Barnes and Noble to sell pornography? Maybe it already does!

After a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, and reading recent reports on the web, it seems that there is a growing problem with national booksellers Barnes and Noble.

Here is a summary of a recent excerpt from OneMillionMoms:

In
Collierville, Tennessee, recently, an 11 year-old boy named Landon
Howse was walking through the Barnes & Noble bookstore when he
noticed a book lying open on one of the reading area tables. His dad,
Brannon Howse, was right behind him. What Landon saw were graphic
pictures of two men engaged in sex. The book was titled "Ultimate Gay
Sex," and is one of the many sexually explicit books offered in Barnes
& Noble stores.

Mr. Howse
was obviously stunned and upset at what his young son had just been
exposed to just walking through a general bookstore. When Mr. Howse
complained to the store management that this kind of material should
not be on the bookshelves anywhere in the store, especially a store
children frequent, he was met with indifference. When he complained to
law enforcement that Barnes & Noble was in violation of the
Tennessee "harmful to minors" statute he was given the run around.

Now let's be clear. I have a problem with Barnes and Noble providing easy access to ANY adult material, not just adult gay material. Here's the letter that I sent to them:

Dear Chairman Riggio:

I am writing regarding an issue I have with your retail stores. It seems that there are dozens of books that contain graphic and explicit photos that can be accessed by just about anyone, even children and minors. As you know, many of your patrons like to take books off the shelves and browse them at the café or on nearby couches. Unfortunately, these books are often left there and can be picked up by just about anyone. I think your company needs to be more responsible with books of this nature. Either take them off the shelves completely or put them in special restricted areas where children cannot view them.

I would also ask that you be fair and honest in your evaluation of such books. I have seen and heard that books like "Ultimate Gay Sex," with graphic sexual pictures, have been easily found on your shelves. Is Barnes and Noble going into the gay and pornographic market? I hope not!

Please know that your response to my concern will determine if I will continue to patronize Barnes & Noble.

I shop at Barnes and Noble (alot) and I have seen this before. I never realized how bad it was and after a quick trip there now I see there is a real problem. Please take the time to contact them and tell them they need to be more responsible with their adult materials.

I understand that many books have adult material, even the classics, but those with graphic images need to be put off-limits to minors. Even rag shops that sell hard core pornographic magazines know this. Come on Barnes and Noble, make your stories family friendly!

Mr. Stephen Riggio, CEO sriggio@bn.com
Chris Troia, Chief Information Officer ctroia@bn.com
Mary Ellen Keating, Senior V.P. of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs mkeating@bn.com
Jaime Carey, Chief Merchandising Officer jcarey@bn.com
Carolyn Brown, Director of Corporate Communications e-mail: cbrown@bn.com