SYRACUSE -- No matter where you go, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is hard to ignore.
The romance novel was on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly," the basis of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, and there’s a movie is the works. The book has been an internet sensation, first getting noticed as an e-book before going to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list.
There is also strong demand for the book from libraries. More than 700 people are waiting for the 70 copies in the Onondaga County Public Library system. The library staff says it could be weeks or months before some people on the bottom of the list get a copy. Many libraries are ordering additional copies to meet the demand.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" has several explicit sexual scenes. Libraries in Florida and Wisconsin have refused to carry the book because the material is so graphic.
All of the libraries in Onondaga County are carrying the book. Fans like Deidre Keefe say it's a complex story for adults.
"People are focused so much on - oh, it's dirty - but there's a plot line and it's interesting and you're anxious to get to the end and see how it will be resolved," said Keefe
The Executive Director of the Dewitt Library, Wendy Scott, says that libraries should provide access to materials, not censor them. Scott said she knew the novel might not be appropriate for everyone but that parents or guardians should be the ones who decide when their children are old enough to look at it.
"I feel the library’s philosophy should be open access to all without our values and judgments coming into play," said Scott
Scott said she believes parents or guardians should be able to decide if the material is too mature for their children. At Onondaga Free Library, Director Susan Morgan hopes to get five more copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey." Morgan says the controversial novel isn't much worse than the popular twilight series
"Certainly with all the vampires and werewolves people are reading about, it's really not all that much different in terms of content and raciness," said Morgan.
Have you read or plan to read "Fifty Shades of Grey"? Do you think libraries should be allowed to be this selective about books?
