The libraries of the City of Montreal withdrew from their catalog last week two comic strips by Frenchman Bastien Vivès, mental discharge And The melons of anger (in Hammerhead sharks). Two books from the BD Cul collection, sold under seal, for adults only. For years, the work of the 38-year-old cartoonist has floated or plunged, depending on the albums, into pornography and child pornography. Should you keep your books in the library or take them out?
It could be the scenario of an ironic comic strip: Professor Marie D. Martel speaks these days about censorship at the School of Library Science at the University of Montreal. During his last lesson, his students (future librarians) told him about Bastien Vivès and his books in order to reflect — here is a case in point — about their place in a public library collection.
Librarians have a traditionally ambivalent position in relation to intellectual freedom and censorship. There, we are perhaps witnessing the reinforcement of a moralizing attitude and a more prescriptive approach among them.
In France, the cartoonist and two of his publishers are currently the subject of an investigation by the Brigade for the protection of minors for the dissemination of images of child pornography.
He also made the headlines at the end of 2022 when the Angoulême Festival “deprogrammed” the exhibition In the eyes of Bastien Vives, a carte blanche to the author. Several critics had reacted strongly to the announcement of this major exhibition, denouncing “the trivialization and apology of incest and paedocriminality” observed in some of his works as well as the calls for violence that the author held on Facebook against cartoonist Emma.
So what to do with these books in the library? To reflect on the question with her students, Professor Martel has reserved two titles for the Robert-Bourassa library in Outremont, The melons of anger And mental discharge. A librarian wrote to him to announce the cancellation of his reservation. The two books “must be withdrawn immediately from the collection of the Libraries of Montreal because of child pornography”, she indicated.
The City of Montreal confirmed their withdrawal “due to explicit child pornography illustrations and the absence of denunciation of the acts represented”.
Involuntary erotic acquisitions
Gold, The duty learned that the withdrawal of these two titles was announced in an internal email sent on March 3 to the Libraries of Montreal. An unprecedented gesture, according to our sources. “Following an internal request, a committee of network professionals was formed to analyze [deux demandes de retrait]with regard to our guidelines for the development of collections”, can we read there.
The exceptional recommendation for removal was accepted because of the “presence of realistic and very explicit child pornography illustrations; illustrated and unreported sexual violence perpetrated on minors; lack of consent of the minors involved (between 10 and 17 years old); of the presence of numerous illustrated scenes of incest”.
“These two titles were part of a purchase of erotic comics. They were therefore not acquired deliberately,” it concludes. Books released in 2011 and 2018 that do not meet library guidelines and therefore the network purchased in 2022 unknowingly.
At the Grande Bibliothèque, in Montreal, and at the Bibliothèque de Québec, these two books were never acquired.
The premiere’s collection development policy states that “resources are assessed on the basis of the content and nature of the work as a whole”. That of the second “rejects works with obscene, defamatory, pornographic, hateful, racist and extremely violent content”. “In addition, special attention is paid to works aimed at children,” replied the City of Quebec.
Act before the law
For Mathilde Barraband, co-holder of the Franco-Quebec collective research chair on freedom of expression, libraries are right to find that works by Vivès pose a problem: “Images clearly seek to excite the reader, with characters from ‘children. »
“Vivès produces fictional images. The laws in the world are different on this idea of fiction. In some countries, the representation is illegal, whether an image is real or fictional – this is the case in France and Canada, ”continues the specialist.
The production of child pornography is illegal in the country. But “even if the law says that, there is another law which protects creation, which indicates that it is free”, she notes. “This is obviously what the lawyers of Vives will defend in France. And it is not up to librarians, but up to judges to decide between the fundamental freedom of creation and the protection of minors. It won’t be an easy decision. »
The freedom of expression specialist also sees a difference between withdrawing a work and “not having bought it”. “That is the right of the broadcaster: to make available to the public what they want. While having acquired it and then removing it is not a trivial gesture. »
If there is a bad purchase or images that we had not seen, what to do? “Perhaps leave it available, on demand, while the court case is decided. The public must have access to the material in order to reflect. “Especially in a case like this, where the case resonates in the news.
“We can ask ourselves the question differently, proposes Mme Barraband. What best contributes to the fight against pedocrime? Is it really to remove books from libraries? »
Morality and prescription
According to Professor Marie D. Martel, “the library is taking the initiative here to ‘protect the public’ even before the exercise of a judicial decision and a rule of law leads to the conclusion that there is a derogation to the law “.
“Librarians have a traditionally ambivalent position with regard to intellectual freedom and censorship, adds the one who has already worked at the Libraries of Montreal. There, we are perhaps witnessing the reinforcement of a moralizing attitude and a more prescriptive approach among them, which could indicate that they are more ready today than a few years ago to choose in favor of a denial of freedom of expression and restriction of freedom to read. »
For her part, Mathilde Barraband thinks that “as long as a work is not banned, we should not withdraw it”. “You have to be able to go to your library and [le] read to make up your own mind,” concludes the freedom of expression specialist.