Censorship in libraries

I agree that librarians should not simply remove a book from the open shelves of the library shelves because of a complaint from one or two members of the public.

Any book that the library has bought has presumably been judged on its merits, and I assume that public libraries have guide-lines and standards they adhere to.

However, there are border-line cases where a book could be regarded as literature by one set of people and pornography by others. This was the case formerly with Fanny Hill and Lady Chatterly's Lover and under the Indecent Publications Act of the day, or whatever it was it was called, these could neither be advertised openly or lent from libraries.

And what do we do with Hitler's Mein Kampf - regard it as history, or as racist propaganda?

There must be millions of other books that fall into two or more categories depending on points of view.

Yes, adults should be able to read two sides of every discussion and evaluate, but what about children? Nowadays they are not banned from borrowing books from the adult sections, are they?

Any librarians willing to comment on what the law actually says with regards to which books are readily accessible in a public library?

DrWatson

For Elegran -- well, sounds like Calderdale shouldn't have taken them into the back room anyway, depending on what that 'gender-critical' amounted to?

We now have fairly substantial minorities of Muslims living amongst us (more so in certain urban areas of course) - and that entire faith treats women as 3rd class citizens so that's OK? [for anyone who disputes that 3rd class, yes, indeed, it may even be 4th. That ludicrous dress code, arranged marriages, FGM, 'honour' killings -- all that lot still happen here, far more so in some countries -- and mosque segregation. Even the dear old CofE has managed to allow female priests for a while now, even a bish or 2?!]

Do you have a link Dr Watson? Honour killings and FGM are not Islamic practice as far as I know.

islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/4965/

www.reviewofreligions.org/33788/is-female-genital-mutilation-an-islamic-practice/

DrWatson

For Elegran -- well, sounds like Calderdale shouldn't have taken them into the back room anyway, depending on what that 'gender-critical' amounted to?

We now have fairly substantial minorities of Muslims living amongst us (more so in certain urban areas of course) - and that entire faith treats women as 3rd class citizens so that's OK? [for anyone who disputes that 3rd class, yes, indeed, it may even be 4th. That ludicrous dress code, arranged marriages, FGM, 'honour' killings -- all that lot still happen here, far more so in some countries -- and mosque segregation. Even the dear old CofE has managed to allow female priests for a while now, even a bish or 2?!]

... and that entire faith treats women as 3rd class citizens so that's OK? [for anyone who disputes that 3rd class, yes, indeed, it may even be 4th. That ludicrous dress code...

c8.alamy.com/comp/g3cb91/mayor-of-london-sadiq-khan-and-wife-saadiya-arrives-at-st-pauls-cathedral-g3cb91.jpg

- looks like Sadiq Khan didn't get the memo then, or forgot to tell his wife about it.
Don't know what they wear when they go clubbing - he and his wife like 80s music and R&B... and he does 'dad-dancing'

... but I did see a photo' of him and his wife (a lawyer) in jeans

i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/07/08/15/15775938-0-image-a-25_1562594881438.jpg

Who knew that "not all Muslims... etc"!

I think you have missed the point of my original post, DrWatson, which was that at a time very recently when gender transition activists were trying to bully the entire infrastructure of British culture into censoring anything that looked at things from a different angle, the library went along with the demand to remove those books temporarily from the public shelves, in spite of protests from the staff. However, the atmosphere around the subject is now less fevered, and the action has been reversed. That should be praised, without penalising them for temporarily being influenced by a very powerful lobbying firm.

You also seem to have missed a lot of posts on Gransnet (and elsewhere) that make it quite clear that the entire faith of Islam is nothing like the way you portray it. There are some adherents to the faith who are innately sexists and misogynistic - but there are also some adherents to every faith (or none) who are equally controlling toward females and carry that into abuse. At the root of misogynistic abuse is resentment of the power of the half of humanity which is on average smaller, weaker and less assertive/aggressive then the male half, yet is also absolutely desirable and essential to them both physically and emotionally.

And being "on average smaller, weaker and less assertive/aggressive" they are relatively easy to subjugate. Religious dogma is just one of the weapons that can be turned into a way to separate and subjugate a group who could become rebellious - there is also the "keep them barefoot and pregnant" approach, and there is "their minds are more delicate, they should not be burdened with too much education"

I wouldn’t necessarily ban any books, but I would censor swearing (also on TV). It spoils many books/programmes and is totally unnecessary (I dare say some people would disagree, but I find it insulting and it’s often aimed at women).

Definitely no censorship. When I was at work (in a Public Library and later in a FE College Library) we took the view that people should be able to access any book.
Any other path leads to what's happening in America, where the Bible has been banned from school libraries in Utah (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363) for 'vulgarity and violence'..! 🙄

I remember an elderly lady slamming a book down on the counter and saying the book was filthy and should be banned. Sex, sex, sex from start to finish. She was fuming. Then she smiled and winked at me and said "Got any more like that?"

Many decades ago I had a weekend/holiday job in our local library. Even back then we had books that weren't out for general viewing but were kept on what we called the Poison Shelf, out of sight. They included a horrifically specific book on shark bites (someone must have ordered that) and Last Exit to Brooklyn, plus Fanny Hill and several others. They were available if anyone asked for them, as I imagine are the ones in question here. A bit of in-house censorship is nothing new and maybe OK so long as the books aren't actually banned.

I used to teach English in an FE college and a West Indian woman made the college principal remove some Joseph Conrad novels from the library because she said they were racist. Heaven forbid she should have come across some Kipling poetry…

In the 1970s l had to ask the librarian for a specific book which was handed to me in a bag. I've no idea if this still happens.