A children’s picture book about siblings reading a book together has been flagged as potentially “sexually explicit” in Alabama’s public library system because the author’s last name is “Gay”.
“Read Me a Story, Stella” by author Marie-Louise Gay has been included in the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system’s list of potentially “sexually explicit” books on behalf of the author’s family, AL.com reported.
The book was supposed to be removed from the children’s section of the library system but staff discovered the error before it was removed from the shelves.
HCPL executive director Cindy Hewitt told the news outlet the book was mistakenly placed on a list of 233 titles because of the keyword “gay.”
“Obviously, we’re not going to touch the book for any reason,” Hewitt said.
He said he asked 10 branch managers to use keywords such as “sexuality, gender, sex and dating” when exploring possible books to flag, but noted there was miscommunication and confusion in the process.
The book “Read Me a Story, Stella” by Marie-Louise Gay is shown.House Of Anansi Press
The effort to review books and place them in libraries is in preparation for the book challenge that “has never happened before,” he said.
Gay publicist Kirsten Brassard, of Groundwood Books, told AL.com her client’s book has never “been censored by mistake.”
“While it is clearly ludicrous that our picture book appears on their censored book list simply because the author’s last name is Gay, the ludicrousness of that fact should not diminish the seriousness of the situation,” Brassard said in a statement.
Gay’s publicist told AL.com his client’s book has never “been censored by mistake.” Marie-Louise Gay
The book was first published in 2013.
The main character, Stella, introduces her younger brother Sam to reading and also tells the story of the pair building a dog house together, according to the book’s online synopsis.
The list, which includes the book and 232 others, has faced internal and public heat because critics say it targets the LGBTQ community, which Hewitt denies, AL.com reported.
The process was halted with librarians moving some books to the adult section while others were not reclassified.
“We understand and value our community, and the need for our collection to reflect our community,” Hewitt told the outlet. “We have never eliminated any book. We just look at it as a whole.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
