Banned Books Banished To Vaulted Rooms

Photo of novelty book at the NYPL/Gothamist

Fact: The Brooklyn Library has a vaulted room which holds some of the more "controversial" books. CityRoom pointed out that you can't find a copy of, say, cartoonist Hergé's book "Tintin au Congo" on the shelves, because that book is held in this locked room. (The site published parts of the book, so probably that web page should go in there too.) One librarian told them, “It’s not for the public," and has been locked away for 2 years now after "a patron objected to the way Africans are depicted in the book. In particular, the patron took issue with illustrations that she felt had the Africans 'looking like monkeys.'’’

Fair enough, it is a public library after all, and patrons who want to see what they call The Hunt Collection, can do so by appointment. The site notes that The New York Public Library branches "fielded written objections on 10 items since 2006, including Godless: The Church of Liberalism, by Ann H. Coulter." You can still find that book out on the shelves though, and "on the rare occasions when a formal objection is upheld by library officials, a book may be removed or put in a less accessible area; that way, the challenged item remains in the library’s collection."

On last year's ALA top 10 most frequently challenged book list were Gossip Girl and The Kite Runner—you can check out a map of banned books nationwide here. And next month it's Banned Book Week; New York will participate with a display at McNally Jackson on Prince Street. This may be a good time to start a Banned Book Club!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on August 20, 2009 2:54 PM

Comments [rss]

firewire

i can't read or write.

NannyState

Welcome to my book club!

sowhtifithppnsitwll

Sambo

sowhtifithppnsitwll

HA. I have an original Little Black

babyhitler

Tintin in the congo is one of my favorite books. The africans don't look like monkeys at all. They look like freakazoid deformed aliens with big lips. I mean that's not good either but they definitely don't look like monkeys.

Mordicai

How dare they pull that out of print book & put it in their historical collection!

Soggy

Umm, I wouldn't call putting book in a room where people can go get it if they want it "banning" it. It's still accessible to people who want it.

SikBug

In Soviet Russia books burn you.

Trilby16

I own Little Black Sambo. Which is actually about Indians (India). It's a charming, classic and not really racist at all except for maybe the title which may seem a little bit dismissive.

hotstepper

and let's not forget all those delicious steaming piles of pancakes. who can argue with pancakes?

letscount23

Or tigers that run so fast they turn into butter!

letscount23

silly Gothamist, that was a reply to hotstepper...

Mr. Shankly

They'd have to repeatedly replace stolen/damaged copies if they kept them in the regular stacks.

sj

You know who else banned books? Hitler.

There. Godwin'd early for your reading pleasure.

hotstepper

R-E-A-D-A-B-O-O-K is offensive AND fun. in fact most things that are fun are offensive to someone, so screw'em.

militza

I'm a children's librarian and I find it hysterical what some parents find offensive.

schadenfreudian mensch

You mean like parents who want to ban ice cream trucks because they're a health hazard to children but own a fried food shop that sells crap like fried Twinkies, Snickers bars, Mars bars, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Twix.

http://gawker.com/5341401/park-slope-mom-who-wants-to-ban-predatory-ice-cream-trucks-is-a-fried-pudding-pusher

felixthecat2

Parents are hypocrites, lots of them do more harm to their children who need to deal with their issues for the rest of their lives.

felixthecat2

http://www.africamaat.com/IMG/jpg/Tintin_au_Congo_3.jpg

http://www.yowazzup.com/blog/images/new-york-post-chimp-cartoon.jpg

Banning and Locking books is sad and frightening.

militza

I totally agree. if we were to bend to the whim of every patron and what they like or didn't like, most of the collections woulc consist of just a few boring books.

SP

I have a copy of Tintin au Congo. It's pretty racist in it's depiction of Africans, but that's not a reason to keep it locked up. Pretty stupid PC bullshit if you ask me.