SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

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The Social Responsibilities Round Table works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy.

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Ann Sparanese on the Censorship of _Triple Cross _

  • 1.  Ann Sparanese on the Censorship of _Triple Cross _

    Posted Jun 15, 2009 08:40 AM

    Ann Sparanese has sent the following message to the SRRT and PLG discussion lists:

    Mon, 15 Jun 2009
    Colleagues,

    A week or so ago, I brought to your attention an issue concerning Triple Cross by Peter Lance, and alerted you to the efforts by arguably the most powerful U.S. Attorney in the country, Patrick Fitzgerald, to censor it.  Since there there has been a little more press on it, I am hoping you would glance at the following links.

    In 2001, librarians were “all over” HarperCollins because the
    publisher intended to pulp Michael Moore’s book Stupid White Men.  Moore credits librarians — actually they were librarians from these two lists! [SRRT List and PLG Discussion List ] — with saving his book.

    This time, with Lance’s book, HarperCollins is so
    far standing firm against the demands of the U.S. Attorney who — even though he is doing this as a “private” person — obviously brings the weight of his high office to bear. Is this not even more chilling than a publisher censoring itself? Can’t we now give HarperCollins some support, as librarians, for standing up to pressure from someone in government to kill a book?

    Maybe some of you have doubts about the contents of Lance’s book. I haven’t read every page, or have thought about every argument he makes. None of us can independently confirm the correctness of his conclusions, or whether his interpretation of the facts is the only one.  Clearly there are some conclusions that do not please Mr. Fitzgerald. But this is beside the point. The point is that not only is Lance a reputable journalist, but HarperCollins is a large mainstream publisher with no interest,presumably, in publishing libel, defamation and baseless conspiracy theories. The publisher was sufficiently shook up by Fitzgerald’s concerns to take a very long, second look at the book, and to change a few things, but to fundamentally come to the same conclusion: there is no reason to
    withdraw the book. It is scheduled to come out tomorrow.

    Links follow.

    Thanks for reading this,

    Ann Sparanese
    ***
    Newsweek:

    New York Magazine
    /

    Associated Press

    Chicago Sun Times

    Library Juice Press Blog
     [see especially comments including those by Cynthia Kouril, Peter Lance].

    [for more on the role of "Libraries and Information Workers in Conflict
    Situations" including A.S. see Information for Social Change Number 25.Summer 2007.]

     

    See LIBRARIAN for more links.