It's not the ALA that bans the books. The ALA is only a voluntary
organization. It has influence but no power, and it has tended to be
against the banning of books. Its list is simply a list of books that have
been banned in one or another place in the US.
To non-USians the complexity and inefficiency of our system is usually
difficult to comprehend or accept. I had the experience once of trying to
explain the electoral college to a group of very knowledgeable Cubans. It
was a very long evening.
Mark
At 10:47 AM 5/20/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Did anyone come up with a source for this? I really don't think the ALA is
>big on banning books.
>
>S.
>-------Original Message-------
>From: Mark Weiss <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: 05/20/03 01:20 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: gollywogs - Arni & aptrick mcm
>
> >
> > I don't doubt it for a moment. Over the years there have been news items in
>sources like the Times about the banning of books on the list.
>
>One has to understand the way governance operates in the US to understand
>how this can happen. A great deal is determined at the most local level.
>Public libraries are subject to the towns in which they are found, whether
>the multibranch systems of large cities or the one room libraries of
>smaller places. Schools, and their libraries, are controlled by elected
>local schoolboards. The meetings of library commissions and schoolboards
>are open to the public. So, in conservative places books touted
>nationally are banned; even in less conservative places a determined
>group
>can get a book taken off the shelf and out of the classroom.
>
>There have been instances when entire schoolboards have been taken over by
>fundamentalist Christian groups, with predictable results--the banning of
>Darwin's books and the teaching of creationism. How does that happen?
>Simple. Most USians don't vote, and those who do usually don't bother
>with
>schoolboard elections. So a small organized minority, a church group, can
>take over a city's educational and library system.
>
>Parenthetically, this local control has led to massive differences in
>levels of education from state to state and town to town. IUn the last
>couple of decades there have been efforts at state and federal level to
>create greater uniformity of standards, but this has been met with
>powerful
>resistance. Anyway, it's primarily local property taxes (and local voters)
>that support libraries and schools and determine how much money is spent
>and how it's spent.
>
>It's not always conservatives, of course, who get books off the shelf.
>Several places in the US have banned Huckleberry Finn from library and
>school because of its supposed racism. It's of course one of the least
>racist of books of its time, as well as being one of the great solitary
>monuments of our culture. But it does have the word nigger in it.
>(Parenthetically, again, it was a local schoolboard that created the
>ebonics scandal).
>
>I spent ages 12 to 18 in Mount Vernon, a suburb of New York. Its library
>was 2 miles from the city border. On about a quarter of the library cards
>there was a big red C, for censored. Those books were kept in a locked
>area
>that comprised about a quarter of the shelves. In order to get access
>under
>18s needed to present a parental letter absolving the library of blame.
>There was a summer when I read every left-wing American novel I could get
>my hands on, and also the Communist Maniofesto. Every one of them was in
>the Censored area. I'm talking about books like Upton Sinclair's The
>Jungle
>and Jack London's The Iron Heel. I also needed permission to read
>Joyce. The books were there, but it's not many stops down the line to
>book
>banning.
>
>Mark
>
>
>At 08:41 AM 5/20/2003 -0400, you wrote:
> >I doubt the veracity of this claimed banned list.
> >
> >The ALA's Web site features Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, which is
>on
> >the list, as their selection for a nationwide librarians' bookclub
>read.
> >
> >http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/Con
> >tentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=31966
> >
> >S.
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: Deborah Russell <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Date: 5/20/2003 9:32:04 AM
> > > Subject: Re: gollywogs - Arni & aptrick mcm
> > >
> > > I think in some cases, book banning becomes the greatest source of
>public=
> > > ity=20
> > > for the author. It increases curiosity and produces a greater demand
>for =
> > > the=20
> > > publication. Some writers are aware of its potential, especially
>those, l=
> > > ike=20
> > > Judy Blume, who have had several 'controversial' novels.
> > > Of course the list is ridiculous, and there are even more ridiculous
>list=
> > > s=20
> > > of classic selections which are banned because they have been
>deemed=20
> > > politically incorrect, or 'insensitive' in nature.
> > >
> > > I am waiting for validation, on this list, from a research librarian.
