Should Public Libraries be Able to Ban Controversial Books?

If one does not want to read a book, then one should simply avoid the said book and let others make their own book selections.

Banning books accomplishes nothing, except helping make the public library more useless and irrelevant.

Having said that ...



"The Man"--the public library--is not the enemy in the case of banned books. To the contrary, the type of person pictured above--the hypocritical supporter of free speech--is the true enemy behind the banning of books.

This type of person must be confronted and combated in order to preserve our Constitutional rights to free speech and a free press.

No because what is banned today is old hat tomorrow.

and the book burning will be right outside, really????

Free Speech, remember?

Even though it is in the constitution, it seems questionable to me as to whether the government should even be in the library business any longer. Maybe a constitutional amendment is in order.

Christians want Harry Potter banned because it preaches witchcraft. Give me a break...

No, but they do, because they are political rather than houses of knowledge.

Did you learn nothing from "1984"!!!

NO, NO, NO!!! That's why it's public. If you want to censor books, censor what you buy, not what everone is able to borrow. My local library has been censoring books for at least the last fifteen years when we got a different Librarian. I hate that!

It's as if the First Amendment is treated as a suggestion rather than the Law of the Land.

No, never ever! If the books are adult themed, put them in an adults only section! Who gets to decide what is controversial? In my opinion, the most damaging controversial book is the Bible. How would someone else feel, if I was able to ban that?

Good point!

define: "controversial" ?

Does freedom of speech ring a bell? As much as I would like some books to be banned from PUBLIC libraries, it is not the direction America is founded on.

Private ones, it is their own choice. Public ones should provide the best variety of books their can afford for their audience.

Of course not The Catcher in the Rye was once a banned book now it is regularly taught in high schools and more importantly and more frightening who exactly determines what is a "controversical book" ? If individual people do not want to read a "controvsial" book they DON"T HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT FROM THE LIBRARY.

Who decides what is "controversial"? I'm perfectly capable of self-censoring, and don't need anyone deciding what I should and should not read. For those under age 18, some things should be kept away from them. Such as "Catcher In The Rye", and then there was the story of the little bunny rabbits and the big bunny rabbits, whose name I don't know. The BIG bunny was so kind that he persuaded the little bunnies to bring him all their stuff, and he would give it to those who needed it. Then he took even more power, until the little bunnies realized that the BIG bunny was keeping all their stuff, living very well with it. But it was too late. The big bunny had an army behind him with weapons they could no longer own, and so they lived in poverty and strangling dictatorship with all decisions being made for them, which they "should have been happy with", and then mercifully died. Those kind of books should be kept away from 3rd graders for sure.

No banning books ever. Put them in an "adults only" section.

Yes, but I'd hope they wouldn't

Public libraries are run by the local people, the local people should be able to decide which books they want in their library.

I think certain things such as explicit porn have no place in a public library and should be banned especially for the sake of young children who are to young to grasp or interpret such material.

Have you ever seen any explicit porn or any kind of porn in a public library? I haven't and I have been using libraries since 1963 and in several states. I visit public libraries when I travel. It is interesting at the difference in them from state to state.

No, but my point is they should be allowed to do so on such items if it came up as there are people who would insist on it being there if thay had no descrestion !

I don't think any of us have the right to restrict what adults read, period.

I have no problem at all with anything that any adult reads ! Did I say that ? I do have a problem making filthy porn available under the same roof where children are present ! If you choose to let your children be in an area where perverts can be reading porn and observe your children at the same time, that is your choice.
Good luck !

no. put them in an adult section, but no book bans

I have no problems with labeling for explicit content, but I think book banning is a direct infringement of the first amendment.

Libraries are supported by the taxpayers. If citizens want to donate books, that's fine.