Libraries say they never offered ‘obscene’ materials, but Ashcroft’s rule has them scrambling
Libraries say they never offered ‘obscene’ materials, but Ashcroft’s rule has them scrambling
St. Louis-area public libraries say they have never offered obscene material, but they are scrambling to tweak policies regarding a new rule from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/1188374
Bonner said that even if librarians and a library board confirm a book is appropriate, the Ashcroft rule might “give them a path to appeal to the Secretary of State’s office or use the language of the SoS rule to sue in court.”
He said: “The rule is not about making libraries shelve materials in appropriate areas. Libraries already do that. They’ve been exceedingly conscientious about this issue since before I was born. No library I’ve ever worked at or used has what a reasonable person would call pornography in any kids’ area, or what the Supreme Court has determined would be ‘obscene.’ This rule corrects a problem that only exists in propaganda.
“The rule is about forcing librarians to conform to the views of a subset of the community instead of trying to serve the whole community, by increasing the leverage of that subset and by making librarians fearful of angering that subset.”
He also has told his board that “there is no way to be safe from challenge and still be a library,” referring to library goals to offer books with various viewpoints and to serve diverse patrons.
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It's infuriating that we're letting these christo-fascists determine how the rest of us are allowed to live our lives. I wonder what it will take for us to reach that "Have you no sense of decency?" moment with them. But of course they don't, because that would require a conscience.