The way Merrylue Martin tells it, the onslaught was sudden.
She was driving home from work, absorbed in an audio mystery, when the soothing-voiced narrator she had come to trust let loose. In six minutes, a string of curse words describing a vivid sex scene flew from the narrator’s mouth.
“It just hit you out of the blue, and I was like, ‘Oh my,’ ” she recalled. “My mouth just dropped open.”
She hit the eject button.
Once the shock subsided, she fought back.
She wrote to Sno-Isle Libraries and asked that the audio book, “Alice in Jeopardy” by Ed McBain, be removed from the shelves. She had checked the audio book out from the Arlington branch several days earlier.
Her request was denied. She has since appealed to the Sno-Isle Libraries director.
Meanwhile, Martin developed a plan that would let patrons know whether an item they’re considering checking out contains curse words or graphic sex scenes. Ideally, she’d like the library to implement a rating system, similar to the movie industry’s G through NC-17 ratings.
At the very least, she’s asking Sno-Isle to keep a list of materials with curse words or graphic sex scenes that patrons can consult before checking out items.
“If they’re not going to stop putting it in the library, at least let me know,” said Martin, a leadership development specialist with Comcast in Everett. She writes and performs Christian puppet plays in her free time. “Don’t just put it on the shelf and hide it.”
Sno-Isle Library director Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory is in the process of reviewing Martin’s requests. She said developing a rating system is not feasible.
“Last year we purchased just about 300,000 books, and although all of us love to read and to listen, none of us have an opportunity to read all of the books, view all of the DVDs and listen to all the CDs,” she said. “So from a physical standpoint, we just don’t do (ratings).”
Sno-Isle libraries currently label materials aimed at juveniles “J” and those for teenagers “T.” Adults concerned about content should read reviews and speak with library staff to help weed out material they may find offensive, Woolf-Ivory said.
However, reviews don’t always mention curse words and sex scenes.
“Alice in Jeopardy,” which came out last year, has been well reviewed. Woolf-Ivory pointed to glowing reviews in “Library Journal,” “Publishers Weekly,” “BookList,” and “Kirkus Reviews.” None mentioned sex or obscenities.
The scene that caused Martin, 54, to push eject depicts a sexual encounter between a married man and single woman midway through the story. In the hardback print edition, the three most graphic pages include nine uses of the F-word and 10 uses of anatomical words Merriam-Webster describes as “usually vulgar” and “obscene.”
As part of her campaign to change library policy, Martin bought a used copy of “Alice in Jeopardy” and typed out portions of five of the paragraphs she objects to. She highlighted curse words in red type and replaced some of their letters with asterisks. Nonetheless, Martin hides the passages under cover sheets reading, “Warning: Adult Content References in the Following Text.”
Steve Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association’s Center for Law and Policy, called Martin’s rating idea a “novel attempt to solve a growing problem.” The conservative group, based in Tupelo, Miss., has supported library reform movements in the past.
“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” Crampton said. “A nice-sounding title may result in some pretty vile material once you’re in the theater or, in this case, in the depths of a book. I don’t know why anyone would oppose a simple rating system. Who’s against the dissemination of more information?”
The American Library Association opposes book ratings. The oldest and largest library organization in the world, the ALA is against warning systems that could bias readers against certain materials.
“If you don’t like something, no one says you have to read it,” said Judith Krug, director of the Chicago-based organization’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “So put it down and pick up something that is less offense.”
Regardless of the outcome of her appeal, Martin says she won’t stop working to keep the issue in the public conscience. She can also appeal Woolf-Ivory’s decision to the library board.
Martin hasn’t visited the Arlington Library since returning “Alice in Jeopardy.” She said the quaint building is “adorable” and she wishes she felt comfortable returning. However, she’s not willing to risk checking out items that may contain obscenities. So she’s joined an online audio-book rental system, similar to Netflix, that includes ratings.
She’s currently listening to “The Killer Angels,” a fictional account of the battle of Gettysburg.
Though she has been tempted, Martin said she won’t finish “Alice in Jeopardy.”
Merrylue Martins request for reconsideration is the eighth the Sno-Isle Library System has received this year. Hers is the first formal complaint both Sno-Isle and the American Library Association have received on Alice in Jeopardy, by Ed McBain. In addition to complaints about offensive material, Sno-Isle receives requests to switch materials from nonfiction to fiction and move books out of the childrens area, and complaints about the Internet.
In the last 17 years, just two items have been removed from Sno-Isle through the request for reconsideration procedure, according to Sno-Isle communications relations manager Mary Kelly.
EFIL4ZAGGIN tapes by rap group N.W.A. were removed in the early 1990s after complaints were filed about the tapes lyrics. They were reinstated a few months later.
Making Your Own Baby Food was removed in 1997 after a reader complained that some of the recipes were out of date and contained materials such as raw eggs.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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