Nudist, Cover Thyself?

I don't often disagree with my friend, The Academic Naturist, but I have an issue with his post today "Free Book? Rejected!"

After donating a copy of the TNS book "The World's Best Nude Beaches and Resorts" to his local library, someone told him that they would put it in the adult section. After a time he received a call telling him that the library decided not to accept the book after all.

As we picked it up, we were told that "it's a really good informative book, but we don't have a place for it." In other words, they don't want to put it in the travel section and don't want to make an adult section.

Since 1948, the Library Bill of Rights has "guided the philosophy of the freedom and professionalism of libraries in democratic societies." [source]

Number one on the list is "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. In other words, libraries should not act as censors. Number three on the list decrees that libraries should challenge censorship, not impose it.

From someone who wrote the call to arms "Guerrilla Naturism" post of a couple of weeks ago, it comes as a surprise to me that The Academic Naturist is willing to take a copy of the TNS book and actually block out all the nudity in order to appease some prudish librarian.

The answer is that we need to bite the bullet and censor ourselves to get past the firewall of society. It's fine to have uncensored books and DVD's for naturist consumers, but it's also a good idea to have censored versions as well just in case they are required by non-naturist consumers.

Sorry, but this is completely wrongheaded. The answer is to work with organizations like the Naturist Action Committee and the ACLU to get this book placed in the library, not to roll over and cave in to censorship. The book is from a reputable publisher, it's informative, and it's 100% legal, so it belongs in a public library where people have the right to choose their reading materials.

Yes, in some instances, nudists need to cover up. TAN suggests that TNS produce a brochure which contains no nudity for public tourist information centers, and I see no harm in that, although these centers might toss them away simply due to the nudist text content. And aside from some instances of protest and civil disobedience, nobody is suggesting that people break any anti-nudity laws.

I have two versions of this blog, one with nudity, and one without, but this is because my blogs are hosted on Google, a company which has its own standards and terms, and can basically shut down any blog for whatever reason it deems necessary. Facebook recently banned images of mothers breastfeeding their children, and although protest was widespread and very vocal against such action, the censorship remains. When dealing within the bureaucracy of private enterprise, nudists and naturists need to adapt.

But libraries were created to serve the public under the First Amendment. Americans have the freedom to read or view whatever they want within the law. The ACLU has a web page here to protect free speech in films, books, music, and online.

Each year, the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were "challenged" (their removal from school or library shelves was requested). The ALA estimates the number represents only about a quarter of the actual challenges. "Most Challenged" titles include the popular Harry Potter series of fantasy books for children by J.K. Rowling. The series drew complaints from parents and others who believe the books promote witchcraft to children. [source]

On the library issue, nudists and naturists need to stand up and fight, and not succumb to censorship. I hope The Academic Naturist can get the NAC or the ACLU to help him fight for his right to read naturist materials at his public library.

UPDATE: The Academic Naturist has updated his post to say that he is going to fight the library's censorship with the help of the Naturist Action Committee. Way to go!