Gray matter

Something came up yesterday while I was at the library: a question of what to do with a graphic novel containing an explicit illustration of a sexual act. Naturally, the graphic novel was shelved in the graphic novel section. A mother, whose teen-aged son had picked up the item, objected to its presence among the others where it could be easily accessed by children. She did not demand its removal from the collection, just that it be shelved among adult materials.

This situation reminds me of one I read about on the Banned Books Week’s Facebook profile a couple of months ago. A babysitter objected to a book one of her charges brought home while on her watch. The book was written as an aid for discussion of human sexual reproduction between parents and young children. The book was shelved in the children’s nonfiction section. The babysitter objected to the book’s placement where it was easily accessed by children.

Here’s the sticking point: the aforementioned children’s book was intended for informational and educational use. The same cannot be said for the graphic novel.

Now, before I go on, I emphatically state I am not pointing fingers nor am I crying, “censorship!” However, as a librarian, I fully understand the concerns about obstructing access to materials, even for minors. On the other hand, my responsibilities as a librarian, namely, upholding the Library Bill of Rights as stated by the American Library Association, are at odds with my feelings as a parent.

Do I want my own child easily gaining access to an item with illustrations of sexual acts? No, but, again, the children’s books was informational and merely showed diagrams of the human reproduction system, whereas the graphic novel did contain drawings of people engaging in sex.

As it stands, I objected to the idea of re-shelving the children’s book in an area where kids could not easily access it…but I feel like a hypocrite for understanding why the graphic novel might be shelved elsewhere.

Upon further reflection, I thought of a few points from a collection standpoint:

First, literature is classified with respect to the age of the target audience, hence these classifications: adult literature, juvenile literature, and young adult literature. Are graphic novels classified according to the age of the target audience? If the answer is yes, then why would they not be shelved according to target audience's age? I have the sense the majority of people who are more familiar with the term, comic books, may view graphic novels as literature for kids. Those of us who are graphic novel fans know better. I remember similar reactions towards animated movies; parents would take their children to see them and react with horror at the violent and sexually explicit content. This, despite the fact that the movie rating was PG-13 or even R.

Second, is it really necessary to shelve graphic novels separately? What are they other than literature with more illustrations? With respect to the industry (and a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series), I understand that they are a different format but I question the emphasis on the difference. From the standpoint of equality, I wonder if they should be shelved with other books. For those librarians out there, you will recognize the term, "serendipitous browsing." A patron who is searching the stacks for a specific item may find another he/she likes better. Why not shelve graphic novels with books? A patron who is not otherwise a graphic novel fan may become interested enough to check out the item.

Back to the original problem: re-shelving the item in a place not easily found by children. Is it censorship? In short, yes, it is a form of censorship. However, if a young patron should find the item anyway, no librarian (who fully understands patrons' rights, that is) will prevent that person from checking it out. Bottom line, it is the parents' responsibility to monitor what their child(ren) is bringing home from the library.

I almost didn't write this post. This is not a comfortable topic but I learned a while back that it's good to step outside your comfort zone. I am hoping that I will get some responses to this post. I am curious to see what others have to say about it.