'Sports Illustrated' Admits Swimsuit Blunder

Sports Illustrated says its decision to withhold this year's swimsuit edition from all libraries and classrooms was a mistake and that regular delivery will resume next year.

Time Inc., the magazine's publisher, halted delivery of the annual issue to 21,000 libraries nationwide, claiming it received negative feedback from parents, teachers, and librarians that the scantily clad models were too risqué for children.

Since libraries fall under one category in the publisher's subscriber database, all libraries—including academic, public, and K–12 school libraries—were affected. And many librarians weren't happy with the decision.

Rick McCabe, a Sports Illustrated spokesman, says the “unilateral decision” was made by one department of the magazine and didn't involve senior management. “We won't be doing it going forward,” he says, adding that although the magazine is intended for an adult audience, “it was inappropriate to hold it back.”

The magazine received e-mail complaints, and the move created a buzz on librarian discussion groups such as LM_NET and SERIALST.

The decision even prompted criticism from the American Library Association (ALA). “The policy decision by the publishers of Sports Illustrated to selectively deny this year's swimsuit issue to some of its paid subscribers is outrageous—patronizing and paternalistic in the extreme,” says ALA President Leslie Burger.

Pat Scales, an SLJ columnist on First Amendment issues and a recently retired middle and high school librarian in South Carolina, says she always subscribed to the magazine. “If the publisher has made this decision because they feel that kids shouldn't see the swimsuit issue, then they are applying their own brand of censorship,” Scales says. “In this case, they are substituting their judgment over the judgment of librarians.”

Scales says that librarians subscribe to periodicals “based on the overall scope of the publication and its appeal to readers,” and that the decision about what to do with the swimsuit issue should be left to librarians, not publishers. “I worry about the next step—will it be National Geographic or Science News?” Scales adds.

She's not alone. On SERIALST, an academic librarian from Lynchburg, VA, wrote “Shame on the people at Time, Inc., who apparently have decided to censor our receipt of Sports Illustrated.” Another librarian called the new policy “completely ridiculous.”

Others, however, like David Lininger, a librarian at Hickory County Schools in Urbana, MO, support the move, saying he asked Sports Illustrated to stop sending the swimsuit issue about three years ago. “It's basically soft-core porn, and it's not appropriate for anybody,” he says.

Although libraries weren't warned of the new policy in advance, McCabe dismissed charges of censorship, saying, “We didn't intend to upset any subscribers.” All libraries can request the issue—which hit newsstands on February 14—by calling a toll-free customer-service number (800-528-5000) or by visiting the magazine's Web site.