Library Science, Year I

[thefireisblack]

After my first year, I wanted to a compile some of the key points to my program as this was definitely an improvement over my first secondary education experience. Warning this is another long post.

You learn some pretty interesting things in class. Now I know that a number of people might not find library sciences to be the most stimulating of conversation topics but there are some topics that are intriguing as a look into society. The topic we had been covering within the last couple of months (I think in mid-March?) had been censorship within libraries. This is more of something that occurs in school and public libraries, though some academic libraries have gotten crap out of it too. Now while books are challenged often enough in public libraries, it's in the school libraries that they often get pulled off the shelves.

I'm pretty sure everyone's heard of all the controversy at one point or another of Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, and the works of Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code), but you can't make everyone agree. Everything published will offend someone or another. What got to me as the guest speaker went on were some of the books and their reason for being pulled. It's enough to make me worry for the fate of the world.

In the list below is the most of the list that I can fit into here and beside it is the reason. It is a couple years out of date but some of these books are classics that I would love to read to kids. These were the books that had been challenged, banned, or pulled at one time or another in Alberta libraries (and not just the school ones) alone.

• Alexander, Martha. Move Over Twerp. - Promotes violence as a way of resolving problems.
  
• Allard, Harry. The Stupids series. - Not "nice" to call people "stupid".
  
• Allen, Pamela. Mr. McGee and the Biting Flee. - Mr. McGee is anatomically correct (in other words his penis was showing and it was the correct size in the drawing for a human man).
  
• Asch, Frank. Ziggy Piggy and the Three Little Pigs. - Object to last two pages of story: "he blew the tiny raft far out to sea." Also, "...they all went for a swim." I don't know what the author was hoping children would learn from the actions of the pig named Ziggy. Yes, he was creative and perhaps a free spirit. However, he may have delivered his friends into great danger.
  
• Babbit, Natalie. Ouch! - Unsuitable for elementary children as the folktale deals with hell.
  
• Banks, Lynne Reid. Indian in the Cupboard. - Racist, treatment of native people offensive.
  
• Bellairs, John. Series of mystery, e.g. The House with the Clock in Its Walls. - Anti-religion, Satanism etc.
  
• Berenstein, Michael. The Sorcerer's Scrapbook. - "Not nice" to read to my daughter at bedtime; contains spells.
  
• Birney, Ed. "David" poem in collection. - Euthanasia is the issue when the friend requests assistance to die.
  
• Bishop, Claire. Five Chinese Brothers. Racist.
  
• Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. - Deals with growing up and menstruation.
  
• Bridwell, Norma. Clifford's Halloween. - Racist and stereotyping.
  
• Briggs, Raymond. Father Christmas. - Santa misrepresented.
  
• Brown, Ruth. Grizzly Revenge. - Gruesome illustrations, notion of violent revenge.
  
• Browne, Anthony. Gorilla. - Metaphor for sexual molestation.
  
• Browne, Anthony. Piggybook. - Language is too British, story far-fetched.
  
• Browne, Anthony. Changes. - Far too scary for a young child, especially one facing a new sibling.
  
• Carson, Nancy. Harriet and Walt. - Promotes name-calling.
  
• Clavell, James. King Rat. - The language and implied violence were concerns for some parents.
  
• Cormier, Robert. We All Fall Down. - Too violent.
  
• Cosgrove, Stephen. "Serendipity" series of modern fables, e.g. Catundra. - Too moralistic.
  
• Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach. - Undermines adult authority.
  
• Dahl, Roald. The Witches. - Scary.
  
• Doyle, Brian. Boy O Boy. - Complaint because it is about a boy who is molested by a pedophile.
  
• Ende, Michael. Never-Ending Story. - The word "bitch" on the back cover.
  
• Findley, Timothy. The Wars. - Two rather violent homosexual encounters in the story are the reasons for rejection by some parents.
  
• Fitzgerald, Scott. Great Gatsby. - Promotes adultery as an acceptable lifestyle. Not suitable for teens.
  
• Fox, Mem. Guess What. - Promotes Satanism.
  
• Fox, Paula. The Eagle Kite. - Deals with AIDS and homosexuality and is not appropriate for elementary students.
  
• Galdone, Paul. Teeny Tiny Woman. - Disgusting. It appears that the woman is a cannibal.
  
• Galdone, Paul. The Greedy Old Fat Man. - Condones obesity and promotes over-eating.
  
