Removal of Unacceptable Books from Public Libraries: Yes or No?

There has been much discussion of the removal of unacceptable books from the public libraries. Many people are for the matter yet there are few that choose to challenge it. Something that these people might be forgetting to consider is that the library is not for people only under the age 18; many adults use the library because books these days are becoming more expensive and difficult to afford. Instead of taking these ‘unacceptable’ books completely out of the library they should take precautions to monitor the ages of people who check them out.

It is understandable that parents are getting angry about they type of books their children are checking out but it is also their responsibility to monitor what their children are reading. Libraries also, along with parents, could begin to take more precautions on monitoring who checks out these unacceptable books. Something that would help greatly would be the public libraries sectioning off all unacceptable, mature, or questionable books in sections. They should put it where certain ages can check out certain books. A precaution that could be taken is something along the line of how the selling of tobacco can only be to 18 and above, and alcohol to 21 and above. One would have to present their ID when they are checking out. Granted this may come as an inconvenience to some it would better protect the minds of the young community. Another reason is that some books that are read in school and have been accepted by the school board could be considered unacceptable and contain questionable language, demonstrate graphic violence, and are sometimes minorly explicit. A prime example would be John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Much violence is described in this book along with questionable language. Also, another great example would be The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini which could be put under all three reasons for being unacceptable. The reason this is being mentioned is because sometimes, for example for summer reading books, these books are not provided for the students directly from school and many check them out at library’s because of the cost for books being so expensive. So, students should be able to have access to these books even if they have to have their parents check them out for them. All in all unacceptable and questionable books should not be removed but extra precautions should be perused in monitoring the patrons who check out these books.

Public libraries should continue to carry these unacceptable books. They should not get rid of a large portion of their selection and become a library basically only for younger children and people who like to read mostly non-fiction. By getting rid of all of their unacceptable books they would be getting rid of a large amount of fiction and fantasy books that many people read today. Instead of getting rid of these books they should just make rules regarding who checks out these unacceptable books. The older more mature community should not be barred from what they can check out only because of the desire to keep the minds of the younger community more pure.