Week 2 of investigation into censorship and our own specific case proved to be fascinating and open up many paths for research. Liz and I finalized that we would like to look into the challenge to Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Boys, having a strong start with the book being challenged in my hometown of Webster, NY. A Google search reveals some of the basics of the case: following a parent complaint, Webster removed Rainbow Boys from their summer reading list, before electing to return the book to the list the next summer. For additional information, I started with my high school librarian, Patricia Warren. I asked Ms. Warren if she had any recollection of the case and she responded with a useful email that shared more about the questionable administrative pathways by which the book was removed. Most interestingly, Warren recalled a meeting during the 06-07 school year where she, members of administration, and three parent representatives discussed the case and decided Rainbow Boys could return, but all books on the list would need to be reviewed by the librarian for future content issues. Liz and I think interviewing Ms. Warren for more details on that meeting would be useful. On a less productive note, the district representative I asked for records of complaint and discussion on the novel informed me no such records could be found. Liz is preparing to dig deeper under the Freedom of Information Act, asking the district for records from that year that the two of us may have to look through ourselves.
Our project continued to expand in possible scope after meeting with the archivist at SUNY Geneseo, Liz Argentieri. Liz A. started by showing us some useful databases on the library website that could be used to find beginning information on a variety of vases of Rainbow Boys being challenged. One of those databases, the Literature Resource Center, revealed a case of the novel being challenged in Texas in 2015, reflecting the novel’s consistent state of debate since being published in 2001. Liz A. helped us consider further sources that could have been interested in the case of Rainbow Boys being challenged, especially in Webster. The LGBT-oriented publication, Empty Closet, has an extensive database that includes challenges to material with gay themes that could be worth investigating. Additionally, Liz A. pointed out that the town newspaper, Webster Herald, supposedly has all of its issues archived in the Webster public library and that could be a useful source. Also the public library may have district meeting minutes; with this in mind, I intend to contact the library and see what helpful material they have. Lastly, Liz A. noted that some of the articles Liz V. and I have seen online from the larger Rochester, NY paper, Democrat and Chronicle, are available in microfilm in the SUNY Geneseo library which could make a nice addition to our project. With all of the interesting resources discovered in the past week, I’m very excited about this project going forward.