Know-nothings in Montgomery County, north of Houston, just can't take their eyes off the local public library, despite their earlier defeats at book-banning. Better to spend time and effort on convincing parents to be involved with their own children's reading lives.
A new group has formed to address the selection and placement of books at the Montgomery County Memorial Library System, and it is targeting 120 works aimed at children and young adults.Posted by Alan at July 28, 2004 12:18 PMCalled Library Patrons of Texas Inc., the group wants an age-appropriate policy at the system and targeting books with sexual and gay themes, as well as those with what the group says is offensive language.
Among those are Silly Duck by Harvey Fierstein, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Deal With It! by Esther Drill and Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.
In the past five weeks, 16 books, mainly from the young adult collection, have been challenged to a juvenile reconsideration panel made up of library staff members and area residents. To date, four reviews have been completed, and those books were returned to the shelves, said Jerilynn Williams, library director. The others are scheduled to be reviewed during the next several months.