Gay Theme Causes Uproar in Oklahoma

The commission overseeing the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System is requiring all libraries to shelve books on “controversial” topics in “parenting collections.” The fallout from the decision remains unclear, but it appears that children will continue to have access to all titles.

State Representative Sally Kern praised the commission’s action. The state House of Representatives in May passed a nonbinding resolution she wrote urging libraries to “confine homosexually-themed books and other age-inappropriate material” to areas open only to adults.

At the center of the uproar is King & King (Tricycle, 2002), a picture book by Linda de Haan and Stern Niland that tells of two princes who fall in love. “The majority of the parents in our state would rather that their children not be aware of the homosexual lifestyle,” says Kern, adding that books like King & King can confuse young boys. “That is a dangerous thing to do.”

So far, the resolution has changed little in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. “We’re continuing to serve our total community with a broad, diverse collection,” says Linda Saferite, the CEO of the Tulsa system. “We’re doing what we do best—we’re serving our customers.”

Libraries in several states, including Arkansas, are facing similar book challenges. In Fayetteville, AR, the mother of two tweens has challenged 58 books, including Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley’s It’s Perfectly Normal (1994) and It’s So Amazing (1999, both Candlewick). The Fayetteville school board in September reversed its earlier decision to place those books and Jeremy Daldry’s A Teenage Guy’s Guide to Survival (Little, Brown, 1999) in a restricted parent section and ordered a review of the district’s book selection policy.