In Tulsa, they're moving the gay-themed kid's books. Not to an "Adults Only" section, but to a "parenting collection".
Parenting Collections, in my experience, can be one of two things. Often times, they're collections of adult books of the "bringing up baby" variety, housed in the in the children's room for the convenience of parents.
The other kind of parenting section, the kind of parenting section that they're building in Tulsa, is different*. Basically, it's a section where you stash books written, designed, and published for children, about which the adults in your community are willing to throw a hissy fit. It is not a perfect compromise, not by a long shot. We know that in Tulsa, that shelf will be where the books with gay characters will go; other places it'll also be books with illustrations of naked people, books about puberty and pregnancy, maybe even books about death and evolution. By setting those aside, we're saying, "This stuff is special, dirty, dangerous. This stuff could hurt your children. Be careful." Are there parents who won't go look at the scary shelf? Yes. Are there parents who will yell at their kids for looking at the scary shelf? Yes. It's also clear that moving such books into a special section says, "If you are like this, you are not completely welcome here". On some level, it is the community condoning bigotry, under the rhetoric of preserving 'parental choice'.
I'm glad the books aren't being withdrawn; I'm glad they're not being sent to an Adults-only section; I hope the 'parenting section' is accessible and non-intimidating. I hope the librarians make sure the stuff that gets ripped off and defaced gets replaced. I will send them an e-mail shortly and tell them just that.
I also hope there's a public outcry, and the citizens of Tulsa say they don't want their libraries condoning this crap. Although I highly doubt it.
Why, when I think of this strange type of segregation, do I think of U.S.-based Internment camps during WWII?
* Some might say it's a cop-out, and there are moments when I'd agree. But the good librarians working in Tulsa are working under siege as far as I'm concerned, and while I don't support this compromise, the fact of the matter is that they're doing a job I am not willing to do, and I'm not interested in adding to their burden. Better to work to defeat the folks that backed them into this corner.