Well worn copies of Tintin at the Jones Library
So it turns out the only Jones Library copy of the most offensive entry in the "Tintin" series -- "Tintin In The Congo" -- is in
french, so it is located in the foreign language section, and not with the other ones (pictured above) at the higher profile entryway to the Children's Room.
Of course when I asked to peruse "Tintin in the Congo, " err, I mean "Tintin au Congo" it was, naturally, already taken out. Not that I parle francais.
A really long-time Jones Library employee confirms the Tintin series has been available since she first arrived at the Jones back in 1972, and replacement copies have been ordered over the years (English versions of course) because they have worn out from avid readership.
Library Director Sharon Sharry also confirmed that the most recent written “request for reconsideration of library materials” filed by the concerned parents over Tintin was the first such formal request she has had in her 17-month tenure thus far at the Jones.
Back in 1996 a traveling photo exhibit "Love Makes A Family: Living in Lesbian and Gay Families" sparked controversy in Amherst because some parents did not want their elementary school aged children exposed to it.
Although they were a tad vague as to what "it" was that children needed to be protected from.
The schools stood firm, the photo exhibit went on (probably to a much wider audience because of all the controversy) and our local civilization did not fall.
Censorship is censorship. A doomsday device -- no matter which political persuasion employs it.
