newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A gay-themed book, which was pulled from a local high school's library after a resident objected to its content, has also been pulled from Burlington County's library system.

The book was pulled from the county library and from the library at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly after objections from Beverly Marinelli, a Lumberton woman and a member of the 9/12 Project, a conservative group founded by Fox News Channel pundit Glenn Beck.

The county system's decision to remove "Revolutionary Voices," an anthology of first-person works by gay youths, was made quietly in the spring. But it's now stirring an online furor with the release of e-mails on the issue by the county's library director, Gail Sweet.

The e-mails were obtained through a public-records request by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

USA Today reports that in one of the released messages, Sweet asks a library employee, "How can we grab the books so that they never, ever get back into circulation? Copies need to totally disappear (as in not a good idea to send copies to the book sale)."

And when another librarian asked why the award-winning book was being removed, Sweet responded with two words: "Child pornography."

"We have concerns (over the book's removal)," said Jeanne LoCicero, deputy legal director for the ACLU-NJ. She told the Courier Post "Revolutionary Voices" had faced no official challenge at the library and the library's commissioners had not voted on its removal, according to information in Sweet's e-mails.

According to the New York Daily News, "Revolutionary Voices" was named among the best adult books for high school students by the School Library Journal in 2001, and was in the school's library to help young people struggling with issues of sexuality.

Centraljersey.com reports that in response, a group of actors that includes local high school students and graduates has launched a series of readings from "Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology," edited by Amy Sonnie. State and national nonprofit advocacy groups are also getting involved.

Brandon Monokian is the group's founder and director. He said he saw similar material in his time there and was upset the high school, and then the county, decided to remove this one book from their shelves. He said he thought it was targeted because it features LGBT content.

According to the Asbury Park Press, Patricia Tumulty, president of the New Jersey Library Association, did not address the county library's action directly, saying it was not clear how the removal took effect.

But she noted her group had issued a statement after the book was banned at Rancocas Valley, saying "the challenge to this book arose from hostility to its content."

"Libraries do not discriminate against unpopular or controversial ideas," it said. "To the contrary, they select resources so that the library collection meets the needs of everyone in the community it serves."

The 15 actors perform readings from a mix of passages that have incited controversy and others Mr. Monokian said he felt were theatrically appealing.