KY Library Relocates Graphic Novels After Staffers Fired
RSSBy Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 12/09/2009
Following the firing of two of its circulation staffers for barring an 11-year-old access to the graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier (Wildstorm, 2008), the Jessamine County Library in Kentucky has re-catalogued and moved its entire graphic novel collection further away from its young adult books.
While both YA and adult graphic novels, about 500 in total, were always located in the library’s adult section, Ron Critchfield, Jessamine County Library director, notes that many in the community were concerned about their proximity to the young adult fiction.
“Given community concerns over the current placement of graphic novels, we researched various ways to shelve these items in an effort to respect both the concerns and First Amendment law,” says Critchfield by email, explaining that the library's YA section is in the adult section and separate from the children's room .
Regardless of where they’re located, all graphic novels will still be available to anyone with a valid library card—including those under 18.
Two circulation staffers were fired earlier this fall when they refused to allow patrons to check out Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, violating requirements stated in the Jessamine County employee handbook.
One of the circulation clerks, Sharon Cook, who objected to the book's sexual content, had kept the material out of the general collection by repeatedly checking it out, after she filed a challenge against the book and lost. When the 11-year-old asked to put the book on hold this fall, Cook and fellow employee Beth Boisvert refused to allow it to be checked out by the child, and their positions were terminated.
What followed was a public relations nightmare for the library and for Critchfield, who says there have been “a number of unkind visits, calls, and emails of this nature.”
And that’s a grave issue, believes Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. When insufficient information is offered to a community, especially around concerns of censorship, knee jerk reactions—rather than rational conversations—can prevail.
“We’re seeing increasing contentious challenges like this,” she says. “They pursue a public relations campaign that divide communities and then don’t allow for reasoned thought about the books or library policy.”
Ultimately, Jessamine County parents—and not the library—have the final say as to what material they feel is appropriate for their children.
“Only the parents or guardians are in the position to determine how they want their children under 18 to utilize the library,” says Critchfield, explaining that parents who want to restrict borrowing privileges for their children can come into the library and check out books for them.