> >As=20
> > > soon as I receive a response, I will post it. - deborah
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----This list of banned books has to be a joke! It does't make any
>sense =
> > > at=20
> > > all,
> > > not to mention in 'the land of the free'!
> > >
> > > Best
> > >
> > > =C1rni
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > =C1rni Ibsen
> > > Stekkjarkinn 19
> > > 220 Hafnarfj=F6rdur
> > > ICELAND
> > >
> > > Tel. +354-555-3991
> > > [log in to unmask]
> > > <a target=_blank
>href="http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/">http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/</a>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > on 03-05-19 18.43, Patrick McManus at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> > >
> > > > I sent this to my son who insists that its a con--could we have
>the=20
> > > source
> > > > please ?
> > > > cheers aptrick mcm
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Deborah Russell <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 12:10 PM
> > > > Subject: Re: gollywogs
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > American Library Association - Recently banned books
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The Learning Tree - Gordon Parks
> > > > Then Again, Maybe I Won't - Judy Blume
> > > > The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
> > > > Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts- Edna Barth
> > > > One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
> > > > Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones - Alvin Schwartz
> > > > More Scary Stories in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz
> > > > Curses, Hexes, and Spells - Daniel Cohen
> > > > A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
> > > > How to Eat Fried Worms - Thomas Rockwell
> > > > Blubber - Judy Blume
> > > > The Witches of Worm - Zilpha Snyder
> > > > My Brother Sam Is Dead - James Lincoln Collier and Christopher
>Collier
> > > > The Great Gilly Hopkins - Katherine Paterson
> > > > The Figure in the Shadows - John Bellairs
> > > > On My Honor - Marion Dane Bauer
> > > > Grendel - John Champlin Gardner
> > > > I Have to Go - Robert Munsch
> > > > The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
> > > > The Pigman - Paul Zindel
> > > > Revolting Rhymes - Roald Dahl
> > > > Halloween ABC - Eve Merriam
> > > > Harry Potter series - J.K.Rowling,
> > > > Impressions Edited by Jack Booth
> > > > Alice series- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
> > > > Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers
> > > > Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
> > > > The Drowning of Stephan Jones-Bette Green
> > > > Summer of My German Soldier- Bette Greene
> > > > Ordinary People-Judith Guest
> > > > The Autobiography of Malcolm X-Alex Haley and Malcolm X
> > > > Catch-22-Joseph Heller
> > > > Best Short Stories by Negro Writers-Langston Hughes, ed.
> > > > Brave New World-Aldous Huxley
> > > > Ulysses-James Joyce
> > > > The Phantom Tollbooth-Norton Juster
> > > > A Day No Pigs Would Die - Robert Peck
> > > > Heather Has Two Mommies -Leslea Newman
> > > > Christine - Stephen King
> > > > Fallen Angels - Walter Myers
> > > > The New Teenage Body Book - Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman
> > > > Little Red Riding Hood - Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
> > > > The Headless Cupid - Zilpha Snyder
> > > > Night Chills - Dean Koontz
> > > > Lord of the Flies - William Golding
> > > > A Separate Peace - John Knowles
> > > > James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
> > > > Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
> > > > Scary Stories in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz
> > > > Cujo;The Shining-Stephen King
> > > > A Separate Peace-John Knowles
> > > > Lady Chatterley's Lover-D.H. Lawrence
> > > > To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
> > > > Tropic of Cancer-Henry Miller
> > > > The Bluest Eye; Song of Solomon-Toni Morrison
> > > > Leslea Newman - Heather Has Two Mommies
> > > > Desire Under the Elms; Strange Interlude-Eugene O'Neill
> > > > 1984-George Orwell
> > > > Bridge to Terabithia-Katherine Paterson
> > > > The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath
> > > > The Story of O-Pauline R,age
> > > > Always RunningLuis- Rodriguez
> > > > The Satanic Verses-Salman Rushdie
> > > > The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
> > > > Last Exit to Brooklyn-Hubert Selby, Jr.
