Really local offices are really important!

[jreilly4261]

The bit of fear-mongering below is courtesy of the Idaho Values Alliance.  They write as though the educational icon The Joy of Gay Sex is filed between Curious George and Brown Bear, Brown Bear at the Nampa, Idaho library.  I'm dying of curiosity to know if the IVA is also calling for the ban of the original The Joy of Sex.  [Update:  The second book being evaluated is The New Joy of Sex.]  Incidentally, I was chased out of Waldenbooks once when I was 15 for peering into the pages of The Joy of Sex--I was traumatized for years, not for what I saw in those pages, but for being chased away from a featured book in a book store.  I felt I'd been judged--I didn't have the knowledge or the language to defend myself from the censor.  Now I know that 15-year-olds shouldn't be chased from the libraries and bookstores, but should have a library card, a gift certificate, a list of books and an open ear from supportive peers and adults.

Note the fourth paragraph that point out the potential change in the makeup (and, presumably, perspective) of the local library board.  Who on earth contemplates who is on the local library board?!?  The neo-cons do.  Progressives should too.  We cannot simply rely on the typically progressive bent of most librarians.  In the case of Nampa, the five members of the Library Board are appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council.  So, folks concerned with academic and literary freedom need to be concerned about those elected officials who appoint and approve the board.

NAMPA PUBLIC LIBRARY TO CONSIDER PULLING GAY PORN BOOK ON MONDAY

The Nampa Public Library on Monday will consider a request from Nampa resident Randy Jackson to pull two pornographic books from the shelves of the Nampa Public Library. Mr. Jackson's laudable efforts in this regard have received national attention already.

One, The Joy of Gay Sex, features graphic, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination depictions of every possible variety of homosexual sex, including anal and oral versions.

I'd like to reproduce some of these depictions for you so you could see for yourself just how offensive they are, but it would be morally and legally irresponsible of me to so. And yet two years ago, the Nampa Library Board insisted that these books continue to be made available to young children.

But the composition of the board has changed in the last two years, and the current board may be more amenable to family and decency concerns.

One of the grim features of Idaho law is that, while it provides significant penalties for distributing material harmful to minors, it unbelievably allows specific exceptions for librarians and teachers, the two groups of professionals who have the most direct contact with young children. The previous board hid behind this hideous shield two years ago.

If you live in Nampa, and care about the moral environment of your community, please attend the hearing on Monday if you can. It will be held in the basement of the Nampa Library at 4 p.m. It's especially important for Nampa clergy to testify in support of the removal of these books. Please consider forwarding this email to your pastor, or printing out a copy to give to him on Sunday if you attend a Nampa congregation.

If you'd like to send a request to the Nampa librarian to pull these books from the shelves, you may do so at the following link. Even if you live outside of Nampa, you have a stake in this matter because inter-library loans will make it possible for these books to migrate to your library's patrons. Ask Ms. Ganske to share your email with the library board.

If you'd like more information, you may contact Randy Jackson at (208) 514-5962 or at info@youth4revolution.com