“色情”畅销书引发争议

“色情”畅销书引发争议

It did not escape the notice of Tim Cole, the collections manager for the Greensboro Public Library in North Carolina, that “Fifty Shades of Grey” was “of mixed literary merit,” as he put it with a heavy helping of Southern politeness.

北卡罗莱纳州格林斯伯勒市图书馆的馆藏经理蒂姆·科尔(Tim Cole)没有对《五十度灰》(Fifty Shades of Grey)视而不见，因为它也具有“某些文学价值”。他用这种浓重的南方式礼貌措辞形容这本书。

He ordered 21 copies anyway.

不管怎样，他还是为图书馆订了21本。

His customers had spoken, Mr. Cole said, and like other library officials across the country, he had gotten the message: Readers wanted the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy. In recent weeks they have besieged libraries with requests for the books, signaling a new wave of popularity for these erotic novels, which have become the best-selling titles in the nation this spring.

科尔说，他的顾客们都发话了。和美国许多图书馆管理者一样，他也看清了目前的形势：读者要读《五十度灰》三部曲。最近几周，读者们包围了图书馆，要求借阅这套书，这也表明这些色情小说掀起了新一轮热潮。这三本书在今年春天成了美国畅销书。

In some cases demand has been so great that it has forced exasperated library officials to dust off their policies — if they have them — on erotica.

在有些图书馆，由于读者需求太大，恼怒的图书馆管理者不得不调整他们对色情读物的政策(假如他们有此类政策)。

In April the trilogy, which includes the titles “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed,” was issued in paperback by Vintage Books, part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, sending sales through the roof when the publisher printed and distributed the books widely for the first time.

这部小说三部曲分别为《五十度灰》、《更深的五十度》(Fifty Shades Darker)和《奔放五十度》(Fifty Shades Freed)，4月份由兰登书屋(Random House)旗下科诺夫-道布尔戴出版集团(Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)的平装书品牌佳酿图书(Vintage Books)推出平装版。这套书首度印刷、发行，销量立刻飙升。

That enthusiasm has carried over to libraries. At many, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by the previously unknown British author E. L. James, is the most popular book in circulation, with more holds than anyone can remember on a single title (2,121 and counting last Friday at the Hennepin County Public Library, which includes Minneapolis, up from 942 on April 9).

这种阅读热情也蔓延至图书馆。在许多图书馆，过去默默无闻的英国作者E.L.詹姆斯(E. L. James)所写的《五十度灰》是借阅率最高的图书，创下了单本书借阅者最多的记录(覆盖明尼阿波利斯的亨内平县公共图书馆，这个数据从4月9日的942 人升到上周五(5月18日)的2121人)。

But despite misgivings about the subject matter — the books tell the tale of a dominant-submissive affair between a manipulative millionaire and a naïve younger woman — library officials feel that they need to make it available.

虽然这套书的主题令人不自在——它们讲述的是一个控制欲强的富翁与一个天真姑娘之间控制与服从的情欲故事——但图书馆管理者们仍觉得应该订书让读者可以借阅。

“This is the ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ of 2012,” Mr. Cole said. “Demand is a big issue with us, because we want to be able to provide popular best-selling material to our patrons.”

科尔说：“这就是2012年的《查泰莱夫人的情人》(Lady Chatterley’s Lover)，读者的需求是我们的头等大事，因为我们希望向读者提供流行读物。”

But some libraries have been caught on the other side of the issue. The Brevard County Public Library in east central Florida pulled copies of the books from its shelves after library officials decided they were not appropriate for the public.

但还有一些图书馆站在此事的另一边。佛罗里达州中央东部地区的布里瓦德县公共图书馆就把这套书从书架上撤下来，因为管理者认为它们不适合给公众阅读。

“We have criteria that we use, and in this case we view this as pornographic material,” said Don Walker, a spokesman for the Brevard County government.

布里瓦德县政府发言人唐·沃克(Don Walker)说：“我们是有自己的标准的。就这套书而言，我们认为它们是色情读物。”

In Fond du Lac, Wis., the library did not order any copies, saying the books did not meet the standards of the community. In Georgia the Gwinnett County Public Library, near Atlanta, declined to make the books available in its 15 branches, saying that the trilogy’s graphic writing violated its no-erotica policy.

在威斯康辛州的丰迪拉克市，当地图书馆一本都没有订，他们说，这些书达不到当地社区的选书标准。亚特兰大附近的佐治亚州格威纳特县公共图书馆也拒绝在15家分馆中向读者提供这套书，认为它对性爱场景的描写有悖于图书馆不提供色情读物的准则。

Last week a group of organizations that included the National Coalition Against Censorship formally responded, sending a letter to the library board in Brevard County scolding it for refusing to stock the book alongside standards like “Tropic of Cancer” or “Fear of Flying.”

五月初，美国反审查联盟(National Coalition Against Censorship)等组织联合采取了正式行动，他们致信布里瓦德县图书馆理事会，斥责他们拒绝收藏这套书却执行双重标准收藏《北回归线》 (Tropic of Cancer)和《怕飞》(Fear of Flying)之类的书。

“There is no rational basis to provide access to erotic novels like these, and at the same time exclude contemporary fiction with similar content,” the letter said. “The very act of rejecting erotica as a category suitable for public libraries sends an unmistakable message of condemnation that is moralistic in tone, and totally inappropriate in a public institution dedicated to serving the needs and interests of all members of the community.”

