Censorship Roundup

Mansfield, TX: Mansfield school trustees declined an appeal by a parent seeking to remove John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men from the district's libraries. Officials had refused the initial request by Leta Overton, who was offended by what she called the book's blasphemous language.

Aurora, CO: Lois Lowry's perennially controversial novel The Giver (Houghton, 1993) has escaped censure by the Aurora Public Schools (APS). APS spokesperson Debbie Lynch reassured parents by saying that the book—No. 10 on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books last year—was not in any district curriculum. "As far as I know, it's not even in any media centers," she told the Aurora Sentinel.

Anchorage, AK: A district committee is considering whether the sexual health book It's Perfectly Normal (Candlewick, 1996) is perfectly normal for its school libraries. With candid discussions of birth control, among other topics, the book's content is too explicit for young kids, say two Anchorage parents, who are asking the district to require parental permission before students check it out.

La Porte, TX: School district trustees voted on August 14 to remove Blood and Chocolate (Delacorte, 1997), a popular gothic romance by Annette Curtis Klause, from library shelves. The move was prompted by a Lomax Junior High School parent, who made three separate requests to ban the book because of what she views as objectionable language and references to sex and violence. The district will also review its guidelines for purchasing books.

Ocala, FL: Protesters have clashed with the Marion-Levy Public Library System over its retention of Deal With It!: A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a Gurl (Pocket, 1999). The frank, coming-of-age book prompted about 100 demonstrators to line an Ocala thoroughfare in August and call for the ouster of Library Director Julia H. Sieg. Across the street, a smaller crowd demonstrated in support of the library. The original complainant, however, seemed satisfied by a response from Sieg, who explained that the book, mistakenly placed in the young adult section, had been moved to the adult nonfiction area.

Summerville, NC: A school official pulled The Catcher in the Rye off school library shelves. Board member Howard Bagwell checked out copies of the book from two local high schools—with no plans to return them. Bagwell, who has also filed formal complaints at both schools, feels the J. D. Salinger coming-of-age tale is "a filthy, filthy book," according to the Associated Press.