As we were putting together the editorial above, we read the comments from Nate Coulter, executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System.
Once again, he says it better than we ever could. From the story Friday:
"I hate to tell them, but if you're disturbed--as I oftentimes am--about the coarsening of language and the culture, your kids are not getting it from me or the library. Unfortunately, they don't come here enough," Coulter said. "They're getting it from their computers at home or their devices."
Mr. Coulter said it was "mean-spirited" to direct the measure at librarians and teachers, whom he described as "one of your biggest allies at helping you raise your children. We want your children to read, we want you to be involved in helping them decide what they want to read."
Nothing goes in the library without being vetted by staff or promoted by responsible trade magazines and industry publications.
But certainly this won't be the last of the news on this subject. We can see more articles coming, featuring "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Animal Farm," "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "Fahrenheit 451," "The Grapes of Wrath," "Catch-22" . . . .