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MELBOURNE, Fla. – Before the book ban that riled readers and put Brevard County at the heart of a steamy global debate over censorship, 76-year-old Ray Johnson had never heard of the erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey."
By Craig Bailey, Florida Today/GannettLinda Tyndall, right, and her daughter, Rebecca are leading an online petition charge to get "Fifty Shades of Grey" returned to library shelves in Brevard County Florida.
By Craig Bailey, Florida Today/GannettLinda Tyndall, right, and her daughter, Rebecca are leading an online petition charge to get "Fifty Shades of Grey" returned to library shelves in Brevard County Florida.
He probably won't ever read it.Still, if as a taxpaying adult he wants to check the runaway best-seller out of the public library, "I ought to be able to," the Cocoa man said. "They could just put an age limit on it."Instead, the Brevard library chose recently to close the book on British author E.L. James' "Fifty Shades of Grey." Cathy Schweinsberg, library services director, decided after reading the novel to pull from circulation the system's 19 copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey," the first installment in a trilogy.The move galvanized anti-censorship advocates, drew intense media attention, from the Huffington Post to "Good Morning America" to the Hindustan Times, launched debates about modern mores, and sparked questions about how library books are chosen."We absolutely think it was a violation of the First Amendment," said Maria Kayanan, associate legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida."It's absolutely censorship. It's undemocratic and it's un-American, and if people don't want to read it, they shouldn't read it. But once they put it on the shelves, that's it. It's government censorship to then remove it. They had a choice at the beginning to buy it or not buy it … once they put it out there for people to read, they can't just remove the book from the shelves based on one individual's misguided sense of moral propriety."The Brevard system isn't alone in deeming the book too risque to offer. Libraries elsewhere in Florida, as well as in Georgia and Wisconsin have either pulled the book or chosen not to buy it, citing either budget constraints, poor writing quality or its erotic content.Brevard officials stand by the library chief and her decision to remove "Fifty Shades of Grey." It's only the second time that has happened in Brevard -- in 1992, it was Madonna's coffee table book, "Sex.""Fifty Shades of Grey" recounts the relationship between a naive college student, Anastasia Steele, and billionaire Christian Grey, a 27-year-old business magnate with sadistic tendencies. Its content is at times explicitly sexual.Judith Doan of Cocoa, a wife, mother and grandmother who's 75, is concerned about one person having the power to censor printed material, especially for other adults. Plus, it's just plain embarrassing for the Space Coast, she said.The worldwide spotlight on Brevard County "makes us look very narrow-minded and biased, like we don't have the intelligence to decide what to read and what not to read," said Doan, an artist.Linda Tyndall of Viera started an online petition at Change.org, asking the library to put the book back on the shelves. She, her husband and their 16-year-old daughter, Rebecca, went to Miami to meet the author of "Fifty Shades of Grey" at a book-signing in late April."How can they say this is what Brevard residents want? How do they determine that?" she said." This is a lesson for my daughter, in speaking out for what you believe in."But not everyone is against Schweinsberg's decision to toss the sexy saga. Tyndall has been defriended by people on Facebook over her drive to put it back into circulation.Library collections should be diverse, the American Library Association said, but should also reflect what people want to read. And decisions on what to buy shouldn't be based on content alone -- budgetary constraints, shelf space and bad reviews all come into play.The ALA tracks challenges to books in libraries and schools, reporting 326 attempts to restrict or remove books in 2011. Topping the list: "The Hunger Games" trilogy, which the Brevard library carries.According to the Brevard library system's policy, "materials are selected to serve the broad, general interest ranges of Brevard County." Responsibility for the selection "rests with the local library director as authorized by the library services director."The Brevard library also can delegate selection duties to qualified staff who, through education, training or experience, "have the knowledge to select items in specified subject fields." Suggestions from staff members and library users "are encouraged and seriously considered in the selection process." There are suggestion boxes at all 17 libraries.And when someone wants a reconsideration of specific items -- a book or movie they find offensive, for example -- there's a process for "reconsideration of library materials. The process starts with a local library director and can end up in front of the county library board, comprised of five residents appointed by county commissioners.In May 2010, after a complaint from a patron about the movie "The Informers" and months of debate, the board voted to create a safeguard system so parents could prevent children from checking out R-rated films.The popularity of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has defied conventional thinking about certain areas of the country being more liberal in their tastes. A search of online card catalogs shows that in some cities traditionally thought of as conservative -- Cincinnati, for one -- the book is available.Within 50 miles of Brevard, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is on library shelves in Volusia and Indian River counties.On Thursday, there were more than 200 reservations for the Volusia system's 15 paper copies of the book and more than 100 for the electronic version."I have not received a single complaint," said Lucinda Colee, director of the Volusia County libraries.Ray Johnson remains adamant about his rights as a taxpayer."If somebody writes something and I want to read it, and pay fees into a library, that's my right," he said. "And when they tell me what our values should be, I feel like they're treading on my rights."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. 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