Actually, your nerves really say what I think is lost. There seems to be no apprehension about electronic communication, which has (somewhat) replaced face-to-face conversation. I’m a huge fan of letters, and their diminished importance bothers me.

Facebook is going to wreck the whole 20th high school reunion thing. You know, you go out of morbid curiosity, having lost touch with most everyone over the years. Everybody drinks too much, promises to stay in touch and doesn’t.

Brian, every library develops its own purchasing policy based on its analysis of and understanding of its community. How to do that is something librarians study in grad school. I can’t justify Allen County’s selection choices. Want me to call Jeff Krull and ask him?

I will note that my library has the “Joy of Gay Sex” which contains very detailed drawings demonstrating the various um things discussed in the text. I did have a complaint about it last year, and actually had to look at it. Ick.

Every library also has a process whereby you can address your concerns with items in the collection. But over the years I have learned that one person’s romance novel is another person’s porn. AKA pornography is in the eye of the beholder.

The majority of my complaints in recent years have related to homosexuality, including the lovely penguin picture book “And Tango Makes Three.” If I were going to select a magazine (librarians call them periodicals ) with pictures of naked woman I would choose Playboy. For the articles.

I know this isn’t a good answer to your question. And I am not sure what to think about the fact that you AND Pam are talking about me in bed. Hmm.

Short Bus

http://www.wane.com/global/story.asp?s=7738102

We agreed we’d have to look for that movie!

She told me about a story she had just seen on the news, about a fellow complaining to the Allen County Public Library about an NR rated movie he borrowed — which was (allegedly) pornographic. What struck Pam, though, was that the ACPL has Hustler and Penthouse and other type periodicals in the collection, and they’ll lend them out! (you have to leave your license with them, though)

Seriously — I would think that that raises a bio-hazard issue, on the one hand (so to speak); and indeed — a procurement question, on the other. It isn’t “censorship” to say “We aren’t adding this periodical to our collection”.…we wondered what rationale the library would have for procuring such a publication, and what sort of publication would NOT be procured by the library (that’s when I said “you should ask Connie on Nance’s sight”, and Pam said “oh, uh huh”)

My college kid leaves for Paris tomorrow. It isn’t fair.