Um, whatever happened to “Freedom to View.” http://www.ala.org/vrt/professionalresources/vrtresources/freedomtoview
Sharon Herfurth Office of Programs & Partnerships Austin Public Library Austin, TX From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Doug Poswencyk Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 10:45 AM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] pornographic films in the Library collection? What was the film? What kind of university was it? A Catholic one? What does extremely hardcore pornographic mean? I can see people worried about a public library (and I think that isn't good librarianship anyway) but a college? This is pure censorship and not good librarianship. Sorry to sound so harsh but this puritanical approach really burns my ass. it is our job to get materials to the people we serve. And not just the majority or what the majority thinks we should provide. I think you are dead wrong Darby. On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 10:58 AM, Darby Orcutt <dcorc...@ncsu.edu<mailto:dcorc...@ncsu.edu>> wrote: Maureen, Like many things, this comes down to very local and context-driven decision-making, in which you need to balance a LOT of considerations. I faced a request more than a decade ago for an extremely hardcore pornographic film that, after careful consideration, I declined. The faculty member was pleased with the thoughtfulness and fairness of the process, and agreed with the ultimate rationale. As I recall, some of the important factors were: -This was a single film for a single course, and therefore not related to a major part of our curriculum. -Legally, we would need to prevent circulation to/viewing by minors. Since many of our freshmen enter at age 17 (or even younger), and we have no "user type" or such in our catalog system that distinguishes these students, we would not be easily (if at all) able to ensure our compliance with the law. (If you haven't checked your state's laws in this regard, you will want to do so. This may clear up the question of "what is porn?" as well as how you would need to deal with certain materials.) -We are a state institution. We would wish politically to tread carefully when adding materials of this type (and certainly not use state-appropriated, taxpayer-funded monies with which to do this). While we could perhaps devise a way of limiting use to those 18 years old & above, creating a special collection, workflow, and processes unlike those for any of our other content, the cost (and potential consequences of error) would be great. My final decision was therefore based on cost - not of the material, per se, but overall cost of providing the access. Just as I might deny a request for a DVD that costs, say, $3,000, I turned down this request. Again, the faculty agreed with this line of thinking. Had my university been starting a major new program in Porn Studies, well, the costs and risks might have seemed reasonable. Like I said, these are always local and contextualized decisions. I hope this helps. Best, Darby Darby Orcutt Assistant Head, Collection Management Department Chair, Humanities & Social Sciences Subject Team North Carolina State University Libraries Box 7111 Raleigh, NC 27695-7111 919/ 513-0364<tel:919%2F%20513-0364> dcorc...@ncsu.edu<mailto:dcorc...@ncsu.edu> On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 4:44 PM, Doug Poswencyk <doug8...@gmail.com<mailto:doug8...@gmail.com>> wrote: What is porn? Russ Meyer is certainly not porn. Some of his films such as "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill." are considered works of art. They have been screened at many art cinemas and are part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The same could be said about the films of Radley Metzger who just had a retrospective of his work at Lincoln Center. Then there are the early films of Fred Halsted. Hardcore sex, yes. But also art. They too are part of the MOMA collection. Meyer's films feature large breasted women but these women are always strong and usually have it over the guys. His films can also be violent but in the end good always triumphs. i think to not include these films is nothing more than pure censorship. On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 2:10 PM, Stanton, Kim <kim.stan...@unt.edu<mailto:kim.stan...@unt.edu>> wrote: We have purchased a few items per faculty request for instruction/ scholarly research. The only issue we have had (and just once) was someone checking out an item without understanding what it was. We now prominently add a note to our public catalog record that prominently says "Adult content, graphic sex." or whatever is appropriate. Other than that, these items are treated like all other materials in the collection. We have closed stacks, but circulate for use outside of the library. Good luck, Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu<mailto:kim.stan...@unt.edu> ________________________________ From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu<mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu> <videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu<mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu>> on behalf of Gisele Genevieve Tanasse <gtana...@library.berkeley.edu<mailto:gtana...@library.berkeley.edu>> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2014 2:16 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu<mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu> Subject: Re: [Videolib] pornographic films in the Library collection? I have purchased porn in response to instructional requests (most of which have come from our Gender and Women's Studies department). I have even repaired a pornographic VHS tape for an instructor. Much like racist cartoons, Nazi propaganda and most reality TV, inclusion of porn in the library collection should not be interpreted as a stamp of approval on the content. I recommend giving a courtesy head's up to your acquisitions/tech services staff and be sure you are ready to respond, citing intellectual freedom/instructional freedom, to any complainers. You might also consider letting whoever you report to know in advance, so they are also prepared in case you do receive a complaint. If you have viewing stations, I would recommend working with your staff to identify the best location to seat someone studying porn in order to reduce the likelihood of catching a passerby off guard. I had similar concerns to yours, but we have not had a single problem or complaint-- and the weird suggestions on our amazon account cleared out quickly :) Gisele Gisèle Tanasse Head, Media Resources Center 150 Moffitt Library #6000 University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 PH: 510-642-8197<tel:510-642-8197> BCAL: nerdpo...@berkeley.edu<mailto:nerdpo...@berkeley.edu> NOTE: PART TIME SCHEDULE Monday-Thurs 8AM-2PM On Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 11:18 AM, Maureen Tripp <maureen_tr...@emerson.edu<mailto:maureen_tr...@emerson.edu>> wrote: A faculty member is planning a new class for the spring--Sex in the Media. Guess who gets to order his new, pornographic DVDs? So . . . my question for academic media librarians out there--do you include materials like Behind the Green Door, Vintage Stage Films of the 40's and 50's and Russ Meyers' Abundant Beginnings (collection) in your catalogs? Apart from my general squeamishness, I wonder if having these titles in the collection might be disturbing to other students who find them demeaning to women, or perhaps even perceive them as warranting trigger warnings. So . . . does anyone include porn in their collection? If yes, under what circumstances, and do you treat them any differently than any other collection item? thanks, Maureen VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
