The Vancouver Public Library is not immune from the culture war. According to a list for the period of January 2022 to June 2023, released under freedom of information law, library users filed 17 challenges to books and one CD.
I agree books shouldn’t be banned, but similar to other media, maybe having them bundled with additional materials would be a good idea.
I don’t mean including a whole other book, but a simple insert like on some of the older cartoons. “The way that some characters are drawn in this comic was widely seen as socially acceptable when it was printed but is now considered to be a dehumanizing racist stereotype. If you would like to learn more about the topic, looking into the history of Jim Crow or minstrel shows is a good place to start. This media remains in our library because it is important to show history as it happened instead of trying to erase it.”
I’ve always been a fan of how German libraries treat Nazi-related works: still available, but in the Giftschrank or “poison cabinet”. That way, you can limit access to trusted researchers. It’s a good compromise between the importance of access to knowledge and acknowledging the danger of that level of hate.
I agree books shouldn’t be banned, but similar to other media, maybe having them bundled with additional materials would be a good idea.
I don’t mean including a whole other book, but a simple insert like on some of the older cartoons. “The way that some characters are drawn in this comic was widely seen as socially acceptable when it was printed but is now considered to be a dehumanizing racist stereotype. If you would like to learn more about the topic, looking into the history of Jim Crow or minstrel shows is a good place to start. This media remains in our library because it is important to show history as it happened instead of trying to erase it.”
Edit: Typos galore
I’ve always been a fan of how German libraries treat Nazi-related works: still available, but in the Giftschrank or “poison cabinet”. That way, you can limit access to trusted researchers. It’s a good compromise between the importance of access to knowledge and acknowledging the danger of that level of hate.
That’s a great idea.