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The day I had to pick between Fahrenheit 451 and a blank shelf at the library in Austin
Back in 2018 I volunteered at a small library in Austin and they were clearing out challenged books. I had to decide whether to quietly move Fahrenheit 451 to a back room or push back against the complaint. I chose to keep it on display and within a week two parents complained directly to the director. The book stayed but it made me wonder how many other titles get pulled without anyone noticing.
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gavin_clark26d ago
My old roommate was a librarian in San Antonio and she said they kept 50 Shades of Grey behind the counter just to avoid moms grabbing it off the shelf by the kids section.
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gavin_clark26d ago
Tbh "quietly move it to a back room" sounds like a reasonable compromise not censorship. Libraries have limited space and if a few people have concerns about a book being front and center it's not the end of the world to shift it somewhere less prominent. Letting a handful of volunteers decide what stays on display is just as sketchy as letting complainants decide what gets pulled.
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