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Aug. 25th, 2005 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blistermothDenver Library Nixes 4 Spanish Book Series (AP)
Wed Aug 24,10:52 PM ET
The Denver Public Library has canceled its subscription to four Spanish-language adult comic books after complaints that the series contain sexually explicit illustrations.
City librarian Rick Ashton ordered the removal of 6,569 of the fotonovelas earlier this month, pending a content review. Some of the books depicted women chased by weapon-toting men; they also had illustrated stories by Jack London and Edgar Allan Poe.
"We have millions of items in our collection, and our job is to strike a balance and serve a diverse community," library spokeswoman Diane Schieman-Christman said Tuesday.
She said four fotonovela series had been canceled and 10 others would continue, though library officials said they won't order similar publications in other languages unless someone files a complaint.
"That does make it look as if they are discriminating against the Spanish-language part, not the content," said Estevan Flores, executive director of the Latino/a Research & Policy Center. "As long as they are in the adult section, I don't know what the problem is."
The library has been criticized by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., for spending taxpayer money to serve a Spanish-speaking population he says includes illegal immigrants. (ed. note: I hate my fellow humans at times like this)
The canceled series are "El Libro Vaquero" ("Cowboy Book"), "Frontera Violenta" ("Violent Frontier"), "La Novela Policiaca" ("Police Novel") and "El Libro Policiaco" ("Police Book"). All four series had explicit content, Schieman-Christman said.
Fotonovelas have been part of the library collection for 15 years
Wed Aug 24,10:52 PM ET
The Denver Public Library has canceled its subscription to four Spanish-language adult comic books after complaints that the series contain sexually explicit illustrations.
City librarian Rick Ashton ordered the removal of 6,569 of the fotonovelas earlier this month, pending a content review. Some of the books depicted women chased by weapon-toting men; they also had illustrated stories by Jack London and Edgar Allan Poe.
"We have millions of items in our collection, and our job is to strike a balance and serve a diverse community," library spokeswoman Diane Schieman-Christman said Tuesday.
She said four fotonovela series had been canceled and 10 others would continue, though library officials said they won't order similar publications in other languages unless someone files a complaint.
"That does make it look as if they are discriminating against the Spanish-language part, not the content," said Estevan Flores, executive director of the Latino/a Research & Policy Center. "As long as they are in the adult section, I don't know what the problem is."
The library has been criticized by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., for spending taxpayer money to serve a Spanish-speaking population he says includes illegal immigrants. (ed. note: I hate my fellow humans at times like this)
The canceled series are "El Libro Vaquero" ("Cowboy Book"), "Frontera Violenta" ("Violent Frontier"), "La Novela Policiaca" ("Police Novel") and "El Libro Policiaco" ("Police Book"). All four series had explicit content, Schieman-Christman said.
Fotonovelas have been part of the library collection for 15 years
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Date: 2005-08-25 06:26 pm (UTC)I don't know about Colorado, but the Spanish-speaking population around here includes families and communities who have been here longer than here has been a state. Or, for that matter, longer than the United States has been a country. Colorado's not too far from here, and I bet they have some similar communities.
I bet there are one or two illegal English-speaking immigrants in Denver. We might as well get rid of all English books, too. In fact, the only languages where we can be pretty sure that there are no illegal immigrants are probably those indiginous to this country. Stock that library with Navajo books!
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Date: 2005-08-26 10:08 pm (UTC)When I was an immigrant working in Portugal they did not lift a finger for me. The thing is, there are Americans who prefer to read in their first language. That's all the demand we need in libraries.