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Got told off at my local library for trying to find a known banned book
Last Tuesday I walked into the downtown branch here in Phoenix and asked if they had a copy of 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman. The lady at the front desk actually said they pulled it from the shelves and wouldn't order it for me either. I was so mad I stood there arguing with her for 5 minutes about how a library's job is to give people access to information. She just kept saying 'those are the rules from the county board'. Has anyone else run into librarians who flat out refuse to get a book that's been banned somewhere else?
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aaron_ellis422d ago
Phoenix resident here too, actually. I had almost the exact same run in at the South Mountain branch back in March when I asked for "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison. The librarian looked at me like I'd asked for something illegal and said the same thing about the county board decision. It's frustrating as hell and I think a lot of people assume the librarians are on board with it when really they're just stuck following rules they probably don't agree with either. That lady at the front desk probably hates being the one to tell people no just as much as you hated hearing it.
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spencer_moore391mo ago
I mean, I get being frustrated but "those are the rules from the county board" part kind of changes things for me. It sucks that you couldn't get the book but the librarian at the front desk doesn't decide what the collection looks like. That decision comes from way above her pay grade. Screaming at her for five minutes probably just made her job harder and didn't fix anything. Banned book lists are weird and political and I don't agree with pulling Maus either but the lady at the counter isn't the enemy here. Maybe try the county board meetings or the library director if you want to actually get the book back on shelves.
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shanel131mo ago
Wrote a letter to my county board about a similar issue and got results in three weeks.
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