• Garo, Tomi. Everyone Poops. - Not appropriate for classroom setting.
  
• Gauthier, Giles. Zunick dans je suis Zunick. - Objection to a picture of the child jumping on the bed containing his dad and girlfriend.
  
• Godfrey, Martyn. Here She is Ms. Teeny Wonderful. - Uses the word "damn" once.
  
• Godfrey, Martyn. Please Remove Your Elbow From My Ear. - Objection to "what was under her green mohair sweater did justice to the fuzzy wood."
  
• Godfrey, Martyn and Frank O'Keeffe. There's a Cow in My Swimming Pool. - The teenage daughter refers to her mother and new stepfather "doing it" on their wedding night.
  
• Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. - Promotes Satanism.
  
• Grahame, Kenneth. Reluctant Dragon. - An attack on home, the family and adults.
  
• Greenberg, David. The Slugs. - Quite revolting and scary.
  
• Greene, Constance. I know You, Al. - Objection to the line in the parody of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean "my father lay over my mother and that's how I came to be."
  
• Guest, Judith. Ordinary People. - Language and topic were stated as reasons for parent concern. It is likely that people's views were more often based on the movie rather than the book.
  
• Handford, Martin. Where's Waldo? - Woman's bare breast visible on one page.
  
• Hastings, Selina. Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady. - Offensive phrase "God damn you, Arthur."
  
• Heine,, Helme. Ten Naughty Little Mice. - Found the means by which mice eliminated unacceptable because of inferred violence.
  
• Hoban, Russell. The Stone Doll of Sister Brute. - Not an appropriate book to have in a school where we are trying to teach children to care about one another.
  
• Hodges, Margaret. St. George and the Dragon. - Anti-female, makes women look silly.
  
• Impression Series. - Promotes witchcraft, Satanism, non-Christian religions and the new age movement.
  
• Jackson, Shirley. "The Witch" in Inside Stories 1. edited by Richard Davies and Glen Kirkland - Too gory and macabre, "It's bizarre. No bizarre isn't even the right word, it's sick."
  
• Jahns, Duanne & Darcy. The O'Team. - Promotes the magazine "Penthouse".
  
• Jones, Terry. A Day with Wilbur Robinson. - Its pictures are weird for kids and should perhaps be classified for an older group.
  
• Kamia, Yoko. Boys Over Flowers. - Manga about bullying, complaint over violence.
  
• King, Stephen. Dragon Eyes. - Promotes black magic.
  
• Konigsburg, E.L. T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coal and Suit. - Objection to the phrase "all the way up to his crotch."
  
• Krauss, Ruth. Carrot Seed. - Denigrates parental authority.
  
• Kroll, Steven. Bathrooms. - Too explicit.
  
• Laurence, Margaret. The Diviners. - Promotes promiscuity, bad language.
  
• Lee, Dennis. Garbage Delight. - Too violent, see pages 55 and 60.
  
• Lee, Dennis. Lizzy's Lion. - Too violent and promotes cannibalism.
  
• Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. - Anti-Christian, promotes witchcraft.
  
• Luiken, Nicole. Unlocking the Doors. - Promotes psychic use.
  
• McCloskey, Robert. Blueberries for Sal. - Makes children underestimate the danger of bears.
  
• McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings. - Sexist.
  
• Merriam, Eve. Halloween ABC. - Satanistic values and morbid thoughts.
  
• Molnar, Gwen. I Said to Sam. - Words like "elaborate" and "exotic" too difficult for Grade 2.
  
• Morgon, Allen. Matthew and the Midnight Tow Truck. - Sets a bad example and gives a bad message about taking rides with strangers.
  
• Morgon, Allen. Matthew and the Midnight Flood. - A stranger comes to a little boy's bedroom window in the middle of the night, asks the boy to accompany him; the boy does because it "sounds like fun".
  
• Muller, Robin. Molly Whuppie. - Too violent, rewarded for evil doings.
  
• Munsch, Robert. Giant or Waiting for the Thursday Boat. - Misrepresentation of, and mocks God.
  
• Munsch, Robert. Paperbag Princess. - Foul language on the last page.
  
• Munsch, Robert. Pigs. - Uses the word "pee".
  
• Munsch, Robert. Thomas's Snowsuit. - Undermines the authority of school principals in general.
  
• O'Huigin, Sean. Monsters He Mumbled. - Totally lacking in anything positive or happy, and teaches the occult.
  
