That is disturbing. I never restricted our son's reading choices and he usually made good decisions. I just don't understand the people who try to legislate morality.

The restriction of resources should come in the home, not the library. More examples of lazy parenting. What's next - banning National Geographic because it depicts bare breasted tribeswomen?

The removal of the Twilight series from Deseret Book was not a condemnation of the series, the author or the genre. It is sold at the BYU Campus Bookstore, which is also owned by the LDS Church. Deseret Book made a decision to remove it because it did not align with its core business model. It should never have been sold there in the first place.

The Wisconsin library issue is definitely more concerning, but I cannot make a determination one way or another until there is a bit more information. It appears they were recommending for consumption certain "sexually-explicit" books and placing them in the Young Adult section.

Recommending and then making those recommendations available is much more than just having a certain type of book in general circulation and is, in and of itself, a value judgement is it not? The availability of the book is not being disputed, but it is the specific "recommendation" of the book for adolescents that is objectionable.

At some level we all make decisions as to what our children take in, be it on television or what they read. We inherently know this and make decisions of degrees on these subjects every day.

I do not think that anyone would agree that placing a Penthouse magazine in the young adult section would be a good idea because it had a very good article on sexually transmitted diseases.

We all draw lines at some point, and we don't make these types of publications available to minors for many different reasons, both scientific and moral.

The point is that it is a sliding scale from there and everyone stops at a different point. It is not the overall availability that is being disputed. I assume the books are still available and not being censored, but it is the recommendations and specific placement for adolescents that are the real questions, and these are good questions to discuss.

Maybe as a parent I should simply counteract the librarian's recommendations with my own. But again I return to the Penthouse argument that there is, at some level, a stopping point that most of us agree we do not cross. But at the margin there are advocates on both sides...and here we are.

The real hope is that people on both sides of the argument are making informed and sincere choices and not ignorant of the nature and content of the books in question.

I am an avid book reader of all genres, and I have come across books with sexually explicit material that would be as enticing to an adolescent as a pornographic magazine. I could not, in good conscience, recommend these books to that age group for that very reason. But I am not calling for them to be burned either.

As a parent I have the final say on what my kids are reading and will given them some latitude. But I want a librarian that recognizes the strong impressionability of young readers as much as their intellect and acts accordingly.

Sloagm, that's a great summary. I agree that it is a sliding scale, and the scale may be different in communities in Texas and New York. I'm most bothered by the involvement of politicians. When they take decision-making away from professional librarians, the outcome usually is bad.

p.s. For clarification, here are some of the books that protestors wanted removed from the YA section: Brent Hartinger’s Geography Club (HarperCollins), Stephan Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Esther Drill’s Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain and Life as a gURL (both Simon & Schuster)

Groups criticizing the town government's action include the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American Publishers and PEN American Center.

On April 15 of this year there was an obituary in the New York Times for Judith Krug, who had helped fight bans on books. This is how Douglas Martin ended the obit:

Ms. Krug credited her parents as inspiring her passion for free expression. In 2002, she told The Chicago Tribune about reading a sex-education book under the covers with a flashlight when she was 12.

“It was a hot book; I was just panting,” she said, when her mother suddenly threw back the bed covers and asked what she was doing. Judith timidly held up the book.

“She said, ‘For God’s sake, turn on your bedroom light so you don’t hurt your eyes.’ And that was that,” Ms. Krug said.

Monitoring what kids are reading should be a parent's decision. I can see where there would be questions as to where the book should be shelved, but the debate for that shouldn't result in the removal of members of a library board. Libraries are a place of learning, and for respecting diverse opinions. Censoring books, or their guardians, is a step toward a society none of us should have to live in.

As a father who raised four boys and four girls, I can identify, even agree, with slogms' comment.
However, I also think that Libs is the more correct from a societal perspective.

Hey I'm 12 yrs old and I love the twilight saga. Are you going to say I have bad parents? before Meyer I hated reading I. I say let us kids read what we want to read

Wow, there are bare boobs in National Geopornaphic?

Excuse me while I cruise that aisle!

(Customs agent: Do you have any pornography in your suitcase?
Me: No sir, we don't even own a pornograph.)

Free Willie!!!

(Warning issued by Secretary of State Clinton to the females in her neighborhood when her husband escaped his handlers)

You ask how is the above relevant. I say, "Well, it's as relevant as most of the crap rolled out by everyone else commenting.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, working on my Gertrude and Heathcliff routine made famous by Red Skelton.

BBL

And no, that does not stand for Big Breated Loons.

Lazy parenting indeed!

Actually, other than some heavy breathing scenes there really wasn't a lot of sexually explicit content. Did the protesters actually read the books or just watch the movies?

Have these people who where ban the books even read them. Its fiction you not riel.

Those book-banning people seem to forget they aren't the first to try. "By conferring upon any 300 patrons the power to remove from the children's section any books they find objectionable....(this would give them)..an unconstitutional 'heckler's veto' ..effectively permitting them to veto lawful, fully-protected expression simply because of their adverse reaction to it. The Supreme Court (has) repeatedly invalided other ...as antithetical to core First Amendment values. Sund. v City of Wichita Falls 121 F. Supp. 2d 530 (ND Texas 2000)
see http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/firstamendment/courtcases/courtcases.cfm for a few more.

those folks in Wisconsin are sure fortunate to have time money and energy to blow on things that have already been deemed illegal (book banning based on opinion)

I love thease book there awsome

Hey I'm 13 and I agree with Michael. Just because we're young and read Twilight doesn't mean we have bad parents. My mom freaked out when I told her what it was about. She made me stop reading it until she could read it, and that was torcher. Now she's in love with it just like I am.
I mean when your in middle school you hear stuff like that in the hallway everyday, so i don't see whats wrong with reading it. It's not like it's really detailed it says just enough to where you know whats going on. Its so popular now. No matter where you shelve it teens will still read it.

Wow so does this mean we are going to take any book that had kissing in it out of the ya section? Its funny those are the years you learn about sex. And as for the book I think it promotes good morals such as abstinence and the importance of marriage. If that is something you don’t want your kids learning then by all mean move it to the adult section. They will check it out anyway or even better boycott your narrow minded library and go buy it at Wal Mart.

What's with the Twilight comments anyway? That isn't what the article seems to be about...
You should be paying more attention to what you read kiddies. Twilight is only mentioned because it was a recent topic, and the writer is making a comparison.
Just while I'm here, the books AREN'T really very good. They are fun, and the story has its moments, but I think (as an adult who has been reading childrens and teen fiction for my entire life) that there is much better out there. They are SO simple.
I suppose this might be why they appeal to you. They require less effort than television.