Is It Censorship?
by Vicky T. (VickyJo)
I spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon selecting new books to purchase for the library. This is—by far—the best part of my job. I love reading reviews, reading blurbs about new books, finding a book that I know certain patrons will want to read. We have a limited book budget, and so I try to make my money stretch as far as possible. I want to purchase books that will be read, and recommended to others. I don’t want to waste my precious book budget on books that won’t be checked out, or that no one is really interested in reading.
So that brings me to “50 Shades of Gray” which is my current headache. For those of you who have not heard of this book, let me briefly fill you in: a huge Twilight fan writes a novel (actually she wrote a trilogy) based on the Twilight characters and setting, except she took out the vampires and inserted sex. Kinky sex, by some standards. It becomes a publishing sensation, hitting the top seller spot on Amazon, and probably breaking selling records right and left.
Why does this give me a headache? Well, I don’t want to spend money on it. I have a limited budget. But I have patrons who have requested it; they want to read it, and as a public library, we try to provide books that people want to read. So I should spend money on it. And in fact, it’s included in my recently assembled book order. I’ve put off buying it for a while, but I feel as though I’m being a censor, which I abhor. And yet…
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t care about the kinky sex subject matter. It’s none of my business, nor anyone else’s, what people like to read. And frankly, we already have novels containing kinky sex scenes in the library. My problem is the writing. It’s terrible. The author knows next to nothing about the craft and the art of writing. I can’t imagine an editor ever saw this work before publication—but if the book was edited, I have grave doubts about both author AND editor.
Here then is my headache: Do I have an obligation to provide quality literature? Or do I just provide whatever it is people want to read? There are so many wonderful, well-written books out there; do I pass those by and choose sub-quality work, and thereby validate poorly written novels? If I don’t buy 50 Shades, does that qualify as censorship? Or snobbery?
It’s ironic that this should be plaguing me at the start of Banned Books Week, a celebration of our freedom to read sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, to name just a few of the organizations involved. We may not think about it too much, but every day in America, someone somewhere would like to see a book pulled from library bookshelves forever. If they succeed, they chip away at your freedom to read.
Censorship is something that we as Americans should stand against. If we let our freedoms erode, then we let America and democracy erode. Those who came before us worked too hard and sacrificed too much to let that happen. President Harry Truman said, “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” One of our greatest privileges as Americans is the freedom to have open discussions, open debates, and a free-flowing exchange of information and ideas, without the fear of repercussion.
50 Shades of Gray has been banned in Florida libraries. I’m sure this has only increased its popularity. The people censoring this work feel that in this case censorship is necessary. They must feel as though they are protecting others from…what? A lack of originality? Perhaps. All I know is that, in the end, I didn’t want to be a censor. I’m free to give my opinion, but I have an obligation to provide materials that my patrons want to read.
There are standards when it comes to collection development which I follow. I read reviews, but what happens when there are too many bad reviews? I don’t purchase the book in question. Then again, should demand outnumber the bad reviews…well, it’s time for Tylenol. I may not be able to struggle through a poorly written novel, but others can and will. Noam Chomsky said it best: “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” That’s hard to put into practice sometimes, but it’s true. Here’s my quote: If we don’t believe in freedom of expression in novels we despise, we don’t believe in it at all. I will click the “Proceed to Checkout” button with great reluctance, but I will click it.
So enjoy a banned book this week, even 50 Shades. If your librarian looks at you with sympathy and whispers, “It’s crap,” read it with relish. Don’t ever let anyone take away your right to read. Just remember, if you hate it, you were warned. Now, I’m off to place a book order.
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I wish more librarians were like you and bought for the library what people wanted to read, even if it is badly written. I read 50 shades and agree with you. There is no plot and it is badly written, but if people are reading even bad literature, I consider it a win because most people don’t read anymore.
I agree that the books are crap and the editors should be shot for allowing it to be published without cleaning it up, but people want to read them, which means the libraries should be buying them.
Wow Vicky, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to figure out what books to buy on a limited budget. I have a hard enough time figuring that out for myself and I know what I like. I think libraries need to find a medium where they get what people want but also keep a decent mix for people looking but don’t know what they want. Good luck!
Vicky, you are literally between a rock and a hard place. If libraries house books as poorly written as 50 Shades, you appear to be condoning mediocrity or worse; but if librarians censure it for whatever reason then we are attacking freedom of speech. All I can suggest is putting the book on the shelves, but put a disclaimer that the book in no way should be considered acceptable literature. If there had not been such uproar about the book being so erotic than it would never have become such a bestseller. People want to read what is forbidden no matter how poorly written. Thank you for your blog. It teaches an important lesson.
What a dilemna ! I tend to agree with some of the other posters – even though it’s poorly written I would still purchase it for the library because that means people are reading. I’ve read some poorly written books over the years and I’ve also read some wonderfully written books. Maybe it takes a ‘bestseller’ to get people on the reading wagon. Then they can learn the difference between mediocre literature and great literature.
It doesn’t really matter if a book is poorly written or not, as long as people enjoy it. I can’t really think of any poorly written book, but then again I’m not an English professor. I won’t be reading 50 Shades of Gray but that’s mostly because it’s written in the present tense and I can’t stand to read a book like that. It’s just too awkward. The Hunger Games is also written in the present tense so I won’t be reading that.
I’m at the library now using their internet since I don’t own a computer.
Here’s a funny anecdote for you: When I was a teenager and I went to check out a bunch of Agatha Christie books from the library, the elderly librarian told me I shouldn’t be reading them! It’s not like I was reading Stephen King books that had bad language in them. That’s the stereotype of a stern (and judgmental) librarian for you.
Thanks everyone for your insightful comments! And Michelle…Agatha Christie? Seriously? That made me chuckle. But it points out just how subjective this idea of banning books really is. I had a patron return one of Anne Rice’s novels to me, saying that no one under the age of 35 should read it. (I think it was Exit to Eden). 35? How did she come up with that? Mystifying, to be sure!
Some people can read and enjoy poorly written books; it happens all the time. I can’t. More than a few mistakes and suddenly that’s all I can see in the text, and it truly ruins the book for me. Linda, I too like to think that maybe people will become more discerning readers. I always try to focus on that! 😉