Special Topic: Erotica in Public Libraries

Erotica has been around a long time, but hasn't had a real presence in American public libraries until very recently. Even though the ALA passed the Library Bill of Rights in 1939 to ensure that libraries would be free of censorship, librarians felt it their duty to spare innocents from "vicious" or scandalous material. Up until 1960, there were few sexually explicit materials found in libraries except reputable sex education books that were for adults only. Librarians had to decide if it was worth the public outcry to include items like Kinsey's Sexual Behavior of the Human Male, Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, and Miller's Tropic of Cancer. After 1960, more explicit materials were available and social mores loosened a bit and libraries quietly added erotic romances to their collections like V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic series, My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday, and Scruples by Judith Krantz. In the 90’s, Madonna’s Sex was published and created another firestorm of controversy. Librarians debated hotly about its value to the library – was it art or pornography? It was mostly rejected as pornography, but today it is one of the most sought after out-of-print books ever released and according to Wikipedia is “considered a bold, post-feminist work of art”.

 50 Shades of Grey changed all of that. Despite the fact that it was 2012, it created a firestorm of controversy as librarians struggled to define the difference between erotica and pornography. There were actually libraries that refused to order the trilogy citing poor quality and pornographic elements, despite overwhelming public demand. Alas, those libraries eventually had to concede and order the books anyway. Libraries are moving to user driven collection models, so what the patrons want, they get. A current check of the catalogs of those holdout libraries in 20012 shows that they now have copious erotic literature offered up. It appears that currently, sexually graphic materials in the public library is a non-issue.

 Erotica is a sub-genre of romance and frequently is interchanged with erotic romance. There are differences, however. Erotic romance is centered upon relationships and includes explicit sex. Readers expect a "happily ever after" with these books. Erotica focuses on sex. There may or may not be a clear storyline or relationship. But there will be graphic sex. Amazon currently ranks Madison Faye, Alexa Riley, Sam Crescent and Adrian Amos as the 5 top-ranked erotica authors, but it is unclear whether these titles are erotic romance or actual erotica. Katie Dunneback's rundown of top erotica authors in Library Journal (2013) also includes erotic romance authors, so it's unclear where the difference is there, as well. Because of all this confusion, it's important that the readers' advisor know their erotic materials well. Katie Dunneback suggests several anthologies to read to get acquainted with the genre: Best Women’s Erotica 2011, Alison’s Wonderland, and Herotica: A Collection of Women’s Fiction. Further, during the RA interview, the librarian should get a good read on what exactly the patron is looking for. There are many types of erotica available including m/m (male/male), f/f, bdsm, non-consensual sex, and many levels of explicitness. Lists of titles and read-a-likes should be available for those who are too embarrassed to ask directly. Although there will always be someone who complains, libraries should foster an atmosphere of non-judgement and quality service. Dunneback, Katie (2013). Erotica’s full frontal shelving – genre spotlight. Library Journal,(138)3.


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