Dear Editor
My wife came home from the Harford County Public Library (HCPL) after looking for something to read and told me, “You’ll never guess what I found – they have Fifty Shades of Grey! I thought they banned that.” And off I went to Google…
Sure enough, there it was, on HCPL website in the EBook section, they in fact had the whole trilogy (3 books) available. But aren’t EBooks, Books?
After more Googling, I found that the Library Director, Ms. Mary Hastler had in fact determined that Fifty Shade of Grey was “pornographic” and had prevented its circulation at HCPL. Something which she proclaimed loudly to a national audience and for which she received much press.
Now I ask myself, if the written word on a page is pornographic to the eyes/mind, aren’t the same written words pornographic to the ear/mind??? How can you ban a book, but then distribute it as an EBook?
Doesn’t this by Ms. Hastler’s own definition make her a pornographer (one who distributes pornography) and a first class hypocrite? As they say, “The Empress has no clothes” – and that is true managerial pornography…
Mick Greene
If you don’t want to read the book, then don’t read it.
Mick Greene: You said in your letter, ” And off I went to Google”…. Perhaps, instead of going off to google, you should have gone off “to get a life”. …. Just sayin’……
You’re also confusing an e-book with an audio book…. but that doesn’t surprise me.
True, it’s always been available as an e-book, which strikes me as somewhat hypocritical. I think there was so much fuss over not stocking the book that there’s no way they can back down now.
If you don’t want to read the book, then don’t read it. The same goes for television shows, movies and the radio. If you don’t like it, turn it off. You are a book burning Nazi.
BFD. It’s 2015. Get a life
(and stop meddling in others).
Banning books? Brings back memories of Germany in the 30’s. Is there a flashing neon sign over the book saying “You have to take Me?”
Why is everyone attacking the letter writer? I think he agrees that the book should never have been banned, and is only pointing out the fact the Librarian Director is a hypocrite…which she is if this is true. Why are we banning books in a public library in 2015? smh
From the June 6, 2012 edition of the Baltimore Sun, there is a letter to the editor entitled ‘Harford County Library did not censor ‘Fifty Shades of Grey'” explaining the library’s position. The knowledge that there was an e-book available is three years old. Here is an excerpt.
“The decision to not purchase “Fifty Shades of Grey” was made after careful review and research following our materials selection process. The professional reviews characterized the content of the book as pornography. Since the Harford County Public Library does not purchase pornography, we did not buy the printed edition of the book.
However, the Harford County Public Library does participate in the statewide library eBook consortium, and the title is available to our customers in eBook format. Maryland public library systems rotate selecting titles to add to the eBook collection based on their own board-approved policies.
In addition, the book is available in print through the statewide reciprocal borrowing program, and customers may place a request through the Harford County Public Library website using their library card. However, not all public libraries in Maryland own the print edition of the book.”
I don’t see how you inferred that the writer thought the book should not be banned. He didn’t say anything that I could interpret as saying the book should not have been banned in the first place. He merely accuses the library director of being a hypocrite and a pornographer.
If this story is the best The Dagger can come up with then they truly are a shadow of their former self. What a yawner! Who cares?
I don’t know if it’s pornographic or not because the writing was SO bad I could not get past page 10. I’m quite sure that all the other bodice ripper books in the “Romance” section of the library are equally sexual in content and execrable in terms of the writing. ‘Gray’ got a lot of attention due to the bondage aspect, I think.