[Libs-Or] Shakespeare Books & Antiques closing

Sat Sep 3 11:13:06 PDT 2016

I just wanted to say that Mark's point about striking a balance is an
excellent point.  It ultimately comes down to who we want to be as an
institution, a place that opposes censorship and upholds the values of free
speech to the detriment of losing patrons who feel we are not a safe place
for them to be, or a place that is sensitive to the lived trauma many
peoples have experienced, including being reduced to hateful caricatures.
When I first read about this, I had trouble understanding why no one tried
to strike a balance in this situation.

Mark is right, as libraries we carry a range of viewpoints on multiple
issues, but we need to be strategic about how and when we display that
information.  I personally believe that there is a level of responsibility
on our part as libraries to provide context and consent.  Some replies to
this thread have expressed discomfort  as a reason to not censor books.  I
agree completely.  This is not a case of discomfort however, it is a case
of actual trauma experienced by citizens in United States history.  No the
book should not be removed from libraries, but yes, there should be more
thought put into how it is displayed.

I doubt there is a library on the West Coast that allows patrons to walk in
and randomly use hate speech in the library.  Why? It's disruptive, it
causes distress to staff and other patrons, and hate speech is not
protected speech.  I see no difference in the racial caricature on the
cover of Little Black Sambo.  It is hateful, it is charged, it causes
distress to people who's ancestors were enslaved in the United States, who
had similar caricatures drawn of them, and bear the burden (and pain) of
racism that exists today because of that history.  It is one thing to put
up a book with a title on the cover, and no image, and it is another to put
up an image that causes actual distress to people.  There is an element of
consent that we expect as a society when seeing violent images, or hearing
hate speech.  It is something that we as a society deem as something people
have the right to seek out, to enter into those spaces of their own will,
but not to be waved around in the public view.  We would not put a KKK
member in the lobby to give a speech using racial slurs or hate speech, but
we *may* allow a KKK group to meet in the meeting room, and those who
attend consent to enter the space, by knowing what it is they are getting
into beforehand.  Another example is pornography, many libraries allow
pornography to be viewed, but under recessed monitors so as to not disturb
the work of staff, or disrupt patrons who do not consent to viewing
pornography.  We make adjustments everyday to preserve someone's right to
view information, while also remaining sensitive to the needs of the whole
group.  There is a level of stewardship we must take on to create a balance
for our patrons of protecting free speech, opposing censorship, but also
serving our communities.

The KKK may seem like an extreme example, however, I believe as
historically white institutions we take extreme stances sometimes that
forget our other value of serving our communities.  I believe it is a
mistake to not see an image like the Little Black Sambo caricature, that
harkens back to a time of extreme violence, hatred, and enslavement, as
violent and distressing to people of color.  I also believe it is a mistake
to marginalize and shut out parts of our community for the sake of
hammering home a value that we can work to preserve in more sensitive ways.
I don't think there is ill will here, but I think there is a disconnect

If the bookstore were a library, it would have been more constructive to
simply move the book onto the shelf, or create some context for the display
describing censorship in the context of erasing history that can inform us
on how to be a better society today, but removing the cover if we chose to
have it front and center, and leaving the text.  I've seen this done
creatively, with censorship displays that have paper bags over the book
covers, describing what the book was censored for.  Patrons can then choose
to pick up the book and check it out.

It would make sense for us to have a book group that informs people of the
materials being read beforehand, and to engage in a community dialog around
the importance of opposing censorship, even for racist texts like these.
But simply putting out an image like that without more thoughtful context
than look at these racist, censored books, is irresponsible and in the case
of Little Black Sambo, there is little thought to the distress and
potentially triggering of trauma, it is causing actual human beings who may
face racist violence today.  We are providers of information, and simply
putting out a book without thoughtful and in-depth context (aka more
information), we are failing at our jobs.

If we aren't thinking critically about the purpose of our work and our
displays, and finding ways to still bring awareness to these issues and
responsibly preserve their presence in the library, we are simply
depositories of materials, we are not cultural institutions that encourage
dialogue and work to better our communities through providing information.

Just my two cents.

