In close 3-2 decision, the Nampa Public library Board voted to remove the The New Joy of Sex and The Joy of Gay Sex from library shelves. Supporting board members cited indecent material for children as the chief factor in their decision making.

This deliberations were instigated by library patron Randy Jackson and supported by Nampa businessman Larry Knapp who threatened to pull his $10,000 donation should the board vote against him. While the volumes have been removed from the circulation shelves, Library Director Karen Ganske will hold them until requested by library patrons.

Larry Knapp, a Nampa businessman, is withholding his $10,000 donation to the public library pending the boards decision regarding the ban of two sex manuals. This action was in support of Randy Jackson who is making his second attempt to have the manuals, The New Joy of Sex and The Joy of Gay Sex, removed from library shelves. Both Jackson and Knapp feel the materials are pornographic and inappropriate for a community library.

Jackson’s first attempt in 2006 was met with a decision by the board to relocate the books to a higher shelf. Jackson, dissatisfied with the ruling, is now making his case again with the boards two new members. Library Director Karen Ganske, who approved the purchase of the manuals, will follow whatever decision the board sees fit to make.

Dr. Kristen Ruth Bratt, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State Altoona, was one of four recipients of the 2008 Public Scholarship Course Development Grants. Dr. Bratt received the grant for her project “Defending the Rights of American Children: Banned Book Defense Essays”.

As part of the project pre-service teachers will choose a book in danger of censorship, at the elementary school level, and mount a defense on student’s behalf. School children will also become involved, making their own arguements and delivering them through visual presentations on Constitution Day.

The Public Scholarship Course Development Grants are endowed by the Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy. The Laboratory engages both Penn State and the surrounding community in exploring ethics and practices in the modern discourse.