• Pare, Roger. Annick ABC. - The word "nudist" is used.
  
• Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. - Suggests that a character commits suicide
  
• Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. - Use of the word "damn" and mis-use of word "God."
  
• Pearson, Kit. Awake and Dreaming. - Recommended as a novel study for grade 5/6 class, teacher was horrified to find "totally unacceptable language" and spent an evening going through the entire class set, blacking out inappropriate language.
  
• Peretti, Frank. Cooper Kids series. - Too religious.
  
• Price, Moe. The Incredible Mungwort Quest. - Contains fantasy and witches.
  
• Pullman, Phillip. The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife. - Mother, who has not read the books but overheard the class reading, objects to the use of "daemons."
  
• Rey, H. A. Curious George series. - Rewards disobedience.
  
• Rosenbloom. Giggles, Gags, and Groaners. - Jokes are tasteless, some have sexual overtones or suggest abuse of animals.
  
• Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter series. - There have been many rumblings here, and apparently one local school will not purchase them because they promote witchcraft.
  
• Rubinstein, Gillian. Galax-Arena. - Swear words and gruesome scenes make it inappropriate for an elementary/junior high library.
  
• Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. - Some of the language offended people.
  
• Schwartz, Alivin. In a Dark, Dark Room and other Scary Stories. - Too violent, promotes violence.
  
• Schwartz, Delmore. I Am Cherry Alive. - Children will be led to believe seing naked girls is O.K.
  
• Sendak, Maurice. In the Night Kitchen. - Nakedness, sexual "strutting".
  
• Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. - Monsters are too scary.
  
• Shakespeare, William. Merchant of Venice. - Anti-Semitic.
  
• Smith, Kevin. Green Arrow Quiver. - Graphic depiction/description of violent child abuse.The book is very well written and entertaining and clever. It is just the ending with a villain that is a demon worshipping Satanist that kidnaps, tortures, and murders children - it crosses the line. (Reclassified Adult..)
  
• Stacey, Cherylyn. I'll Tell You Tuesday If I Last That Long. - Contains young people drinking and contemplating having sex.
  
• Stacey, Cherylyn. How Do You Spell Abducted? - Anti-male, dad-bashing, hate literature.
  
• Steig, William. Spinky Sulks. - Disliked manner in which characters communicated and situations were handled, as well as the way people dealt with one another.
  
• Steinbeck, John. Grapes of Wrath. - Depressing.
  
• Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. - 198 examples of profane language, depressing and a bad influence.
  
• Stenson, Fred, ed. The Road Home. - One word found to be offensive.
  
• Steptoe, John. Daddy is a Monster...Sometimes. - Find the "threatening" situations the father puts the children in unacceptable. Children would feel encouraged to "talk back" to their own parents.
  
• Stevenson, R.L. Treasure Island. - Portrayal of Long John Silver is demeaning to the disabled.
  
• Turner, Ann. Rosemary's Witch. - Promotes Satanism.
  
• Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn. - Racist.
  
• Valentine, Johnny. The Duke Who Outlawed Jellybeans. - In a series for children of gay or lesbian parents. Requested "warning label" on cover.
  
• Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five.
  
• Wieler, Diana. Bad Boy. - Promotes homosexuality.
  
• Weis, Lyle. No Problem We'll Fix It. - Single-parent functioning family, is against "two-parent" families.
  
• Wells, Rosemary. Benjamin and Tulip. - Imitating a bully's behaviour appears acceptable.
  
• Williams, Garth. The Rabbit's Wedding. - Unsuitable to show marriage between blacks and whites in kids' books.
  
• Zindel, Paul. Pigman. - A few parents considered this story to be annihilstic in its message.
  
  Now I'm pretty sure that I must have read a number of these books at one point or another. Heck, a number of these had been used in novel studies in elementary and junior high. Maybe you have too but this list is ridiculous. It makes me wonder about some of the books that have come as of late for young adults and young readers. I mean, did any of them think of the books from a child's perspective. As a kid, the idea of running around naked was fun not sexual. As a kid, getting into trouble was fun and frankly I would rather they get into trouble like that rather than into street gangs and drugs. Then there are things that kids don't wish to discuss and want to find kinship with someone else, even if they are characters in a book.
  
