SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

December 5, 2012 by Gary Price

New Jersey: Censorship in the Library?

December 5, 2012 by Gary Price

From The Star-Ledger (Newark):

It’s all about a huge drawing hanging in the second-floor reference room, raising so much ruckus that the head librarian has had to cover it up — so no one can see what it shows.
It’s covered with cloth and that’s the way many employees want to keep it.
Kara Walker, a renowned African-American artist [and a recipient of a recipient of the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s genius grant] who examines race, gender, sexuality and violence, created the drawing. It depicts the horrors of reconstruction, 20th-century Jim Crowism and the hooded figures of the Ku Klux Klan.
But that’s not what has people upset.
One part of the drawing shows a white man holding the head of a naked black woman to his groin.
“I didn’t notice it at first,” said Kendell Willis, a library services employee. “Then I looked up and was blown away.”

Read the Complete Article
UPDATED 12/10/12:  Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of Programs at the National Coalition Against Censorship, comments on the story.

“Exhibiting the work of a nationally and internationally recognized artist like Kara Walker should be a reason of pride for any cultural institution. But it is no surprise the piece would cause some controversy – a forceful body of work driven by intense concern for our communal handling of historical realities is bound to become subject to conversation. Censoring the work, however, is the worst answer to questions about an artwork: not only does censorship fail to resolve disagreements, it gives all the power to those who complain and raises, in the context of a public library, serious First Amendment concerns. Moreover, censoring this particular work means that, in the future, the library would need to cover everything anyone complains about, be it a nude or a historical subject. It would be a much better response to the controversy to use the occasion as a teaching moment – hold a program around the piece, offer a response book, offer a flyer with information about the artist and her work. Such a response would be far more in line with the purpose of the library.”

Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries

SHARE:

lj

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

New Bill in New York State Assembly: re: Sale of Books Created with Generative AI

The bill linked below was posted on September 29, 2023. From the Summary: Requires online sellers of books created wholly or partially with the use of generative artificial intelligence to ...

A Banned Books Week Video Message From LeVar Burton re: Let Freedom Read Day on October 7, 2023

From the Video’s Description: Beloved reading advocate, writer, and television and film star LeVar Burton is leading this year’s Banned Books Week, which takes place October 1–7, 2023. He’s ready ...

PEN America, ALA, Children's Book Council, Leading Publishers, Teacher Groups, and Other Organizations Launch Letter-Writing Campaign to Oppose...

Here’s the Full Text of a Release From PEN America: For Banned Books Week 2023, PEN America and We Believe gathered a consortium of the nation’s leading publishers, teacher and ...

Academic Librarian Leans on Internet Archive for Access and Analysis; Op/Ed: CT Community College Libraries are Folding—Students Deserve...

Alabama Huntsville Library Disputes Alabama Political Reporter’s Evidence-Based Story on Relocating LGBTQ Books (via APR) Connecticut Op/Ed: CT Community College Libraries are Folding—Students Deserve Better (via CT Mirror) Dryad Dryad ...

Not Real News: An Associated Press Roundup of Untrue Stories Shared Widely on Social Media This Week

From the Associated Press: A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were ...

North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Reverses Ban on Banned Books Week Events at Schools

From The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools quickly reversed a ban Friday on Banned Books Week events planned in schools. In an email to principals Friday afternoon, a CMS spokeswoman warned ...

South Carolina State Library Leaves American Library Association (ALA), Does Not Renew Membership

From the Charleston City Paper: Librarians are learning the S.C. State Library in August quietly notified the national trade association for libraries that the state was not renewing its membership ...

Former Campbell County, Wyoming Library Director Terri Lesley Files Workplace Discrimination Complaint, Defamation Lawsuit

From the Gillette News Record: Two months after she was fired and nearly two years after a criminal complaint was filed against her, former library director Terri Lesley is taking ...

U.S. Congress: Rep. Raskin, Sen. Schatz Reintroduce Resolution Recognizing Banned Books Week

From Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced a Resolution recognizing Banned Books Week and condemning the escalating attacks on books and ...

SAGE Releases a New Free-to-Read Collection with Research into Academic Freedom and Censorship 

From a SAGE News Release: Sage has launched a new collection of free-to-read research highlighting the effects of academic censorship on democracy, social-emotional learning, higher education, and more. Categories in ...

New Online Resource: University of Maryland Libraries Announces Online Launch of the "Advancing Workers' Rights” Digital Collection

Here’s the Full Text of Today’s Annoucement From the University of Maryland Libraries: The University of Maryland Libraries announces the debut of a significant, newly digitized collection, making available online for the ...

In Affiliation with Arizona State University, "President Biden to Create Library Honoring His Friend and Rival John McCain"

From The New York Times: President Biden plans to announce on Thursday that he will devote federal money to create a new library and museum dedicated to his old friend ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by infoDOCKET

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2023 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.