>Duck and cover!

by Roger Sutton
Mar 09, 2006 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
>People in Oklahoma must have awfully short memories, as demonstrated by the following usage of the word emergency:

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to libraries; providing for withholding of certain state funds under certain circumstances; providing for codification; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2-110 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries Board shall not grant or distribute any state funds that are allocated to libraries on a formula basis to any library, library district, or library system unless the library has taken action to place all children and young adult books and materials that are homosexually themed or sexually explicit in an adult or special area in the library and the library has a policy in place to limit distribution of such books and material to adults only.

SECTION 2. It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

50-2-7819 KB 12-13-05

I'm not sure what moving King and King to a restricted shelf in the adult department is going to do for "the public peace, health and safety" but maybe Oklahoma doesn't have enough to worry about. Here's the story.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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rindambyers

>P.S. The teens, in general, in my local library don't seem to be taking out a whole lot of books period; they already seem to be, as a group, ignoring books in general in favor of free library computer time, DVD's, graphic novels. I see books just sitting on shelves, same places, every time I go in.

Rather a dismal picture to see. Perhaps moving some books to a restricted area might increase their curiosity to just read more books rather than limiting their reading, who knows?

Here, in my town, the teen population seems also to be far more engrossed in chat room and blogging activities rather than reading books. I've seen the blogs. Fascinating look into teen subculture. I don't know what to think about it all. I think the whole book restriction thing might be sort of just irrevelaent to them, and that is rather a scary thought in itself.

Posted : Mar 11, 2006 09:48

rindambyers

>Oh, I'm laughing, I'm sorry, about the comment on the Bible. I don't mean to be disrespectful of Holy Scriptures. They haven't READ it! The Old Testament, especially I mean. I mean REALLY just sat down and read it through carefully. But you see, nowadays, children get their own carefully edited, "child-safe" versions of the Bible early on....and "child-safe," edited teaching in Sunday School early on, so who can wonder? My pastor dad's souped up,i.e., more dramatic, versions of Old Testament stories that he told us as children would never make it past Zondervan's slush pile, that's for sure. But then he let us read all of the real thing, too, as soon as we could read...

Posted : Mar 11, 2006 09:36

Roger Sutton

>In one of the news stories I read, the sponsoring legislator was asked about the Bible, and she said it could remain accessible to children because it wasn't sexually explicit.

Posted : Mar 11, 2006 07:35

webshred

>Oh good--maybe they'll finally put the Bible in the restricted section. I mean, "sodomy" is a pretty explicit word, don't you think? And we all know what the Tower of Babel (in which a lot of men get working on a giant phallus and end up with twisted tongues) is all about.

My motto is "If you ban any book, you have to ban the Book."

Posted : Mar 11, 2006 03:36

Disco Mermaids

>I'm starting to understand the fear and true meaning behind the lyrics in OKLAHOMA!:

Don't sigh and gaze at me
Your sighs are so like mine
Your eyes mustn't glow like mine
People will say we're in love!

Hopefully, someone there (probably a librarian) will stand up and say:

It's a scandal. It's an outrage.
It's a problem we must solve.
We gotta start a revolution!
All right, boys. Revolve!

Posted : Mar 10, 2006 05:01

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