Yesterday, the Leesburg Library Advisory Board in Florida refused to move a couple of Young Adult books into the adult section of the library or give them advisory labels. Parents had drawn up a petition in April against the YA status of the books, Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel and The Bermudez Triangle.
Mothers Dixie Fechtel and Diane Venetta objected to sexual themes and the depiction of drug use in the books, according to a local paper. Library Director Barbara Morse cited the presence of similar themes on television, and parents’ right to decide what is appropriate for their own children, as reasons for the petition’s rejection.
The decision comes about a week after Wisconsin’s West Bend Public Library similarly chose to keep contentious books unlabeled and on the shelves. While the Leesburg ruling could possibly be challenged under a City Commission, it’s great to see libraries taking a strong stance against book challenges.