The librarian who told me I shouldn't read 'The Bluest Eye'

Back in 2018 I was browsing the young adult section at the public library in Austin, Texas when a older librarian came up and said I should pick something less 'controversial' for my age. She pointed at Toni Morrison's book in my hand and said it had no place in a public library because of the content. I told her I had already read it for a school project and thought it was important for understanding race in America. She got real quiet and just walked away without saying anything else. What gets me is that she was trying to shield me from something she never even asked about. Has anyone else had a librarian or teacher question their reading choices like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_clark1d ago

Start by laughing at the ridiculousness because oh man, that librarian probably thought she was the gatekeeper of ALL literature. Guess she missed the memo that Toni Morrison literally won a Nobel Prize for writing books like that. I would have been tempted to check out the book again RIGHT in front of her just to be petty. But honestly, the fact that she got quiet and walked away is the most telling part - she knew she was wrong and had zero comeback. Sounds like she was more concerned about her own comfort than actually helping a young reader learn something real.

emeryfox1d ago

Exactly what I was thinking. Best move is to just check out a copy of Beloved or The Bluest Eye right there at the desk and hold eye contact while you do it. Petty? Maybe. But it gets the point across and she can't really say anything without looking worse.

tylerr391d ago

Did you catch that NPR piece about banned books and how Morrison's work is one of the most challenged?