Coinciding with the ALA (American Library Association) “Banned Books Week”, a group of Miami librarians paid an extremely educational visit to the World Erotic Art Museum. The Examiner explains:

“…this is exactly the type of facility that librarians should visit, says Ellen Book, president of the Dade County Library Association.

“Whenever books, music, DVDs or art is banned or challenged in a library, it is the librarians who become involved, so we need to learn all we can,” said Book, who is the librarian association’s president

Which is why Book and her colleagues were in Miami Beach last Friday, listening raptly as Naomi Wilzig, owner of the museum, which is known popularly as  WEAM, filled them in on the controversial history of erotic art, along with her five-year struggle to publicly show it.

“I went to Las Vegas, to New York City and to St. Petersburg, Fla., but I was turned away. In New York, there was a space available on the top of a 20-story building, but I was turned down because they told me that someone visiting the first floor might object,” Wilzig said.

Even after winning approval from the City of Miami Beach for her current Washington Avenue location, landlord after landlord refused to rent to her. Finally, she found the museum’s current roomy second-floor location, but she has to battle to get even a small part of the foot traffic she would ordinarily reap if WEAM were housed on the ground floor, she said.

During the tour, Wilzig told the group of some of the controversies involved in some of the pieces, which range from ancient times to today. She also showed the librarians her 250-volume research library…”

Full article here.

Find out more about the World Erotic Art Museum here.