YA Books Challenged in West Bend, Wisconsin

While investigating challenges to books in public libraries I came across a set of challenges to teen books in a Wisconsin public library.  There are actually two separate challenges here, one that draws a lot of attention and one that is much more likely to succeed.

The challenge that has drawn attention from bloggers, the ALA, CNN and others is from a group called the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU).  They are challenging the book Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block and asking for it to be banned as well as turned over to the group for public burning or other destruction.  The CCLU is also asking for $120,000 dollars in damages for harm to the complainants for exposure to the book in a library display.  This is a deeply disturbing challenge for anyone who supports open access to information, but it has little legal justification and this is not the first stunt suit that the primary lawyer (Robert C. Braun) has put forward.

The challenge that is more insidious is the challenge immediately preceding, and unrelated to, the Baby Be-Bop challenge.  In this case a concerned mother of four, Ginny Maziarka, and her husband have challenged several teen titles for sexually explicit content and positive depictions of being gay.  She does not want the books outright banned, instead to be labeled as sexually explicit and placed in a restricted area for which anyone under 18 must get parental permission.  She has been blogging and set up a community organization that is trying to further these goals.

The board of the West Bend Community Memorial Library (WBCML) unanimously rejected the requested censorship in June of 2009 and promptly lost 4 members of the board when the City Council refused to renew their terms because of this issue.  The four replacement members are thought to be more friendly to the challenge.  However, WBCML was still awarded the Wisconsin ProQuest Intellectual Freedom Award for its work in protecting the IF of West Bend citizens.

In many ways it is the CCLU challenge that may eventually lead to the downfall of Maziarka's challenges because it is the request to burn books that is catching bloggers' and national media attention.  It is, in fact, the shocking bit of the story that made this particular banning stand out more that others throughout the country.

Here are some links to sources on this issue:
ALA Article
Alan Colmes Liberaland
Right Wing Watch blogg on both challenges
Right Wing Watch radio interview of Robert C Braun
Daily News article
Examiner.com article
Journal Sentinal article
CNN
National Coalition Against Censorship blog
2009 Wisconsin ProQuest Intellectual Freedom Award - West Bend Public Library
Ginny Maziarka's blog WISSUP (Wisconsin Speaks Up)