Porn Star Tell-All Slips Back onto Open Shelves
The Jenna Jameson autobiography How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale is no longer kept behind the counter at Houston Public Library, as had been ordered
in mid-January by Mayor Bill White. “This is a great victory for the
First Amendment and people’s right to read,” said Randall Kallinen,
president of the American Civil Liberties Union’s local chapter, which
had threatened to sue the city for sequestering the book. A library review committee, which was formed after White made his
unilateral decision, recommended February 1 that the Jameson title be
shelved in the fine arts and recreation section along with other
celebrity biographies. However, staff did not have to physically move How to Make Love Like a Porn Star since it has been in constant circulation for months and as of mid-February had a waiting list of 41 patrons.
Mayoral spokesperson Frank Michel said in the February 11 Houston Chronicle
that White had intended his action as a temporary one, pending library
review. But city council member Pat Holm, whose outcry over the book
being prominently featured in the library’s bestseller display started
the controversy, told the Chronicle that she was “in the dark”
about why the committee was formed but gratified to know the library
would scrutinize books more closely before displaying them prominently.
Posted February 18, 2005.
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