” don’t make a right.
If a citizen thinks the new DPW trucks in their town are too loud or too heavy for local roads, would that justify them stealing the trucks?
People in the U.S. are allowed to express their views and entitled to their opinions, but the law is the law…particularly when it comes to property belonging to others.
Display?
I see nothing wrong with owning the book, but how dumb can someone be to put it on display? That’s just asking for trouble.
an explanation from her son
someone claiming to be the complainant’s son left this comment on my blog to clarify the story as he understands the events…
http://effinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/12/okay-i-agree-with-this-one.html?showComment=1259984157430#c9019076464323995900