  If some of them think that those books have foul language, it makes me wonder how the rather delicate (please note the sarcasm in that) audience would react to some of the language in some books nowadays. For example, Tithe was the first book I've read in the YA section with the word "fuck" in it. A few years ago, in one of Kit Pearson's books, she had put "damn" I think it was in her books and when asked about it, she answered that if she wanted the teens to think it was realistic, she would have to use language like that. One of my classmates had responded with the more foul language our society uses, the more the younger generations believe that is acceptable. He sort of has point as some of the things kids say on the bus nowadays is rather disturbing when watching a prepubescent kid swear like that. But the thing is, for more serious issues in society, in order to make the book realistic because kids do swear, the author puts the swear words in. So it's a chicken and the egg cycle.
  
  Now while I can be understanding, I'm not an understanding person. I'll take someone apart to figure out how they tick but that doesn't mean I'm sympathetic. Thankfully, most of the people who reveal too much do not know that. In general with censorship, you're to listen to the concerns of the person who wants the book banned. No you don't have to go through with it but the thing (and a scary thing at that) is the person is concerned. They believe they're doing a good thing no matter how idiotic their accusations are. Frankly, I'd be more tempted to drag out my binder and start lecturing them on the freedom of knowledge. I might not like Mein Kampf, I'm pretty sure I'll be ticked as hell if I ever read it, but that doesn't mean I'd pull it off the shelf of a library I was managing. I won't push people to it nor pull people away; it isn't my decision to make.
  
  Then there are those who like to insult others. Like this guy I met today. I swear I was a hair away from slapping him. I couldn't but I wanted to on the account of there was a time I was a practicing Wiccan and I have been reading up on Pagan practices. I also know a few people who are one, the other, or both. So the fact that he came up to ask if that book of 5000 spells was a joke or not (even though it was in the reference section) in that tone, was enough for me to slap him. If you don't want to believe it fine, but if others decide to, it's their choice. Plus, I really don't want to hear your beliefs on this asswipe. I swear I wanted to tell him to shut his trap because I was not interested. He kept going on and on and I was wondering if I could hold my temper until he left.
  
  In my opinion, the more you pull something away, the more someone wants something. With knowledge, and I can't believe I'm saying this because I'm pretty sure this will bite me in the ass on another day, you have to trust the person who acquired it. You have to trust that they will make the right decision, of which sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Same with books of the fiction variety. I figured that if I ever had a kid, I'd trust them to go read a book when they feel they're ready. If they ever ask me about a particular book, I'd feel they were old enough to read that book. If they ever had a question, I'd answer it unbiased. If you have something to hide, that suspicion could cloud the judgement of the person you're hiding that something from when they find out. I'm not for the bubble wrap cocoon some parents seem to do (having lived through that myself to some extent) because it won't prepare them. You raise a child but you don't control them. You teach people but you don't decide what they learn or not. Did you know that if a kid refuses to read a book at school (at least in Canada and the US, I'm not sure about other countries) they don't have to read it? Yes they can refuse and it is valid. Mind you, most don't know about this for the reason teachers don't want them to avoid homework rather than them not wanting to read a particular book. I learnt that years ago in a reading class I was taking since the book we were supposed to read in my class scared the shit out of me, so I got a less scary book than everyone else. It suited me just fine because as everyone who knows me knows, I'm a bloody chicken when it comes to stuff of horror, no pun intended.
  
  So that was an interesting topic for me to discuss on. While I might not want to be "discussing" it with someone who wants a particular book banned, it was an interesting topic to be lectured on. Now my other favourite thing of the school year was the display cases we had to make. As I told luciademedici, my theme was modern faerie books, like those of Hallowmere or the Modern Faery Tales. I got a rather large list for them but the thing is, you can put too much in there so I had to kill half of my list by the time I was done.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (going clockwise: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher, Changeling by Delia Sherman, The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint, Poison by Chris Wooding, War of the Oaks by Emma Bull, Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, The Book of Dreams by O.R. Melling, Stonehaven. Milk Cartons & Dog Biscuits by Kevin Tinsley, Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan [sound recording], Vögelein Volume 1: Clockwork Faerie by Jan Irwin, Vögelein Volume 2: Old Ghosts by Jan Irwin, Valiant by Holly Black [sound recording], Ironside by Holly Black.)
  For those who are about to ask, yes that that is supposed to be a tree. I told you I couldn't draw, though stepping back, it makes an interesting treelike hand, which does refer to the original tales of trees being alive fair folk ready to ensnare you in the woods. I was still insanely proud of it, no matter how mediocre my drawing skills were.
  
