Everyone else seems to have blogged about it, but in case you missed it, The Marshall Democrat-News is reporting that the Library board met last Wednesday to have the first reading on their materials selection policy.
As you may remember, an angry mom managed to get the library’s copies of Blankets and Fun Home pulled off the shelves because of their sexual content. Two local residents were on hand to voice their opinions, one in favor of keeping the books on the shelves, the other, well, not:
Blakely also applied the proposed policy to the banned books. According to Blakely, “Blankets” and “Fun Home” only meet one of the general criteria for selection — the timeliness of the subject matter.
The books go along with the timeliness of the gay/lesbian movement and you would find these types of trash along I-70, Blakely said.
I know that’s where I go to get my graphic novels.
Via David Welsh, who’s been covering the heck out of this thing
February 9th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Blakely is plain wrong. The books both meet several of the criteria stated in the policy, including contemporary/social significance and critical acclaim. Both books have won awards - Blankets was named top graphic novel on a number of lists in its year of publication, and was also a Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults title PLUS received very favorable reviews in various library review journals (I was one of the reviewers, in Voice of Youth Advocates). Fun Home is the 2006 Book of the Year for Time Magazine and has appeared on several other library lists, including the inaugural 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. Both books meet at least 3 or 4 of the criteria, no matter what Blakely wants to say about the book. He’s speaking emotionally, not objectively.