On Monday, January 28th, Jacob and I met with the research librarian at SUNY Geneseo’s Milne Library, Sue Ann Brainard. I was anticipating the appointment, eager to hear her thoughts on how to find the most primary sources. I was also looking forward to hearing her tips on how to conduct archival research, especially as a newbie in this field of study. After some brief introductions, all three of us started hunting for primary sources.

Ms. Brainard knew exactly where to go. We found five good articles on the database ProQuest, and another on the website Canada Broadcasting Corporation. She also pointed us to Nexis Uni, which had almost one hundred articles available for the search words “The Golden Compass” and “Halton.” Now we have all these new texts in addition to the articles Jacob and I had acquired through our simple google searches. I have begun the process of sorting through the plentiful amount of primary sources.

Finding buried treasure

On ProQuest, I found a series of three articles that will prove very helpful for showing the ripple effect of censorship. The first article titled “Censorship Dateline: Libraries” was published in January 2008, and discusses the restriction of The Golden Compass in Halton, Ontario. The book is only available upon request.

The second article was published in March 2008, and the third in May 2008. Both are titled “Success Stories: Libraries.” They discuss subsequent complaints of Pullman’s text in Calgary, Alberta and Mississauga, Ontario. Unlike, the case at Halton Catholic School District, the other places decided to keep the book on the shelves. It seems like a single complaint in Halton sparked a bunch of copy cats to jump on the bandwagon.

And the story continues

Recently, Pullman’s texts have reappeared in the limelight, but this time for good reasons. An article on Inside Halton, recommended Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling in December 2018. It is somewhat shocking that after such negative press about his books, a local author would recommend it in the same place where The Golden Compass caused such a stir. Perhaps the buzz has quieted over the years, and locals are not aware of the censorship.

Evidently, the case of censorship Jacob and I are studying in Halton Catholic School District is quite complex. Although we have lots of primary sources, there is still more information to be found. Meeting with our research librarian increased my knowledge about the quantity of information I have access to. Additionally, she helped narrow our search by guiding us to the databases that would contain the most relevant information. Now, I have a ton of reading to do. In fact, I am going to read another article right now!

Works Cited

Baker, Deidre. “Must-reads for kids: from illustrations to poetry to opinions.” Inside Halton. Toronto Star, Dec. 15 2018. Web. 10 Feb. 2019.

“Censorship Dateline: Libraries.” 57 Vol. Chicago: American Library Association, January 2008. pp. 7-14, 35-36. ProQuest. Web. 10 Feb. 2019.

“Success Stories: Libraries.” 57 Vol. Chicago: American Library Association, March 2008. pp. 77-80. ProQuest. Web. 10 Feb. 2019.

“Success Stories: Libraries.” 57 Vol. Chicago: American Library Association, May 2008. pp. 115-117. ProQuest. Web. 10 Feb. 2019.