  And if there was one good thing about this entire year of training, it means I got a job! I'm no longer unemployed! Yes this is one of the reasons why I haven't been posting as of late since I wanted to ease myself into work first. I now work as a library assistant as part of a summer work program at one of the public colleges in my area. The people are rather nice (and surprisingly lenient and relaxed! W00t!) and I'm definitely picking up work experience. Plus the dress code is rather relaxed so I'm not scavenging in the morning for appropriate work clothes.
  
  Of course there are bad parts. The guy that I was mentioning above being one of them. I think he's one of the "occultist" freaks, as knowledgable as a rust bucket but try to pass off as more. I was really tempted to tell him that the area he was tredding on was my specialty. I might not believe in the same things as everyone else, but I certainly don't insult them. Your belief is your own. Your actions not being taken as your own responsibility is usually what gets my knickers in a bundle. I swear if I see him again, I'm handing him off to someone else because I'm just not interested. That and I would punch someone's lights out (read his).
  
  The day before, there was this guy who would not take a hint. From previous posts, you can tell I don't react well to the question "Are you Asian/Chinese/Japanese/etc.?" The only thing I react to even more on that scale is when someone tries to greet me in Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. while I'm in Canada. I will admit perhaps I'm flying off the handle but he wasn't helping his position with his constant badgering that day. He saw me a few days earlier when he tried to greet me with "Nihao". The thing is, if I was a white girl, I'd doubt I'd have that problem in Canada. There are many times when being part of the minority sucks. So anyway, he ended up asking me if I spoke Chinese (I was tempted to lecture him on the different dialects) but I answered no. I think the question that ticked me off the most was "Can you smile?" because by then I'm pretty sure my usual scowl was in place. I answered yes and sure as hell his next question was if I would smile for him. The words "I'm not here for your amusement" was flashing in a neon sign in my head. If I wasn't at work, I would so have said the same thing. Again, perhaps I'm flying off the handle. On the other hand, I identify myself as Canadian, so you can understand why I felt insulted. I have as much in common with being Chinese as J does with being Ukrainian, which is next to nothing. It's part of our heritage but it's not who we are.
  
  And this is exactly why in the world I can't wait till training week is over. Then I can go to the job I signed up for (cataloguing=no people). I've mostly been doing shelving and weeding for the last couple of days. I believe it was Briar Moss of Circle of Magic quartet who said it best when he mentioned that in summer "it's always weeding." Mind you, he was referring to the gardening variety. I was weeding out old books so that the library could get new ones. Basically I spend a few hours picking out books that haven't been circulated or are very well-used within the last couple years that they have stink, smell, and are generally disgusting.
  
  For the last couple of days, I've been discarding and weeding out the the bodice ripper romance section, coming across a couple that I might want to check out later. Of course, I ended up reading the backs of many of the books, which later ended up in the following conversation with silverspidertm2 about bodice rippers:
  
  ebontien: therefore I go buy books
  ebontien: or borrow
  ebontien: ....which can be embarrassing
  silverspidertm2: Oh please. I bought a book called "The Ties that Bind" (yes, in THAT way) with my friend Chris because I told him I needed some reading material if I were to ever write a descent sex scene. "Research" I called it
  silverspidertm2: Mind you, he still teases me about it today and that was like two years ago
  ebontien: Not when the title is A Very Virile Viking
  ebontien: yes I've been thinking of Vikings
  ebontien: I've gone through enough shapeshifters and vampires that I need something more normal
  silverspidertm2: hey we've all been there. I've been through almost any romance novel theme you can imagine
  ebontien: me too
  ebontien: it's been while since I've been pillaged
  silverspidertm2: LOL!!!
  silverspidertm2: HAHAHA!!!
  silverspidertm2: *puts head on table and laughs*
  ebontien: you know, that's probably one of the first times I didn't mean it that way until AFTER I typed it
  ebontien: Mind if I put this into a later post?
  silverspidertm2: oh not at all. Someone has to
  ebontien: I swear I didn't realize the context till after I wrote it
  silverspidertm2: *snort* Suuuure. Freudian slip ~_^
  I decided to go with Cajuns in the end, with a book called Tall, Dark, and Cajun by Sandra Hill. If that wasn't enough to make me think of Gambit, I think the fact that the guy's name was Remy LeDeux didn't help either. This is what I get for watching the trailer to Wolverine and the X-Men over and over again here. YTV, don't fail me now even though you couldn't do anything about Avatar.