Mayor orders book off the shelves, all copies already checked out
According to the Houston Chronicle the mayor has ordered the library to restrict access to How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by porn star Henna Jameson, completely bypassing the library’s policy of reviewing challenged material. Here’s my three favorite quotes from the article. (One’s funny, the others are scary.)
“Sandra Fernandez, a spokeswoman for the Houston Public Library, said all copies of Jameson’s book now are checked out, and more than 20 people are on a waiting list for the book.”
“Fernandez said the library has no restrictions on what books children can check out, though it restricts their Internet use.”
“Michel said [the mayor] issued his order after consulting with [councilwoman] Holm and Toni Lambert, interim director of the Houston Public Library. Lambert declined to be interviewed, but said in a written statement that she agreed with White’s recommendation.”
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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