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Protests in Virginia: The controversial books are allowed to stay in the library
Photo: Peter Cihelka / AP
Members of the school board in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, decided to have books with sexual content removed from the district's school libraries - and to burn them.
Around three dozen library employees would have had to look through the entire inventory, a total of several tens of thousands of titles.
After protests from teachers, students and parents, those responsible now reversed their decision.
The Washington Post reports.
In the crucial meeting of the committee, which lasted more than four hours, numerous students spoke up and denounced the "censorship", as a journalist for the newspaper "The Freelance Star" wrote on Twitter.
The school district attorney had previously advised that the removal of the books may not be compatible with the constitution.
The lawyer argued that this would prevent the pupils from obtaining information freely.
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The debate was triggered by a complaint from two parents.
Specifically, it was about two books that parents believe should not be read by children and adolescents: the novella "Call Me By Your Name" by the American writer Andre Aciman, which is about a love affair between two young men , and "33 Snowfish" by Adam Rapp, named Best Book for Young Adults in 2004 by the American Library Association.
It's about sexual abuse.
olb
