Sunday, May 03, 2009  West Bend, WI Library Board Members
Dismissed for Doing Their Job  Publisher's Weekly reported
recently that "four members of a library board in West Bend,
Wis., were dismissed last week for refusing to remove
controversial books from the library’s young adult section..."
(read the entire PW article at  I wish the PW writer had put it
like this: "Four members of a library board in West Bend, Wis.,
were dismissed for doing their jobs responsibly and acting in
accordance with constitutional principles and laws regarding
free speech."  A number of organizations—the American
Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the National
Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American
Publishers and PEN American Center—all criticized the
dismissals, which is terrific, but perhaps the alternative
phrasing I offered might have prompted a broader swath of people
to protest.   The language we use to talk about censorship
issues must be accurate and specific.  Otherwise, we engage in
conversat