Two librarians in Nicholasville, Kentucky say they were fired for refusing to allow a graphic novel in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series to circulate to an 11-year-old, according to reports by local TV stations WBKO and WTVQ. Librarians Sharon Cook and Beth Bovaire took the LoEG volume off the girl’s hold list. Cook called the book “porn” and “pornography” in her interviews, and said that it wasn’t appropriate for a child.
The Jessamine County Library Director told the stations that it was against policy to talk about employee terminations, but directed the stations to the library’s policies, which state that the responsibility for a child’s reading lies with the child’s parents, and not with the library.
“Residents in Jessamine county do not realize that these books that are so graphic are available in the library let alone to their children,” Bovaire told the stations.
The Jessamine County Library Director told the stations that it was against policy to talk about employee terminations, but directed the stations to the library’s policies, which state that the responsibility for a child’s reading lies with the child’s parents, and not with the library.
“Residents in Jessamine county do not realize that these books that are so graphic are available in the library let alone to their children,” Bovaire told the stations.
1 comment:
I have read the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen trade paperbacks (I & II) and certainly agree that there is some pretty - correction, *very* - strong stuff in there. If I had an 11-year old child I would not select it for reading material for him or her.
That should be my decision, though; I would not want my librarian making that decision for me. I'm not certain, however, that I would want two librarians terminated over such an infraction of the stated policies. Reprimanded? Of course. Required to attend training in proper procedure? Most certainly. But not terminated - *unless* this was a repeat offense, proving that previous warnings and training had not resulted in the necessary change in behavior.
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