Anti-Censorship Letter

In my 12 years as a library director, I have never witnessed stronger public reactions to a book
than the ones I have read and heard in response to Alan Moore’s Neonomicon. This graphic
novel has been criticized for being violent, obscene, misogynistic, and racist. After carefully
considering these concerns, as well as the rights of readers, I have decided to follow my
advisory committee’s recommendation and allow Neonomicon to remain in the library.
Let us step back from the current controversy for a moment and reflect on a book challenge that
took place years ago. In 1984, a very different book than Neonomicon was challenged in the
Oakland, California school district for its “explicitness.” In the decades following that challenge,
the same book was banned or challenged in school libraries in at least 10 U.S. states. The
criticisms of that book were very similar to those now being levelled against Neonomicon.
People referred to its “profanity” and “graphic sexual scenes.” Some parents called it “X-rated”
and expressed concerns about its portrayal of rape. The book in question was Alice Walker’s
Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple, a work now widely deemed a literary classic.
As readers, we will inevitably encounter works that disturb and offend us. This is the price we
pay to live in a free society, one where a person can write and speak one’s mind without having
to worry about a knock on the door at night from a government censor. In a free society, public
library staff do not decide what is too explicit or too offensive to be read. In a free society,
readers make that decision independently.
Americans speak with pride about the First Amendment to our Constitution, which states that
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” The right to freedom of speech is also
clearly stated in Article I of the South Carolina state constitution. If we Americans and South
Carolinians, are to live our lives as free citizens, this right must be held sacrosanct. It must be
the light that guides us through the controversies and emotions that our world’s extraordinary
literary tradition evokes. The moment we ban Neonomicon or any other book, we lose sight of
the light, and we lose our way. We then run the danger of enabling the repressive forces that
are, as I write, silencing religious, creative, and political expression throughout the world.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to manage a library collection that reflects the cultural
diversity of our community and our world. The collection is the very embodiment of Article II of
the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights, which compels the library to offer “all points of
view on current and historical issues.” Our library showcases centuries of creative endeavors
that have greatly enriched the human experience. These endeavors could not have succeeded
without the freedom to think and put forth ideas. By refusing to ban books, we are preserving
this freedom both for ourselves and for future generations.