Peeve of the Day: Judging a Book by it's Cover

Honestly, I didn't mean to start this out and have the snark flying out as if we were whipping through space in warp speed. Really. I really have gone six months with nothing to snark about. Regardless, the snark continues.

We've all heard the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover." And no, you shouldn't. We all do it anyway. I'll be the first to admit it. In some cases, this is a good thing. Like, when you are the teen librarian looking at a faded out Technicolor paperback book cover that no living soul between the ages of 12 & 20 is going to want to touch it. Hell, I don't even want to touch it, and I'm older than that. So... yes, there is something to be said for book covers, our judgments, and their selling points. Which is their whole purpose - to sell the book.

You know - the cover looks interesting, so you investigate what the book is about, then you either take it with you or not. Then there's a whole new dimension to book cover judging. The kind of judging that involves a lot of assuming and making up your own interpretation of the artwork. Take for example, one of the covers from the Black Cat manga series. (I tried to find a link but I can't find a copy of the exact image online to link to) . The head of the technical services department came up to me concerned, and to notify me that they had blacked out the number 13 on the cover, which is written in roman numerals, on the upper breastbone of the main character. I looked at her a bit perplexed, not understanding what the big deal was (I'm a bit naive).

"13 is a gang number"
"Oh..."
"Well, and TS2 pointed out that this looks like a gang member, and this a pregnant girl... and we weren't sure about this one here...."
"Ahhh. Actually, the number 13 in this story is used as the number for bad luck, it was branded into his skin as part of his joining a secret assassins organization. No, she's isn't pregnant. She's another bounty hunter in the story, so is the third guy."

And so here is another lesson about librarians. We do not judge the books we select, other than for their literary merit. I have bought books that I personally find reprehensible, and helped people find information I personally found in bad taste. We are trained in library school to uphold equity of access, no matter what for, to not censor materials, just because they offend us personally, and ultimately, to reflect and build a collection that is representative of our community as a whole. Even the ugly bits. For example: I once had to shatter the naive reality of many of my co-workers who were aghast that I had bought an urban teen paperback fiction title that had a graphic sex scene in it, right near the beginning no less. And even worse - the main character was a prostitute and had no remorse for her lifestyle (and at the end of the book kills the pimp). To which I replied, "There are teenage prostitutes in our community (which I know for a fact, I had a friend that worked in a group home with many of them), and as a librarian, it is my job to make sure that everyone within this community can find a book that they can relate to. " And really, outside of the murder thing, self empowerment isn't a bad message. I may be naive - but hopefully I'll never be an ostrich librarian.