On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 8:49 PM, Duke, Pat <Duke at wilsonvillelibrary.org>
wrote:

> I agree with Tony, and personally I would be pleased to see a statement
> from OLA on this matter in full throated support of intellectual freedom,
> and condemning the Festival for using their economic power to destroy this
> woman’s livelihood based on personal opinion (frankly, the work of a
> tyrant) and  the mind boggling irony of this whole dismal affair.  I would
> also be pleased to see direction to our ALA reps to ask ALA for a similar
> statement.
>
>
>
> Pat
>
>
>
>
>
> Patrick Duke
> Library Director
> Wilsonville Public Library
> 8200 SW Wilsonville Rd
> Wilsonville, OR 97070
> 503-570-1590
> 503-682-8685 FAX
> duke at wilsonvillelibrary.org
>
>
>
> …  both the man and the dollar; but in case of conflict, the man before
> the dollar.
>
> -          Abraham Lincoln
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] *On
> Behalf Of *Mark KILLE
> *Sent:* Friday, September 02, 2016 2:02 PM
>
> *Cc:* libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] Shakespeare Books & Antiques closing
>
>
>
> Tony,
>
>
>
> That is certainly one way of looking at it. And I'm not going to try to
> argue you out of your analysis. I do wish to point out three things for
> consideration, though:
>
>
>
> 1. Not everyone who walked past that display in the bookstore's front
> window was an adult.
>
>
>
> 2. It is always risky to speak in the universal "we" voice.
>
>
>
> 3. In our society, certain ideas or ways of expressing them are all the
> time judged to be outside the bounds of acceptable public display or
> conversation. Enlarged graphic photos of lynchings: nope. Text-only book
> cover with the title "Negative Portrayals of African-Americans in Early
> 20th Century Publishing": fine. Where Little Black Sambo falls on that
> continuum is (obviously) contested.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Mark
>
>
> *Mark Kille*
>
> *Library Assistant*
>
> Multnomah County Library
>
> Hillsdale Library
>
> 503.988.5388
>
> multcolib.org
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Tony <tony_greiner at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> One of the points of free speech and a free press is it does make people
> uncomfortable, and does cause pain.  It is the price of being an adult and
> living in a society that welcomes the free exchange of ideas. What we lose
> when we silence those whom we disagree with is greater than the comfort we
> gain from not hearing other's voices, be they historic or contemporary.
>
>
>
> Tony
>
>
>
> Primo and Alma: Making WorldCat Local Look Good
>
> **tony_greiner at hotmail.com**
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Mark KILLE <markk at multcolib.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, September 2, 2016 11:10 AM
> *To:* Tony
> *Cc:* libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] Shakespeare Books & Antiques closing
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> Okay, now that the "truth to power" line has been broken out, I feel I
> have to say something.
>
>
>
> I wish people would stop talking about this situation as though there is
> one clear villain and one clear hero. For a relatively balanced
> presentation, see for example: http://www.mailtribune.com/article/
> 20160805/NEWS/160809755
>
>
>
> I think we can all agree that freedom of speech, as an ethical principle
> as opposed to a legal right, comes with an obligation to use that speech
> responsibly. I think we can also all agree that you have to expect that
> other people may speak right back at you, if they don't like what you have
> to say.
>
>
>
> It's an extremely sad situation--especially since the two private entities
> involved seem to have roughly similar views about what racism is and why
> it's bad--but OSF didn't make their complaint up out of nothing. It came
> from the real pain and concerns of real people.
>
>
>
> It's fine if folks sympathize more with Shakespeare Books & Antiques than
> those concerns as expressed by OSF. It's fine if folks think OSF was
> overbearing and counterproductive. Just, please, don't dismiss the pain and
> concern that led to their actions--or their equal right to their own free
> speech.
>
>
>
> I say this *especially* in the context of calls for libraries to use this
> situation as an opportunity to educate patrons about censorship. Consider
> that some of those patrons might actually approve of OSF's actions, and
> might already be mistrustful of public institutions that may be perceived
> to care more about abstract principles than creating a welcoming space for
> everyone in the community.
>
>
>
> To pick just one related example: Libraries can and should have books that
> express the full range of views on same-sex relationships. But in the wake
> of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized marriage equality across the
> country, I would have never set up a display that included those books in
> order to "teach the controversy." Because it *sucks* to walk in and see
> books denying the validity of one's existence being actively promoted as
> being of interest.
>
>
>
> I am not trying to convince anybody here of anything, or to start an
> argument. I'm just saying--please look at this situation, and others like
> it, as holistically as possible.
>
>
>
> Thanks for your consideration,
>
> Mark
>
>
> *Mark Kille*
>
> *Library Assistant*
>
> Multnomah County Library
>
> Hillsdale Library
>
> 503.988.5388
>
> multcolib.org
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 10:27 AM, Tony <tony_greiner at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Ross' reminder about the upcoming Banned Books week gives us the
> opportunity to point out to our library readers the censorship
> and  bullying tactics used by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  It is a
> great opportunity to speak truth to power.
>
>
>
> Tony Greiner
>
>
>
> Primo and Alma: Making WorldCat Local Look Good
>
> **tony_greiner at hotmail.com**
>
>
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-- 
Gabby Fuentes
Instruction and Research Librarian
Humboldt State University | 1 Harpst St.
Arcata, CA 95521
Office: 707-826-5010 | Library Room 112
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