PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: This blog/thread of tweets contains material that some (incl me) might find objectionable or repulsive. Going on? Please read to the end. “Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury has been banned or censored various places since its release in 1951. Set in a 1/7

future where ALL books are banned. Montag, the protagonist is a fireman whose job is to burn books, wonders why books are banned. His boss, Capt Beatty, says: “‘Colored people don’t like ‘Little Black Sambo.’ Burn it. White people don’t feel good about ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ 2/7

Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator. Funerals are unhappy and pagan? Eliminate them, too. Five minutes after a person is dead he’s on his 3/7

way to the Big Flue, the Incinerators serviced by helicopters all over the country.” (p.57) A now-minority on HEPL’s [FN1] board sought to remove & review for age-appropriateness, books fr the teen section. On 8/24, the policy was put on hold. The immediate issue is kids’ books. 4/7

1) Library staff knows & the three members on the board should learn publishers try to state the appropriate ages for a specific book. 2) Long-term issues involve whether public libraries should exist. [FN2] Bradbury’s book is read by kids in junior high or earlier. A large 5/7

percentage of kids who graduate from Hamilton County high schools go to college. Really good colleges seek students who are well-read and can think for themselves. Those are qualities acquired at an early age and in places like public libraries. 6/7

Footnotes: FN1. Hamilton East Public Library. FN2. Blog from August 22 shows planning. http://civildiscoursenow.com/profiles/blogs/people-want-to-shut-dow... 7/7