Background: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD WITHDRAWS TWO CHILDREN'S BOOKS WHICH WERE NOT 'PRO-FAMILY'
I AM concerned by the National Library Board's removal of three children's books from its catalogue because of its "strong pro-family stand" ("NLB pulls 3 kids' books off its shelves"; yesterday).
Any type of "stand" would necessitate removing many books that are currently in circulation.
For instance, the NLB's collection contains the writings of Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. Despite their morally objectionable content, these remain legitimate objects of study and thus ought to be made available to the public.
Under the National Library Board Act, one of the functions of the NLB is to "promote reading and encourage learning through the use of libraries and their services".
It is not for the NLB to promote any particular ideology in its choice of books; its role is only to promote access to information, and it is up to the readers to draw their own conclusions.
Learning can take place only when the public has access to as great a "marketplace of ideas" as possible, from which readers, and not the NLB, can separate acceptable ideas from the unacceptable ones.
Indeed, an intelligent public can be trusted not to take any book at face value.
Books are not just texts to be read and thought about; they, and society's views towards them, are social phenomena to be studied.
The interaction of books with Singaporean society - even if such interaction takes the form of disapproval - is part of the living history of our society.
Thus, I call on the NLB to restore the three books to its collection. People are, of course, free to disapprove of them, but that is their business, not the NLB's.
Moreover, they would perhaps find it easier to explain their disapproval to others if the public had ready access to these books.
Benjamin Joshua Ong
*Article first appeared on ST Forums (10 July 2014)