4 ms·

But is it a book with literary value? There’s a lot of books in the world, why do you feel this one is essential for a library to stock?

by CPLX 5y ago

ALittleLight 5y ago
"Literary value" is a hard thing to define. It's a famous book that has inspired (negative) real world events. It has comparable Google search traffic to "The Black Flamingo", one of the books listed in the article as being available, despite being written in 1978. It captures the thinking of an under represented group of people - by which I mean white supremacists, not the kind of "white supremacists" who think affirmative action is bad, but the kind who literally explicitly want to exterminate non-white people.
- slg 5y ago
  >"Literary value" is a hard thing to define. Which is why it should be decided by the people who run the libraries and not politicians. That is the difference between banning a book and a library choosing not to buy a book. Is the Turner Diaries banned or have libraries simply decided not to buy a copy?
  - PolygonSheep 5y ago
    Couldn't much the same thing be said about Florida schools "banning" books with so-called "critical race theory" and/or LGBTQ themes? Students aren't going to get expelled for reading these books. Their parents aren't going to be criminally charged for buying them for their kids to take to school and read. Everyone in Florida is welcome to buy as many copies of these "banned" books as they want. The schools in Florida have just chosen not to buy some books they feel didn't have educational value. So what's all the fuss about?
    - slg 5y ago
      >The schools in Florida have just chosen not to buy some books they feel didn't have educational value. So what's all the fuss about? The fuss is about the state deciding what Florida schools can and cannot do. Yes, I think the same concepts apply in Florida, but you are misstating what is happening there. The political wings of the government are making these decisions. I want the experts to make these decisions, the people on the ground running these libraries. The needs of a majority Hispanic school in Miami are going to be different than the needs of a rural majority white school outside of Lake City. Don't take tools out of the hands of the people running those libraries. Let them make the decisions instead of some politician trying to score points. The irony of this coming from the "small government" party shows that this is not a principled stand. It is motivated purely by politics and I don't like that.
      - Jiro 5y ago
        >The fuss is about the state deciding what Florida schools can and cannot do. The state decides what Florida schools do because the state runs Florida schools. My employer tells me to do things all the time.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
thebigjewbowski 5y ago
I’d say my main concern isn’t strictly “banning books” but open access to information. How do you determine literary value? The catcher in the rye at least was considered risqué and had been banned. It isn’t some great novel unlike any other — it’s about a teenager complaining. Even still why ban it? Let people read.
WalterBright 5y ago
Because it's controversial.
Tao331 5y ago
It seems to have had a big cultural impact.

But is it a book with literary value? There’s a lot of books in the world, why do you feel this one is essential for a library to stock?

by CPLX 5y ago

But is it a book with literary value? There’s a lot of books in the world, why do you feel this one is essential for a library to stock?

ALittleLight 5y ago

"Literary value" is a hard thing to define. It's a famous book that has inspired (negative) real world events. It has comparable Google search traffic to "The Black Flamingo", one of the books listed in the article as being available, despite being written in 1978. It captures the thinking of an under represented group of people - by which I mean white supremacists, not the kind of "white supremacists" who think affirmative action is bad, but the kind who literally explicitly want to exterminate non-white people.

slg 5y ago
>"Literary value" is a hard thing to define. Which is why it should be decided by the people who run the libraries and not politicians. That is the difference between banning a book and a library choosing not to buy a book. Is the Turner Diaries banned or have libraries simply decided not to buy a copy?
- PolygonSheep 5y ago
  Couldn't much the same thing be said about Florida schools "banning" books with so-called "critical race theory" and/or LGBTQ themes? Students aren't going to get expelled for reading these books. Their parents aren't going to be criminally charged for buying them for their kids to take to school and read. Everyone in Florida is welcome to buy as many copies of these "banned" books as they want. The schools in Florida have just chosen not to buy some books they feel didn't have educational value. So what's all the fuss about?
  - slg 5y ago
    >The schools in Florida have just chosen not to buy some books they feel didn't have educational value. So what's all the fuss about? The fuss is about the state deciding what Florida schools can and cannot do. Yes, I think the same concepts apply in Florida, but you are misstating what is happening there. The political wings of the government are making these decisions. I want the experts to make these decisions, the people on the ground running these libraries. The needs of a majority Hispanic school in Miami are going to be different than the needs of a rural majority white school outside of Lake City. Don't take tools out of the hands of the people running those libraries. Let them make the decisions instead of some politician trying to score points. The irony of this coming from the "small government" party shows that this is not a principled stand. It is motivated purely by politics and I don't like that.
    - Jiro 5y ago
      >The fuss is about the state deciding what Florida schools can and cannot do. The state decides what Florida schools do because the state runs Florida schools. My employer tells me to do things all the time.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

thebigjewbowski 5y ago

I’d say my main concern isn’t strictly “banning books” but open access to information. How do you determine literary value? The catcher in the rye at least was considered risqué and had been banned. It isn’t some great novel unlike any other — it’s about a teenager complaining. Even still why ban it? Let people read.

WalterBright 5y ago

Because it's controversial.

Tao331 5y ago

It seems to have had a big cultural impact.