他们在这封信中说：“一面提供这种色情小说，一面又排斥有相似内容的当代小说，这是没道理的。拒绝色情小说这一适合公共图书馆收藏的门类，这种做法明白无误地发出了一种道德定罪的信号，这对一个致力于满足社区所有成员需求和兴趣的公共机构来说，是完全不妥当的。”

Joan Bertin, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, said in an interview that it was unusual for a library to remove a book from its section for adults.

美国反审查联盟执行主任琼·伯顿(Joan Bertin)在接受采访时说，一家图书馆把书从供成人阅读的书目中拿掉，这是不寻常的事情。

“The vast majority of cases that we deal with have to do with removing books to keep kids from seeing them,” she said. “That’s what makes this so egregious. There are some possible arguments for trying to keep kids away from certain kinds of content, but in the case of adults, other than the restrictions on obscenity and child pornography, there’s simply no excuse. This is really very much against the norms in the profession.”

她说：“我们处理的大多数事例是不让某些书出现在孩子的视野中，因此他们的这种做法就显得异乎寻常了。在什么东西不适合孩子阅读的问题上的确可能存在争议，但对于成人，除了对猥亵和儿童色情有所限制，没有别的借口。那是非常不符合这个行业规范的做法。”

Vintage, which is part of Random House, said in a statement, “Random House fervently opposes literary censorship and supports the First Amendment rights of readers to make their own reading choices. We believe the Brevard County Public Library System is indulging in an act of censorship, and essentially is saying to library patrons: We will judge what you can read.”

隶属于兰登书屋的佳酿图书在声明中说：“兰登书屋坚决反对文学审查，支持宪法第一修正案保护读者自由选择的权利。我们相信，布里瓦德县公共图书馆系统是对图书进行肆意审查，其实质是告诉读者：你们能读什么内容，得由我们判断。”

Decisions about which books to stock tend to rest in the hands of local library officials, calculations based on what patrons are asking for and how much money a library system has to spend.

通常来说，采购什么图书是由当地图书馆管理者根据读者提出借阅的需求量和图书馆可以支配采购的预算决定的。

The number of patrons waiting in line for “Fifty Shades of Grey” is extraordinary, higher than the usual demand for the latest John Grisham or Danielle Steel novel, library officials say.

图书馆方面说，排队等待借阅《五十度灰》的读者人数多得不得了，甚至比要求借阅约翰·格里沙姆(John Grisham)、丹尼尔·斯蒂尔(Danielle Steel)等畅销作家最新作品的人数还要多。

And the line is getting longer every week. At the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio, a system that includes Cleveland, 454 holds were placed on the book in early April; last week there were 1,399.

而且等待的人数每周都在增加。覆盖克里夫兰的俄亥俄州凯霍加县公共图书馆统计显示，四月初预约这本书的有454人;上周(五月中旬)已经涨到1399人。

Robert J. Rua, an official with the Cuyahoga library, said they had bought 539 copies of the trilogy’s first book. There is no section for erotic fiction in the library, he said, so “Fifty Shades” has been placed among the other trade books for adults.

凯霍加县图书馆的一名官员罗伯特·J.鲁阿(Robert J. Rua)说，他们已经买了539册三部曲中的第一集。由于图书馆中没有色情小说这一分类，《五十度灰》被放在大众成人书中。

Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for Vintage Books, declined to provide a current sales figure for the trilogy, but said millions had sold so far.

佳酿图书的发言人保罗·博加兹(Paul Bogaards)只是说这套书卖了数百万册，但拒绝透露目前的确切销量。

Marcee Challener, the manager of materials and circulation services for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Libraries, said that library officials there carefully considered the book before ordering it, but ultimately decided that it was no different from one of the paranormal romances featuring vampires that have been popular for years.

坦帕市—希尔斯伯勒县公共图书馆系统的读物与流通部经理玛西·查勒纳(Marcee Challener)说，他们的图书馆管理者在订这套书之前慎重考虑过，最终认为，它们与近些年流行的吸血鬼主题的人鬼恋浪漫小说大同小异。

“There’s sex and eroticism in many well-written literary novels,” she said. “It’s part of the human experience.”

她说：“许多写得很好的文学小说里也有性爱内容，这是人类行为的一部分而已。”

But Ken Hall, the library director in Fond du Lac, said he would rather spend precious library funds on books that had literary or artistic value.

但丰迪拉克图书馆馆长肯·霍尔(Ken Hall)说，他宁愿把宝贵的图书馆资金花在文学、艺术价值高的图书上。

Since the library publicly announced that it would not stock the book, he has been hounded by insults, with some people calling him a useless bureaucrat. But he said he had also received numerous compliments from residents urging him not to back down.

自从这家图书馆公开宣布不收藏此书以来，他就不断遭到辱骂，有些人称他是无用的官僚。但他说也得到了许多居民的赞扬，鼓励他不要退却。