> > > > In the Night Kitchen-Maurice Sendak
> > > > The Merchant of Venice; Romeo and Juliet-William Shakespeare
> > > > A Thousand Acres-Jane Smiley
> > > > The Grapes of Wrath; Of Mice and Men; The Red Pony-John Steinbeck
> > > > Huckleberry Finn-Mark Twain
> > > > Slaughterhouse-Five-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
> > > > The Color Purple; In Love and Trouble-Alice Walker
> > > > Leaves of Grass- Walt Whitman
> > > > Daddy's Roommate-Michael Willhoite
> > > > Memoirs of Hecate County-Edmund Wilson
> > > > Native Son; Black Boy - Richard Wright
> > > > Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
> > > > Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
> > > > I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
> > > > The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
> > > > The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
> > > > Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
> > > > Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
> > > > Forever by Judy Blume
> > > > Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
> > > > Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
> > > > Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
> > > > My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher
>Collie=
> > > r
> > > > The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
> > > > The Giver by Lois Lowry
> > > > It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
> > > > Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
> > > > A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
> > > > The Color Purple by Alice Walker
> > > > Sex by Madonna
> > > > Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
> > > > The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
> > > > A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
> > > > Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
> > > > Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
> > > > In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
> > > > The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
> > > > The Witches by Roald Dahl
> > > > The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
> > > > Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
> > > > The Goats by Brock Cole
> > > > Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
> > > > Blubber by Judy Blume
> > > > Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
> > > > Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
> > > > We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
> > > > Final Exit by Derek Humphry
> > > > The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
> > > > Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
> > > > The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
> > > > What's Happening to my Body? by Lynda Madaras
> > > > To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
> > > > Beloved by Toni Morrison
> > > > The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
> > > > The Pigman by Paul Zindel
> > > > Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
> > > > Deenie by Judy Blume
> > > > Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
> > > > Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
> > > > The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
> > > > Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
> > > > A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
> > > > Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
> > > > Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
> > > > Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
> > > > Cujo by Stephen King
> > > > James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
> > > > The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
> > > > Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
> > > > Ordinary People by Judith Guest
> > > > American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
> > > > Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
> > > > Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
> > > > Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
> > > > Fade by Robert Cormier
> > > > Guess What? by Mem Fox
> > > > The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
> > > > The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
> > > > Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
> > > > Lord of the Flies by William Golding
> > > > Native Son by Richard Wright
> > > > Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy
>Fri=
> > > day
> > > > Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
> > > > Jack by A.M. Homes
> > > > Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
> > > > Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
> > > > Carrie by Stephen King
> > > > Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
> > > > On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
> > > > Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
> > > > Family Secrets by Norma Klein
> > > > Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
> > > > The Dead Zone by Stephen King
> > > > The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
> > > > Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
> > > > Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
> > > > Private Parts by Howard Stern
> > > > Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
> > > > Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
> > > > Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
> > > > Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
> > > > Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
> > > > Sex Education by Jenny Davis
> > > > The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
> > > > Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
> > > > How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
> > > > View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
> > > > The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
> > > > The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
> > > > Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher
>Collier
> > > > Bastard Out of Carolina-Dorothy Allison
> > > > American Heritage Dictionary
> > > > The Anarchist Cookbook
> > > > I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Maya Angelou
> > > > Go Ask Alice-Anonymous
> > > > If Beale Street Could Talk-James Baldwin --
> > > > The Wizard of Oz-Frank L. Baum --
> > > > Deenie; Forever; Tiger Eyes;Blubber;Wifey.-Judy Blume --
> > > > Boston Women's Health Book Collective - Our Bodies, Ourselves
> > > > Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury -
> > > > Tarzan-Edgar Rice Burroughs
> > > > Naked Lunch- William Burroughs
> > > > The Chocolate War-Robert Cormier
> > > > Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Witches-Roald Dahl
> > > > On the Origin of Species-Charles Darwin
> > > > Invisible Man-Ralph Ellison
> > > > As I Lay Dying; Mosquitos-William Faulkner
> > > > The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
> > > > Madame Bovary-Gustave Flaubert
> > > > Maurice-E.M. Forster
> > > > The Diary of a Young Girl-Anne Frank
> > > > One Hundred Years of Solitude-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
> > > > Annie on My Mind-Nancy Garden
> > > > My House-Nikki Giovanni
> > > > Lord of the Flies-William Golding
> > >
> > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8.=20
> > > <a target=_blank
>href="http://join.msn.com/?page=3Dfeatures/junkmail">http://join.msn.com/?page=3Dfeatures/junkmail</a>
> >
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