Roxane Gay has strong and clear beliefs. She is well spoken and well written. Even her twitter page is full of thought provoking, funny, and insightful quips. Because of her strong and clear beliefs, when it was announced that Simon and Schuster would be publishing Milo Yiannopoulos’s book (which is now a moot point), she did what she thought was best for her conscience. She pulled her book because she didn't want her book, even though it was going to be published by a different branch of the company, to be associated with someone who has completely different beliefs as to what it means to be a person in the world today. She does recognize that not everyone has the ability to take a hit to their paycheck. I have so much respect for that.
In the CNN article, Gay is quoted as saying: "He doesn't have a right to have a book published by a major publisher but he has, in some bizarre twist of fate, been afforded that privilege. So be it. I'm not interested in doing business with a publisher willing to grant him that privilege." This pull quote is misleading. It makes her sound like just because she doesn't agree with what he says, he shouldn't be able to have his book published. She addressed this in her full statement: "And to be clear, this isn’t about censorship. Milo has every right to say what he wants to say, however distasteful I and many others find it to be." What I believe her to be saying is, how could a publisher be willing to publish someone who says pretty offensive things about women AND someone who wants to lift women up, all in the same breath?
I personally wouldn't have read Yiannopoulos’s book. However, I do know that several patrons in my community would have read it. In fact, there are holds on the book. People were anticipating it. It is not my job to argue with what people read, but I doubt I would have put it on a display or even recommended it to people. In the same breath, I know that I won't be recommending Roxane Gay to my patrons anytime soon. There are always going to be books that people don't agree with and that is one of the joys of working in a library. I will continue to appreciate Roxane Gay for standing up for what she believes is right.
I agree with you that Milo Yiannopoulos and his book is not something that I would want to read. His views on the female gender and his views against the trans gender goes against my views. His opinions are something that I do not care about. However, I would order his book for my library if enough patrons would check it out. I do not order books for my library for me.
ReplyDeleteHere is an example of patron political opinions influencing my library’s book ordering. Toward the end of the recent presidential election a lady called my library and the call was transferred to me. She was upset that the new book shelves had more books about Hilary Clinton and the democratic party versus Donald Trump and the Republican party. I informed the lady that I am not the person who orders political books for the library, but I will pass on her concerns to the person who does order for this section. I thanked her for suggesting book topics for the library. I also informed her that the library has separate sections for biographies and United States History that she may want to check out for more information. The patron was happy with my responses.
I sent Maddie an email about the patrons concerns. Maddie orders political and American History books for the library. We also share responsibility for the biography section. Maddie was concerned about this issue so we ran a report and found that there is a difference and the library has more books about Hilary and the Democratic party. So, Maddie ordered more books about Trump and the Republican party.
Maddie and myself have similar and different opinions on politics. This has helped out the book ordering for the library. When she orders a books about politics she first asks for my opinion. This is not required, but has helped to make sure that the library is trying its best to offer books for patrons with different views.
Thanks for the post.
Robert
I'm really excited that you chose to use this week's prompt to respond to such a timely aspect of celebrity books! I had just been listening to a radio program about this situation earlier today, and I think your assessment of the situation is nicely nuanced: as librarians, it's true that we can't recommend books to patrons just because we LIKE those books, or fail to recommend books that patrons will enjoy just because we disagree with what those books say. You make a great point also, however, in pointing out that we can still personally triumph Roxane Gay's courageous activism and celebrate the fact that now we won't have to point any patron towards Yiannopoulos' book :) One matter for consideration is how we should respond to patrons who might come up complaining about the fact that this book deal was pulled--of course something we have no control over, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear complaints anyway!
ReplyDeleteI was just reading Roxane Gay's Tumblr response to the news about Milo Yiannopoulos' book being dropped by Simon & Schuster. It pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter as well, and I appreciate that she took the time to clarify her statements. All that said, the library would probably have purchased Yiannopoulos' book. I would probably have purchased his book for the digital collection. Pending overall reviews of the title, paired with demand, it would likely have happened. It's a different and necessary mindset that librarians must take on when developing a collection. While yes, we are people and have our own opinions and belief systems, that really has no bearing on our collection development choices. It's a strange feeling, to be sure, but a necessary one.
ReplyDeleteAs Rachael said, as librarians we won't have the luxury to not purchase books we don't agree with. I wouldn't want to promote someone like Milo, but at the same rate censoring a collection because of personal beliefs is also wrong. It's a catch 22 situation. I would hope people who would have read his work would read it for informative reasons and not agree with his stance on certain issues, but sadly that is not the world we live in, and people likely would have sided with him on many issues. It is unfortunate, but we have to be providers of all information...which can be difficult.
ReplyDeleteVery timely and well thought out post. Full points!
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