[Unisfa] Calendar, Dianetics, was Re: Committee Meeting Minutes 12/04/17

[Nick Bannon]

First - thanks for setting up the (Google) calendar - subscribed.
Like our self-hosted mailing list, it's another way to get around the
Facebook limitations.

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On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 01:16:12PM +0000, natasha gilford wrote:
> Books for Book Removal List [...]
>   * Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard
>     * Is a religious text - scientology is a religion
>     * Motion to add to Book Removal List - motion passes unanimously
On Wed, Apr 05, 2017 at 10:26:26PM +0800, Nick Bannon wrote:
> However, I'm also trying to make a plausible explanation of why we
> should keep "Dianetics" next to the rest of the:
> http://library.unisfa.asn.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=au:Hubbard,L.Ron

Ah, there it is. 

I'd like to make an appeal; and a proposal.

We don't actually have much Hubbard; we also have (on the shelf as of Friday):
  * "Battlefield Earth";
  * an incomplete series "Mission Earth", missing parts 2, 3, and 4;

As seen here:
http://library.unisfa.asn.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=au:Hubbard,L.Ron
http://library.unisfa.asn.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=au:L.%20Ron%20Hubbard

I propose that we remove the incomplete series; keep "Dianetics"; and
pick up one of his earlier and slightly less terrible books in the coming
year, perhaps try at the "Save The Children" on-campus booksale?
There's some positively reviewed ones here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Written_works_of_L._Ron_Hubbard
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/33503.L_Ron_Hubbard

"Dianetics" is not precisely a religious text itself, but it is
proto-Scientology and it does have a special story in the annals of SF.
(like many stories, some parts may be more verifiably true than others)

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/2671/is-there-any-evidence-for-the-bet-between-robert-a-heinlein-and-l-ron-hubbard
https://everything2.com/title/The+Heinlein+-+Hubbard+Wager+Myth

Comparative religion is an important trope (or three) in SF and I
don't want to purge religion in toto. Hopefully without resorting to
tokenism... nevertheless the following is a pretty widely referenced
moment, from Babylon 5:
https://youtu.be/uvmtHGwRSuQ

Nick.

-- 
   Nick Bannon   | "I made this letter longer than usual because
nick-sig at rcpt.to | I lack the time to make it shorter." - Pascal